Liam Brady

William Brady (born 13 February 1956) is an Irish former footballer and pundit.

Of his other brothers, Frank won the FAI Cup with Shamrock Rovers in 1968 and made two appearances in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, while Pat played with Millwall and Queens Park Rangers.

Liam attended St. Aidan's C.B.S., leaving before his Intermediate Certificate.

He alleged at the time that he had been expelled for missing a school Gaelic football match to play a schoolboy soccer international; the school denied this.

Brady started his career at Arsenal, moving to London to join the side on schoolboy forms in 1971, at the age of 15.

He turned professional on his 17th birthday in 1973, and made his debut on 6 October 1973 against Birmingham City as a substitute for Jeff Blockley, and put in an assured performance.

However his next match, in a North London derby against Tottenham Hotspur, Brady had a poor match, and Arsenal manager Bertie Mee decided from then on to use the young Irishman sparingly for the time being.

Brady ended the 1973–74 season with 13 appearances (four of them as substitute) to his name.

While at Arsenal, and particularly early in his career, Brady was nicknamed "Chippy", not for his ability to chip the ball but for his fondness for fish and chips.

In 1974–75 Brady was a first-team regular at Arsenal, and shone as a rare light in a side that hovered close to relegation for a couple of seasons in the mid-1970s.

With the appointment of Terry Neill as manager and the return of Don Howe as coach, Brady found his best form.

Brady made his debut for Ireland on 30 October 1974, in a 3–0 win against the Soviet Union at Dalymount Park in a European Championship qualifier.

His passing provided the ammunition for Arsenal's front men such as Malcolm Macdonald and Frank Stapleton, and Arsenal reached three FA Cup finals in a row between 1978 and 1980.

Brady was at the peak of his Arsenal form by now, as shown by one of his best goals for Arsenal; having dispossessed Peter Taylor he flighted a looped curled shot from the edge of the penalty area into the top corner, in a 5–0 win against Tottenham Hotspur on 23 December 1978.

He found success both in England with Arsenal, where he won an FA Cup in 1979, and in Italy with Juventus, winning two Serie A titles.

Brady was capped 72 times for the Ireland national team.

Brady was a talented attacking midfielder renowned for his left foot and elegant technical skills such as his high-quality passing, vision and close control, which made him an excellent playmaker.

Brady went on to manage Celtic and Brighton and Hove Albion.

Arsenal won only the middle of the three, against Manchester United in the 1979 final, with Brady starting the move that ended in Alan Sunderland's famous last-minute winner.

During this time he was voted the club's player of the year three times, and chosen as the PFA Players' Player of the Year in 1979.

Being from Ireland, he was the first foreign player to win the award.

He was the most talented player in what was then a promising young Arsenal side, which was looking to consistently challenge for honours such as the Division One title.

Despite this, by the 1979–80 season rumour was rife that Brady would be leaving the club in search of a fresh challenge.

That season, Arsenal reached the Cup Winners' Cup final (losing to Valencia on penalties), having beaten Juventus 2–1 over two legs in the semi-finals.

Brady's performance in the tie impressed the Italian giants and in the 1980 close season they signed him for just over £500,000, becoming the first foreign player to sign for the club since the Italian borders were re-opened for foreign transfers in 1980.

He is remembered as one of Arsenal's all-time greats, playing 307 matches for the Gunners, scoring 59 goals and setting up many more.

Brady spent two seasons with Juventus, wearing the number 10 shirt, and picking up two Italian Championship medals, in 1981 and 1982; Brady scored the only goal (a penalty) in the 1–0 win against Catanzaro that won the 1982 title.

After the arrival of Michel Platini in summer 1982, Brady moved to Sampdoria, allowing him to take the number 10 shirt and team up with Trevor Francis.

Brady moved on after two years in which Sampdoria failed to finish higher than sixth place, and went on to play for Internazionale (1984–1986).

At the San Siro, Brady teamed up with Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, reaching a UEFA Cup semi-final and a third place finish domestically, but failed to win any major honours.

In 1986, Brady joined Ascoli, where his career in Italy reached a sour conclusion.

A year spent arguing over failed payments of wages with club president Costantino Rozzi, marked the end of what was a much celebrated chapter of his career.

Brady, at the age of 31, returned to London in March 1987, for a transfer fee of £100,000, to play for West Ham United, where he scored 10 goals in 119 games in all competitions.

Brady has claimed his favourite international goal was that against Brazil in 1987.

He was a member of the side relegated from the First Division in 1989 and played one season in the Second Division before finally retiring as a player in 1990.

He began his media career as a television pundit in 1990 with the BBC, before moving to RTÉ Sport in 1998.

In June 2023, Brady announced that he would step down from his punditry duties with RTÉ after 25 years.

Brady was born and raised in Dublin in a footballing family, with both his great uncle Frank Brady Sr. and older brother Ray Brady winning senior international caps.

His last game came on 5 May 1990, a 4–0 home win against Wolverhampton Wanderers, a game in which he scored.

He was the assistant manager of the Republic of Ireland national football team from 2008 to 2010 and also held the post of Head of Youth Development at Arsenal from 1996 to 2013.