The Life and Times of Eamon Zayed

While he may not be a household name in any of the major leagues, to say Eamon Zayed has had an exciting career would be an understatement. His career has been a rollercoaster to say the least; his storyline would warrant an entire biopic for more established players.

Throughout this page, we’ll look back at some of the key high points of his career and see how he progressed from an ‘Irishman Abroad’ to the player who eventually earned a call-up to the Libyan national team.

It started in Iran

That’s right, before Zayed started traveling around the world, his career began in Iran. At first, he was forced to communicate with the manager through a translator. His first conversation with the manager was to be told that he had never heard of him and that he was only signed according to the wishes of the club chairman.

The next game was the kind most budding footballers dream of. His first match for his new team, Persepolis, was against Istglar. To put it in perspective, it was the Tehran derby – watched by tens of millions on TV and more than 90,000 in the stands.

Zayed’s first role was as a substitute. With his team trailing 0-2 and a player sent off, Zayed was eventually called into action in the 60th minute.

Zayed failed to make the impact he should have in the opening minutes and was pulled off by the frustrated manager. But a miracle happened. Zayed then scored three goals, becoming only the second player in history to score a hat trick in this derby and helping the team to a great comeback. He was a hero.

Leicester era

Today, Leicester City is known as the team that broke the mold of English football and won the league title overnight. When Eamon Zayed was the manager of Leicester City, the situation was very different.

Firstly, strictly speaking, Leicester City is not the only club he has played for in English football. Prior to this, Arsenal offered him a youth player contract, but he turned it down to concentrate on studying in Ireland.

His performances in Ireland, breaking multiple goal records for the local club, forced Leicester City to transfer him. He was recruited when Peter Taylor was in charge, but when Taylor was sacked and replaced by Micky Adams, things quickly went wrong.

There have been numerous instances of ‘faces not fitting’ in football over the years and that was certainly the case with Adams and Zayed. A training ground row almost ended Zayed’s career at Leicester City and with two years left on his contract he was told to look elsewhere.

Zayed returns to Ireland

To heal the pain of Leicester City, Zayed returned to Ireland. He eventually signed for Bray Wanderers – but it was a point in his career where he really had to bide his time. When first-choice striker Jason Byrne was injured, Zayed grabbed the opportunity with both hands. In his four years at the club between 2002 and 2006, he averaged a goal every two games.

It was performances like this that earned him the 2003 PFAI Young Player of the Year award.

Return to English football

These performances caught the attention of other clubs, with English side Crewe taking a gamble on his quality by loaning him out in 2004. However, the English league once again proved difficult for him, as he struggled to edge out Dean Ashton (who eventually wore an England shirt) and Steve Jones (a Northern Ireland international).

Drogheda and surrounding areas

Looking at Zayed’s career, it’s clear that Ireland was where his talents really shone. In 2006, he was signed by Drogheda and although things were tough at first, everything eventually fell into place.

When we say “eventually”, it really took time. He had arguments with managers and there were many times when he almost left. However, after being persuaded to stay by several first-team professionals, the rest is history. His goals helped Drogheda win their first title in 2007 and he was once again hailed as a national hero.

Unfortunately, financial restrictions meant that Drogheda would not be a long-term project. Sure, he succeeded in helping them achieve the unthinkable, but a failure to qualify for the Champions League meant the club had to sell their star asset.

For a while, it seemed certain that he would join St. Patrick’s Athletic. However, after a transfer fell through, he was forced to look abroad. Eventually, despite trial offers from as far away as South Korea, he joined First Division side Fingal Sports. The benefit of the contract was that, in addition to offering a competitive salary, Zayed could also plan his football career by studying for a master’s degree at Dublin City University.

Libya call-up

Although Zayed was sometimes sent to the left wing, his performance was enough to impress the Libyan national leadership. Although Zayed may be classified as Irish, his grandparents are actually from Libya, which facilitated the move.

To say the experience was extraordinary would be an understatement. Libya might not have the same national stature as some other countries, but football is still hugely popular. His face was in front of countless TV cameras – not least because locals had never heard of “the player from Ireland”.

His international success seemed to fuel his domestic success as well, and he eventually signed for Delhi FC, where he finished as the league’s top scorer in 2011 with 23 goals.

Of course, like many successful European footballers, Zayed’s career began to wane as he aged, and he ventured across the Atlantic to play in the United States. In his first season with the Indiana Eleven, his performances earned him a spot in the North American Soccer League’s All-Star team.

The move also allowed him to complete his UEFA B coaching license exam and coach at Ball State University, meaning Zayed certainly had a backup plan after this tumultuous but ultimately successful career came to an end.