Who is Ciaran Clark?

Ciaran Clark makes only his third appearance for Ireland tonight in a friendly against Greece at the Aviva Stadium. Here are a few quick stats about Clark and his career so far:

• 23 year old born in England but qualifies for Ireland as both his parents are Irish
• Plays his club football for Aston Villa
• Preferred position is centre half but can also play at left full back
• He has represented England at U17, U18, U19 & U20 level but has since won 2 senior caps for the Republic of Ireland
• Made his Ireland debut on February 8th, 2011 against Wales at the Aviva stadium
• Joined the Aston Villa academy when he was just 11 and has worked his way up through their ranks and is now a first team regular at Villa Park under new manager Paul Lambert
• His goal against Spurs last season all but guaranteed Villa's safety in the Premiership
• Has spoken of his admiration for his club and international team mate Richard Dunne: "Everyday in training I've managed to learn little bits off him, and he's spoken to me about the game and gave me advice about what I can do to keep on learning."

(via NR1Hartman)