Kieran Tierney: Grassroots to Greatness

It was June 5^th, 1997 on the small windswept Isle of Man that Kieran Tierney took his first breath. The second born child of Michael & Gail Tierney, which surprisingly led to Kieran being pampered and spoiled in his early years, before eventually his father took active steps to make him more grounded. Kieran was born into a family with a fanatical love for Celtic Football Club, in which it was a requirement for each family member to be a season ticket holder!

At the mere age of 7, Tierney was offered trials with his beloved boyhood club. Over the course of these Kieran passed with flying colours in every possible aspect and was offered a place in Celtic’s youth academy. Following this success, Michael & Gail opted to move to Motherwell so as Kieran could develop with Celtic, this was a move that at times was not welcomed by a young Kieran as he struggled with the absence of his extended family and the opportunity to attend his friend’s birthday parties.

“My dad gave up & sacrificed so much for me. He would always accompany me to the pitch even on Sunday. My dad was more hyper than me and I was so grateful for it.”

Kieran attended school at St Brendan’s RC Primary School before moving on to Our Lady’s High School which are both located in Motherwell, Scotland. It was a huge bonus that Gail Tierney was a serving dinner lady in Our Lady’s High School. Through his school years, Kieran drew a lot of attention to himself while taking part in various competitive sports. But football remained his first love. His desire to win along with an impressive work rate and phenomenal athletic ability impressed not only his School coaches, but senior academy staff at Celtic too. He was eventually advised to make the move to St Ninians High School, Kirkintilloch which was well known for having strong links to the Celtic youth academy.

“I remember when I was at school and I was picking my subjects we had to put down what we wanted to do as a job. I always picked football. But the teachers told me I couldn’t do that and I should write down ‘joiner’ or something like that. I always chose football though. I’d been playing for Celtic for six years by that point and someone was saying I couldn’t play football!”

Over the years Kieran continued to impress at every available opportunity. The young Isle of Man native was predominantly known as a left winger throughout his youth career – a position in which his academy coach Martin Miller vowed he would always remain. Tierney’s commitment and work rate did not only impress his seniors while he was on the pitch, but off it too! He was well known and respected for taking on extra roles a responsibility’s, one of which was as a regular ball boy. Interestingly, Kieran was operating as a ball boy in one of Celtics most famous victories as they beat FC Barcelona 2-1 at Parkhead on November 7^th, 2012.

“I was sitting in the corner in front of the Green Brigade when Victor Wanyama scored. Who would have known that the ball boy sitting in front of the Green Brigade would have played for Celtic?”

After an extremely impressive youth career, along with sporadic first team appearances following his first team debut on April 22^nd 2015, Tierney received his much anticipated first team call-up. But disaster struck, In October 2016, 24 hours before Kieran was due to take the field he was rushed to hospital with a suspected broken ankle. A training ground collision which was labelled by Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers “a freak accident”. An accident that has caused many young players progression to be severely impacted. But Kieran was determined to use his set back as fuel to drive his development upon his return.

During the reign of Brendan Rodgers, Kieran cemented himself as a pivotal member of the first team. An honorary member of the famous treble winning side, in which he became a huge fan favourite. Kieran famously was taken to hospital with a broken jaw during the Scottish cup final after a viscous collision with Aberdeen striker Jayden Stockley. But amazingly a blood-soaked Tierney rushed out of hospital and sprinted through Hampden Park to make it back to the stadium in time to lift the cup with his teammates.

On March 10^th 2016, Tierney received a call up to the senior Scottish national team. He would make his debut against Denmark in Hampden Park in which they secured a 2-1 win. Often played at right back due to his adaptability over Andy Robertson in the eyes of head coach Gordon Strachan. Kieran was making a name for himself, a name that sparked excitement. His most notable performances came in the Champions League, in which he gained praise from pundits and fans alike for the manner in which he handled three of the most prolific wingers of this era, Kylian Mbappe, Raheem Sterling and Arjen Robben. Three names that would worry the world’s most accomplished full backs. But Kieran very much nullified these amazing players with nothing more than persistence, hard work and a humble attitude. Displays like these had some of Europe’s larger clubs talking, and Arsenal were at the front of the queue.

“It was actually [Unai] Emery who the [PSG] manager at the time and it was the toughest game I’ve ever played in my career, against Mbappe and Dani Alves down that side.”

From the opening day of the 2019 summer window Kieran Tierney’s move to Arsenal dominated headlines. Although many fans were unaware of Tierney, many recognised the need to invest in a left back due to the outgoing Nacho Monreal. Meanwhile Tierney was recovering from groin surgery to repair a hernia that had prematurely ended his final season with Celtic. When asked about the transfer, Kieran very much played down any speculation by insisting the only thing he was focused on was recovering. Finally, on deadline day the move to North London was secured, what had been an extremely dragged out process was over. Tierney’s record breaking £25m move was complete.

Kieran’s early days at Arsenal were spent in the rehabilitation department recovering from his pre-existing groin issue. He frustratingly had to wait for his opportunity to come. That chance came on September 24^th, 2019 when he pulled on the famous red and white for the first time against Nottingham Forrest in the EFL Cup.

Once again, Tierney’s progress was halted due a dislocated shoulder picked up during the clash with West Ham United which caused him to miss 96 days of action. Again, Tierney’s mental strength was on shown as many would say he has been Arsenals best player since project restart with some fantastic displays.

 You wouldn’t be wrong to say that Kieran is cut from the cloth of generations past. He is certainly a man a few words, but actions speak louder than words. Whether it be something as small as carrying your kit in a Tesco shopping bag or stating that he would rather make a match winning tackle than score a winning goal, every action and statement has been music to the ears of Gunners fans worldwide.

A glowing light in the dark, a glimpse of what the future could hold for this football club. It’s not often that a player receives so much love from a fan base, and that is testament to both the manner in which Kieran presents himself and the job Michael and Gail Tierney have done to raise a young man with such a stable head on his shoulders. The future is undoubtedly bright for Kieran, but could we be looking at the man to galvanise this club and get us back to where we belong?

By Eoin Young @EoinYoung2