Derek Riordan (born 16 January 1983 in Edinburgh) is a professional footballer currently employed by Scottish Premier League club Celtic F.C, having signed in the summer of 2006 from Hibernian F.C.
Hibs career
Riordan signed for Hibs (his boyhood favourites) in 2000 and made his debut the following year. It took a few years for Riordan to establish himself in the first team, and he spent a brief spell on loan at Cowdenbeath in January 2003.
He was finally given an opportunity towards the end of the 2002/03 season, as Hibs finished in the bottom half of the Scottish Premier League. He took this opportunity well, and he was the club’s top goalscorer for each of the next three seasons, with 18, 23 and 20 goals respectively.
This success earned him recognition in the form of the Scottish PFA Young Player of the Year award in 2005, and selections for the full Scotland international squad during 2005.
Rudi Skacel incident
Riordan appeared in the tabloid press with regard to an infamous video of him singing racist songs about Rudi Skacel, who was then a Hearts player. The video, which was recorded by a fan using a mobile phone, involved singing a song about Skacel being a “fucking refugee”. This of course in untrue, as Skacel is from the Czech Republic, and as such can settle in Scotland freely.
Transfer speculation
At the end of the 2004/05 season Riordan rejected an offer of an extension to his contract, and Hibs decided to place him on the transfer list. In August 2005 a £1 million fee was agreed between the clubs for his transfer to English championship club Cardiff City, but Riordan rejected the move.
During the January 2006 transfer window, Rangers had a bid turned down for Riordan worth £450,000 on transfer deadline day 31 January 2006. Two bids from foreign clubs were accepted, but Riordan rejected these potential moves.
Celtic career
Despite further interest from clubs including PSV Eindhoven, Anderlecht, Kaiserslautern, Crystal Palace, Leeds United and Charlton Athletic, Riordan signed for Celtic in a £200,000 deal in June 2006. The fee was reduced from the previous offers because Riordan’s contract with Hibs was due to expire in October 2006, and Riordan had already made a pre-contract agreement to sign for Celtic on a free transfer in January 2007.
Early struggles
Riordan has had difficulty obtaining a place in the Celtic side. As of 4 October 2006, he had only played three minutes in league matches for Celtic out of a possible 810. He has sometimes even not been selected as a substitute. He finally made his full debut for Celtic against St. Mirren in the CIS Cup, as Gordon Strachan fielded a side containing many players who are not first team regulars.
Riordan has publicly aired his disappointment at not being given more opportunities in the Celtic first team, and speculated that he may move to another club in the January transfer window in order to play regularly. On November 14, 2006, BBC Online reported that Norwich manager Peter Grant (a former Celtic player) had made enquiries to sign Riordan.
However, Riordan finally made his mark by scoring against Motherwell on 30 December 2006, scoring a further two goals the following month.
International honours
Riordan has been capped once by Scotland at international level, appearing as a substitute against Austria in Graz in August 2005.