Patrick Joseph Bonner (born 24 May 1960) is an Irish retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper and spent his entire career at Celtic. He earned a total of 80 caps for the Republic of Ireland national football team after making his debut on his 21st birthday. He is remembered for his famous penalty save from Daniel Timofte of Romania at the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy during the knockout stage. He also played Gaelic football for his native county Donegal. Commonly known as 'Pat' or 'Packie', Bonner is a one-club player.
Gaelic football
Bonner played Gaelic football for the Donegal county team at minor and senior level in the 1970s. He played a number of games in the National Football League (NFL).
Club career
Early career
He began his career in the late 1970s with his local youth side, Keadue Rovers. When he was 16 he had several trials with Leicester City and kept goal for them in the FA Youth Cup.
The August 1977, Bonner had agreed a deal to sign for League of Ireland side Finn Harps on a 6 month contract after impressing in a guest appearance in a friendly against English team Stoke City F.C. An agreement was put in place, with then Harps manager, Eunan 'Busty' Blake, that if a bigger club came in, he would be allowed to leave and Blake himself would personally tear up his contract. He was subsequently spotted by Sean Fallon, who was scouting in Ireland for Celtic, and invited to Glasgow for a trial. True to his word, 'Busty' Blake tore up his Finn Harps contract, without ever making a competitive appearance for the club, and Bonner signed for Celtic on 14 May 1978.
Celtic
Bonner went on to play 642 times for Celtic, with 483 league appearances. In total with Celtic, he won four League Championship medals, three Scottish Cup winners' medals and a League Cup winners' medal. Although he was released by manager Lou Macari in 1994, he was re-signed by Tommy Burns after Macari was sacked. His last appearance for Celtic was winning the 1995 Scottish Cup final under Burns. After the Scottish Cup Final victory over Airdrie, Bonner took on the role of player-coach and finally left the club in 1998 to work as a coach alongside former teammate Tommy Burns.
With 642 appearances, Bonner is the most prolific goalkeeper in Celtic's history and their fifth-most prolific player of all time.
International career
Bonner made his international debut for the Republic of Ireland on his 21st birthday in a friendly against Poland on 24 May 1981.
For the remainder of the Eoin Hand managerial era, Bolton Wanderers Jim McDonagh remained Ireland's first choice goalkeeper. However, by the time of the appointment of Jack Charlton in March 1986, Bonner was already claiming the number one position. Bonner claimed his 75th international cap on his 34th birthday in a 1–0 win over Bolivia at Lansdowne Road which at the time equalled the Republic of Ireland record held by Liam Brady.
Euro 1988
Bonner played in seven of Ireland's eight games in the qualifying round of UEFA Euro 1988. Despite some good results, including a 1–0 win away to Scotland, a 2–0 win at home to Bulgaria and a 2–2 draw away to World Cup bronze medalists Belgium, Ireland looked to be losing out on goal difference to Bulgaria. Bulgaria needed only a draw against Scotland in their last match to progress. However, a last-minute winning goal for Scotland gave Ireland, and Bonner, a first appearance at the UEFA European Championship.
Bonner played in all of Ireland's games at Euro 88, including the 1–0 victory over England in Stuttgart. Ireland scored early and dominated in the first half, missing several chances to put the game beyond England. However, in the second half, Bonner produced a number of outstanding saves to keep Ireland in the lead, most notably from Gary Lineker, and was named Man of the Match. It was Bonner's eighth consecutive clean sheet for Ireland. In the second game, Ireland drew 1–1 with the Soviet Union. Ireland narrowly missed out on a semi-final appearance, conceding a goal in the dying minutes of their final group match against eventual champions, the Netherlands.
1990 World Cup
Bonner missed the opening qualifying game for the 1990 FIFA World Cup away to Northern Ireland due to a back injury. He played in the remaining seven fixtures, with the only goals being conceded throughout the qualifying campaign coming in a 0–2 loss in Spain. Indeed, only an excellent performance by Bonner in that game saved Ireland from a heavier defeat. Ireland went on to beat Spain 1–0 in the return fixture at Lansdowne Road, and in November 1989 clinched qualification in the final fixture with a 2–0 win away over Malta.