Derek Riordan

Club career Hibernian Born in Edinburgh and raised in the city's Pilton area, He scored four goals in three appearances for the Fife club, including a hat-trick in a 7–5 win away to Brechin City. Cowdenbeath wanted to extend the loan to the end of the 2002–03 season, but he returned to Hibernian at the end of January.

Riordan was given an extended opportunity in the Hibs first team towards the end of the 2002–03 season. He became a first team regular the following season. This earned him recognition in the form of the PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year and SFWA Young Player of the Year awards in 2005, and selections for the Scotland national team later that year. A £500,000 fee was agreed with Cardiff City in August 2005, but Riordan rejected the move. During the January 2006 transfer window, Rangers made a £400,000 bid for Riordan that was rejected by Hibs.

Celtic Riordan signed for Celtic in a £170,000 deal in June 2006. Riordan made his full debut for Celtic in a Scottish League Cup tie against St Mirren, as Gordon Strachan fielded a team containing many players who were not first team regulars. He had difficulty obtaining a regular place in the Celtic team; he made only 24 league appearances in two seasons with the club.

Riordan publicly aired his disappointment at not being given more opportunities in the Celtic first team in April 2008, and he subsequently trained with the reserve team. Hibernian made another loan offer to Celtic for Riordan in August 2008, but this was also rejected by Celtic.

Return to Hibernian Riordan returned to Hibernian on the final day of the 2008 summer transfer window for an "undisclosed" fee believed to be around £400,000. Riordan was given the number 10 shirt for the 2009–10 season; he was able to do this as Nish had taken number 9 after Steven Fletcher left the club to join Burnley in the summer of 2009. Riordan made his second debut for Hibernian on 13 September 2008, when he came on as a 61st-minute substitute for Joe Keenan against Dundee United. In his second appearance, he scored the only goal of the match against Hamilton Academical. Riordan ended the 2008–09 season as Hibs' top goalscorer with 12 goals. Riordan scored his 100th goal in senior football later that season; he brought up the milestone with a trademark free kick against Kilmarnock that gave Hibs a 1–0 win. Riordan had been omitted from Craig Levein's first Scotland squad, but Hibs manager John Hughes commented that Riordan had "worked very hard" in trying to win an international recall. His consistent goalscoring in the 2008–09 and 2009–10 seasons came about despite often playing in a wide midfield role. Soon afterwards, Riordan declared that he wanted to agree a new contract with the club. He was however also linked with a £500,000 move to Azerbaijan Premier League club Gabala, who at the time where managed by Tony Adams. After the sale of Anthony Stokes to Celtic, Hughes started using Riordan as a central striker.

After Hughes was replaced by Colin Calderwood as Hibs manager in October 2010, the new manager gave Riordan the team captaincy. In his second match as captain, the first Edinburgh derby of the season, Riordan was sent off for a reckless lunge on Rudi Skácel in the dying minutes of a 2–0 loss. He registered his 100th goal for Hibs in all competitions during a 2–1 defeat at Kilmarnock in December. Riordan was the first player to achieve this milestone since Arthur Duncan thirty years ago. A goal against Hamilton in March 2011 meant that Riordan became the third highest goalscorer in the Scottish Premier League era, behind only the prolific Old Firm goalscorers Kris Boyd and Henrik Larsson.

In April 2011, the Daily Express reported that Riordan would leave Hibernian when his contract expired at the end of the 2010–11 season.

Shaanxi Baorong Chanba Riordan signed a two-year contract with Chinese Super League club Shaanxi Baorong Chanba in July 2011. On 10 July 2011, Riordan made his debut for Shaanxi Baorong Chanba as a substitute coming on for Fabio Firmani in the 76th minute as they lost 1–0 to Liaoning Whowin, and made his start in a 1–1 draw against Shenzhen Ruby on 14 July. His first goal came when he scored against Chengdu Blades in a 3–1 win on 21 August. Riordan decided to leave the club and his contract was terminated by mutual consent in November 2011.

St Johnstone Sky Sports reported that clubs in Italy and Turkey were interested in signing Riordan in January. Riordan trained with Kilmarnock and Blackpool in January, and St Johnstone in March. On 30 March, Riordan signed for St Johnstone until the end of the 2011–12 season. On 21 April 2012, Riordan made his first start in a 2–0 defeat against Dundee United and played 90 minutes in a 5–1 loss against Motherwell on 28 April 2012. The Courier newspaper reported on 15 May that his contract with St Johnstone would not be extended.

Riordan agreed in July 2012 to go on trial with an unnamed club in La Liga. Later in July, Riordan trained with League One club Milton Keynes Dons. In August, Ross County made contact with his agent.

Bristol Rovers On 27 September 2012, Riordan signed for League Two club Bristol Rovers on a three-month deal. He made his debut on 29 September, in a 2–1 victory against local rivals Exeter City. He made his home debut on 3 October in a 1–0 defeat to Cheltenham Town. Riordan was released at the end of his contract, having made 12 appearances without scoring a goal.

Later career

Riordan trained with Scottish Championship club Alloa Athletic in November 2013. On 14 February 2014, Alloa signed Riordan on a deal until the end of the season. He made only two substitute appearances in a spell that was affected by an ankle injury.

Riordan played as a trialist for Brechin City in October 2014. He was involved in three matches for Brechin, the maximum permitted for a trialist, after which Riordan turned down a contract offer.

He trained with Livingston for a spell, which was signed in early March. Riordan left East Fife at the end of the 2014–15 season. He trained with Hibernian in September 2015, with manager Alan Stubbs commenting that Riordan had been provided with their facilities due to his previous service for the club.

On 29 January 2016, Riordan signed for League Two club York City on a contract until the end of the 2015–16 season. He was released by York when his contract expired.

Riordan signed a short-term contract with Scottish League Two club Edinburgh City on 27 February 2017. He scored on his debut on 11 March 2017, with a 75th-minute goal in a 2–1 away win over Forfar Athletic. having scored three goals in seven appearances.

International career Riordan was capped five times by the Scotland national under-19 team (2001), five times by the under-21 team (2004 to 2005) and three times by the senior team (2005 to 2009).

Post-football career In January 2020, Riordan took over popular Easter Road bar The Four in Hand, renaming it 'R10rdan's Sports Bar' (styled after the Number 10 shirt number that he had worn at Hibernian).

Career statistics Club

International

Honours Celtic Scottish Premier League: 2006–07,

Individual SFWA Young Player of the Year: 2004–05 PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year: 2004–05 Scottish Premier League Player of the Month: September 2009 Scottish Premier League Young Player of the Month: April 2004, September 2004, November 2004, December 2004, January 2005, May 2005