Derek George Riordan (born 16 January 1983) is a Scottish professional association football player who plays for Scottish Premier League club Hibernian. Riordan started his career with Hibernian, where he established himself as one of the top young players in the Scottish game. He won both young player of the year awards in 2005 and represented the Scotland national football team once. He signed for Celtic in 2006, but he failed to hold down a regular place in their first team. Riordan returned to Hibernian in 2008.
Hibernian
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.