Delaney was raised in Goodwick, Pembrokeshire by his parents Mike and Angelina. He is of Italian descent, with his maternal grandparents having moved to Wales after World War II. He attended Ysgol Bro Gwaun. He is a fluent Welsh speaker.
Club career
As a youngster, Delaney played in the youth system at Manchester United but was released after he was deemed too small. After playing for local amateur side Goodwick United, Delaney joined League of Wales side Carmarthen Town in 1996, later becoming club captain at 20 years of age. He was spotted by Cardiff City managerFrank Burrows and joined the club on 1 June 1998 on a free transfer. He made 40 appearances in all competitions for Cardiff, scoring once in the FA Cup against Chester City on 14 November 1998, between his purchase and his sale to Aston Villa eight months later on 9 March 1999 for £500,000. Delaney had been travelling to an away match with Cardiff against Brighton & Hove Albion when he was informed of the transfer by manager Frank Burrows on their arrival.
Aston Villa
The day after his transfer was completed, Delaney's father drove him to Birmingham and he traveled with the first-team for their match against Derby County. One month later, Delaney was handed his Premier League debut by manager John Gregory, replacing Steve Stone in the final ten minutes of a 3–1 victory over Nottingham Forest on 24 April 1999. He made just one further appearance for the club during the final matches of the 1998–99 season, during a 1–0 defeat to Arsenal. After a full pre-season with Villa, Gregory promoted Delaney to first choice right-back ahead of Steve Watson at the start of the following season. Delaney credits Gregory with improving his performances during his early career with Villa, Gregory singling out Delaney during his seventh appearance for the side, describing him as "playing like a tart" during the half-time team talk. Delaney went on to score the only goal of the game in the second half of the match as his side defeated Watford 1–0. During his first season at Villa Park, the club finished in sixth place in the league, reached the semi-final of the League Cup and the final of the FA Cup, Delaney playing the full match as Villa lost 1–0 to Chelsea. He made 193 first appearances for Aston Villa in all competitions, with two goals coming against Watford on 24 August 1999 and Everton on 26 December 2005. He has also gained 36 international caps with the Wales national team. Delaney's Aston Villa career was tempered with knee injuries, which he attributes to his willingness to fly into tackles as a youngster hoping to impress. Delaney traveled to see noted American knee specialist Dr. Richard Steadman in an attempt to end the injuries, but was informed by the surgeon that it was unlikely that Delaney would return to playing football following extensive surgery. Delaney was out of contract at Aston Villa in summer 2007 and was hoping to impress Martin O'Neill enough to win a new contract. However, on 15 August 2007, he announced his retirement from football due to the above injury problems. On 5 September 2007, Delaney stated he is hoping to go into coaching, and in December 2007, Delaney rejoined Aston Villa as a youth coach.
