Kevin Kilbane

Kevin Daniel Kilbane (born 1 February 1977) is a former professional English footballer who played as a left winger or full back.

Kilbane won 110 caps for the Republic of Ireland national team, fourth behind only Robbie Keane, Shay Given and John O'Shea as the most capped Irish player of all time.

Kilbane played for several English clubs, including Everton, West Bromwich Albion, Sunderland, Wigan Athletic, Huddersfield Town and Derby County (the last two on loan from Hull City) and Coventry City.

Towards the end of his career, Kilbane concentrated on forging a media career.

He now works as an analyst for Virgin Media Television (Ireland), BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC Match of the Day, Football Focus, Final Score, Ireland's Newstalk Radio Off The Ball football show and most recently for Canada's The Sports Network (TSN) and their coverage of FIFA World Cup 2022.

Born in Preston, Lancashire, Kilbane made his professional debut at his hometown club, Preston North End, after making his way through the youth system at Deepdale.

Kilbane was Albion's first £1 million player, breaking a club transfer record which had stood since 1979.

It was not long before his performances began to attract attention from other clubs, and he was sold to West Bromwich Albion for a fee of £1 million in 1997.

Kilbane is an Irish citizen since birth, as both his parents are Irish, and he made his international debut against Iceland on 6 September 1997.

In December 1999, Peter Reid's Sunderland paid £2.5 million for the left winger, making him the third most expensive club signing at the time.

His impact was immediate; coming off the bench on his debut against Southampton, Kilbane crossed for Kevin Phillips to score the match winner.

However, this was to be Sunderland's last win until March 2000, a loss in form which came to be known as "The Curse of Kilbane".

In spite of his best efforts on the pitch, he soon became a target for the Black Cats fans to vent their frustrations, as the team's drop in form under Peter Reid continued and the team were relegated from the Premiership.

In the summer of 2002, he gave the travelling Sunderland fans a two-fingered salute on a pre-season tour of France.

His days at the Stadium of Light seemed numbered.

He was chosen as part of Mick McCarthy's squad for the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Japan and South Korea.

The team did relatively well at the tournament, progressing to the knockout stage.

On the last day of the transfer window at the start of the 2003–04 season, Kilbane moved to Everton for just under £1 million, where he was reunited with David Moyes.

The Goodison Park fans would appreciate his commitment and re-invigorate Kilbane as a player.

In return, he displayed great versatility which resulted in him being deployed right across the midfield, at left back or even as a support striker, as well has his preferred left-wing position.

This was his first goal at club level since October 2004.

He then scored his second goal for Wigan with a looping header over Robert Green's head from Ryan Taylor's cross as Wigan went on to beat West Ham 1–0.

Kilbane played most of his second season in the unfamiliar left back role, but still managed to win Wiganer.net's Player of The Season Award.

On 26 August 2006, during his last game for Everton against Tottenham Hotspur, he was sent off by referee Mark Halsey for two bookable offences.

On 31 August 2006, Kilbane signed a three-year deal with Wigan Athletic for an estimated fee of £2 million.

On 15 April 2007, he scored his first goal for Wigan Athletic with a powerful header in the 3–3 draw against Tottenham Hotspur.

With limited first team opportunities at Wigan due to the emergence of Maynor Figueroa and with his contract set to expire in the summer, Kilbane transferred to Hull City on 15 January 2009 for an undisclosed fee believed to be in the region of £500,000, signing a two-and-a-half-year deal with the Yorkshire club.

He scored his first goal for the club against Burnley on 10 April 2010.

On 1 January 2011, as the transfer window reopened, Kilbane joined Football League One side Huddersfield Town on loan until the end of the season, mainly as a replacement for the injured Damien Johnson.

He made his debut the same day in the 2–2 draw against Carlisle United at Brunton Park.

He scored his first goal for the club in the 4–2 win over Walsall at the Bescot Stadium on 15 January.

After signing for Huddersfield, he helped the team to a club record 26 league games unbeaten, before their eventual 3–0 defeat in the playoff final to Peterborough.

On 2 August 2011, Kilbane joined Derby County on a six-month loan deal from Hull.

Kilbane played 10 times for Derby, scoring one goal in a 3–0 win against Doncaster Rovers on 20 August.

However, Kilbane's loan was cut short on 29 November, due to a back injury.

On 2 July 2012, Kilbane joined Coventry City on an initial one-year deal.

On his debut against Dagenham & Redbridge in the League Cup on 14 August, he scored a late winner from the penalty spot.

On 16 August, Kilbane was named captain for the 2012–13 season.

He made his final professional appearance as a substitute in a 2–1 defeat at Brentford on 24 October, before announcing his immediate retirement on 8 December.

While still a youth player at Preston, Kilbane was called up to the England u-18 squad, but declined as he had always wished to represent Ireland.