| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Kevin Daniel Kilbane[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 1 February 1977 | ||
| Place of birth | Preston, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||
| Playing position | Left back, Left winger | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Hull City | ||
| Number | 21 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Preston North End | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1995–1997 | Preston North End | 48 | (3) |
| 1997–1999 | West Bromwich Albion | 106 | (15) |
| 1999–2003 | Sunderland | 113 | (8) |
| 2003–2006 | Everton | 104 | (4) |
| 2006–2009 | Wigan Athletic | 76 | (2) |
| 2009– | Hull City | 51 | (2) |
| 2011 | → Huddersfield Town (loan) | 24 | (2) |
| 2011 | → Derby County (loan) | 9 | (1) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 1996–1997 | Republic of Ireland U21 | 9 | (1) |
| 1997–2011 | Republic of Ireland | 110 | (8) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22:03, 2 November 2011 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). |
|||
Kevin Daniel Kilbane ( /kɪlˈbæn/; born 1 February 1977) is an English-born Irish association footballer who plays as a left back or left winger for Hull City.
Despite being born in England, he played for the Republic of Ireland national football team through Irish parentage. With 110 caps, he is a member of the FIFA Century Club and has the third highest number of caps for the Irish national team after Shay Given and Robbie Keane.[2] He competed in the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Japan and South Korea, where his team progressed to the knockout stage, and helped Ireland qualify for UEFA Euro 2012. Irish supporters regard him as "Zinedine Kilbane", a reference to French playmaker Zinedine Zidane.
Kilbane has played for several English clubs, including Everton, West Bromwich Albion, Sunderland, Wigan Athletic, Huddersfield Town & Derby County (the latter two on loan from Hull City).
Since 2010, Kilbane has worked as a pundit for RTÉ Sport.
Contents |
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. 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 was Albion's first £1 million player, breaking a club transfer record which had stood since 1979.
This heralded in a bright new era for Kilbane, as he quickly became a fan favourite at The Hawthorns and at the same time broke into the Irish international setup.
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 quite literally 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".[3]
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.
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. On 26 August 2006, during his last game for Everton, 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.[4] On 15 April 2007, he scored his first goal for Wigan Athletic with a powerful header in the 3–3 draw against Tottenham Hotspur.[5] 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.[6] 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.[7]
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,[8] signing a two-and-a-half-year deal with the Yorkshire club.[9] He scored his first goal for the club against Burnley on 10 April 2010.[10] Recently though, he has been a bit part player and has been linked with a move to Huddersfield.
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.[11] 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 2011.[12] 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.[13] Kilbane played 10 times for Derby, scoring one goal in a 3–0 win against Doncaster Rovers on 20 August 2011,[14] however Kilbane's loan was cut short on 29 November 2011 due to a back injury.[15]
He is known by the Irish supporters as "Zinedine Kilbane", a reference to French playmaker Zinedine Zidane. At one point there were t-shirts with this printed on it for sale outside Lansdowne Road after international matches.
Kilbane made his international debut against Iceland on 6 September 1997.[16] 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. They lost to Spain in a penalty shootout when Iker Casillas saved Kilbane and David Connolly's penalties.
Kilbane scored his first international goal in nearly four years with a magnificent strike against the Czech Republic on 11 October 2006.
Kilbane won his 100th cap against Montenegro on 14 November 2009. As of 4 June 2011, Kilbane played his 66th consecutive competitive international game (a run stretching back to 1999); only England's Billy Wright has achieved a longer unbroken run in competitive international football.[17] Kilbane scored his 8th international goal on 7 September 2010 against Andorra, the first competitive goal for the Republic of Ireland at the new Aviva Stadium.[18] Kilbane was only four games away from equaling Billy Wright's record of 70 consecutive competitive international starts. However this incredible run ended after he was not selected for Ireland's crunch UEFA Euro 2012 qualification tie against Slovakia due to a back injury.
Kilbane obtained a degree in Professional Sports Writing and Broadcasting at Staffordshire University.[19] Kilbane was enlisted by RTÉ Sport for their squad of pundits ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.[20][21][22]
| Season | Club | Division | League | FA Cup | League Cup | FL Trophy | Play-offs | Europe | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| 1994–95 | Preston | Division 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 1995–96 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
| 1996–97 | Division 2 | 36 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 2 | |
| Preston Total | 48 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 55 | 3 | ||
| 1997–98 | West Brom | Division 1 | 43 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 48 | 5 |
| 1998–99 | 44 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 47 | 6 | ||
| 1999-00 | 19 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 7 | ||
| West Brom Total | 106 | 15 | 4 | 1 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 120 | 18 | ||
| 1999-00 | Sunderland | Premier League | 20 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 1 |
| 2000–01 | 30 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 5 | ||
| 2001–02 | 28 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 2 | ||
| 2002–03 | 30 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 1 | ||
| 2003–04 | Division 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | |
| Sunderland Total | 113 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 124 | 9 | ||
| 2003–04 | Everton | Premier League | 30 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 4 |
| 2004–05 | 38 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 11 | ||
| 2005–06 | 34 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 43 | 0 | ||
| 2006–07 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| Everton Total | 104 | 11 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 121 | 15 | ||
| 2006–07 | Wigan Athletic | Premier League | 31 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 1 |
| 2007–08 | 35 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 1 | ||
| 2008–09 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | ||
| Wigan Total | 76 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 84 | 2 | ||
| 2008–09 | Hull City | Premier League | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 |
| 2009–10 | 21 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 1 | ||
| 2010–11 | Championship | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 1 | |
| 2011–12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Hull City Total | 51 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 55 | 2 | ||
| 2010–11 | Huddersfield Town (Loan) | League One | 24 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 3 |
| Huddersfield Town Total | 24 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 3 | ||
| 2011-12 | Derby County (Loan) | Championship | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1 |
| Derby County Total | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1 | ||
| Total | 531 | 44 | 26 | 4 | 32 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 600 | 53 | ||
22:03, 2 November 2011 (UTC).
| Republic of Ireland national team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 1997 | 1 | 0 |
| 1998 | 2 | 0 |
| 1999 | 7 | 0 |
| 2000 | 10 | 1 |
| 2001 | 10 | 2 |
| 2002 | 10 | 0 |
| 2003 | 11 | 1 |
| 2004 | 8 | 0 |
| 2005 | 9 | 1 |
| 2006 | 7 | 1 |
| 2007 | 11 | 1 |
| 2008 | 6 | 0 |
| 2009 | 10 | 0 |
| 2010 | 6 | 1 |
| 2011 | 2 | 0 |
| Total | 110 | 8 |
|
|||||
|
|
|||||||
|
|||||