Alan Kennedy (born 31 August 1954) is an English former professional footballer who played the majority of his career as a left back for
Newcastle United and then
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
. He was a stalwart member of the latter team that won many honours from the late 1970s to the mid-1980s. In all Kennedy was active as a professional in England, Denmark, Belgium and Wales, making over 500 appearances in a career that lasted for 22 years. He also represented England at senior international level.
He is the uncle of the former professional footballer
Tom Kennedy Thomas or Tom Kennedy may refer to:
Politics
*Thomas Kennedy (Scottish judge) (1673–1754), joint Solicitor General for Scotland 1709–14, Lord Advocate 1714, Member of Parliament for Ayr Burghs 1720–21
* Thomas Kennedy, 9th Earl of Cassilis ...
.
Club career
Born in
Sunderland, Kennedy started his professional career at age 18 for Newcastle United. After establishing his place in the side he played there for five years. He was a member of the team that lost the
1974 FA Cup Final
The 1974 FA Cup Final was an association football match between Liverpool and Newcastle United on Saturday, 4 May 1974 at Wembley Stadium, London. It was the final match of the 1973–74 FA Cup, the 93rd season of England's primary cup competiti ...
to Liverpool. In 1978 he was transferred to Liverpool for £330,000, at the time a British record amount for a full back.
Kennedy scored in the
1981 League Cup Final again West Ham, which ended 1–1 and was won by Liverpool in the replay. He scored the equalising goal with 15 minutes left in the game in the
1983 League Cup Final against
Manchester United, a match Liverpool went on to win in extra time. Kennedy was on two other League Cup winning teams with Liverpool, in
1982 (against
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...
) and
1984
Events
January
* January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888.
* January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
(against
Everton).
In the
1981 European Cup Final
The 1981 European Cup Final was an association football match between Liverpool of England and Real Madrid of Spain on 27 May 1981 at the Parc des Princes, Paris, France. It was the final match of the 1980–81 season of Europe's premier cup com ...
against
Real Madrid, Kennedy scored the only goal of the match late in the second half.
The
1984 European Cup Final
The 1984 European Cup Final was an association football match between Liverpool of England and Roma of Italy on 30 May 1984 at the Stadio Olimpico, Rome, Italy. It was the final match of the 1983–84 season of Europe's premier cup competition, ...
between Liverpool and
Roma was tied at 1–1 after extra time, so the winner was determined by penalty kicks. Kennedy scored the decisive penalty (the fifth taken by the team, the fourth that was successful) that clinched the victory for Liverpool.
Kennedy was a regular player on the Liverpool teams that won five league championship titles, in 1978–79, 1979–80, 1981–82, 1982–83 and 1983–84.
International career
He also earned two caps for the
England national team in 1984.
Personal life
In 2019 and 2020, Kennedy featured as a guest substitute player in both seasons of
ITV show
Harry's Heroes, which featured former football manager
Harry Redknapp attempting get a squad of former England international footballers back fit and healthy for a game against Germany legends.
[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11559664/]
Honours
;Newcastle United
*
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
: Runner up
1974
*
Texaco Cup
The Texaco Cup, officially known as the International League Board Competition, was an association football competition started in 1970, involving sides from England, Scotland, and Ireland that had not qualified for European competitions.
It wa ...
:
1974/75
*
League Cup
In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
: Runner up
1976
Events January
* January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force.
* January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea.
* January 11 – The 1976 ...
;Liverpool
*
Football League First Division (5):
1978–79,
1979–80,
1981–82,
1982–83,
1983–84
*
League Cup
In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
(4):
1981
Events January
* January 1
** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union.
** Palau becomes a self-governing territory.
* January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...
,
1982,
1983
The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call.
Events January
* January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...
,
1984
Events
January
* January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888.
* January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
*
Charity Shield (3):
1979
Events
January
* January 1
** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...
,
1980,
1982
*
European Cup (2):
1981
Events January
* January 1
** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union.
** Palau becomes a self-governing territory.
* January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...
,
1984
Events
January
* January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888.
* January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, Alan
1954 births
Footballers from Sunderland
Living people
Association football defenders
English footballers
England international footballers
England under-23 international footballers
Newcastle United F.C. players
Liverpool F.C. players
Sunderland A.F.C. players
Wigan Athletic F.C. players
Hartlepool United F.C. players
Boldklubben 1903 players
K. Beerschot V.A.C. players
Northwich Victoria F.C. players
Wrexham A.F.C. players
Colne Dynamoes F.C. players
Morecambe F.C. players
Kendal Town F.C. players
Radcliffe F.C. players
Barrow A.F.C. players
English Football League players
English expatriate footballers
Expatriate footballers in Denmark
English expatriate sportspeople in Denmark
Expatriate footballers in Belgium
English expatriate sportspeople in Belgium
UEFA Champions League winning players
FA Cup Final players