Chris Rutherford (born 1955) is an English former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played for

League of Ireland The League of Ireland ( ga, Sraith na hÉireann), together with the Football Association of Ireland, is one of the two main governing bodies responsible for organising association football in the Republic of Ireland. The term was originally us ...

club

Sligo Rovers Sligo Rovers Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Ruagairí Shligigh) is an Irish professional football club playing in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland. The club is based in Sligo in the west of Ireland. The club was founded in 1928 ...

Playing career

Liverpool-born Rutherford was given a free transfer from

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...

at 20 years old, after failing to break into the first team. He then accepted the offer of a

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...

contract from

and quickly became an important player at The Showgrounds. During his second season with the

Border Region The Border Region (coded IE041) is a NUTS Level III statistical region of Ireland. The name of the region refers to its location along the Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border. It is not a cross-border region. It comprises the Irish coun ...

club he scored in a decisive win over

Shamrock Rovers Shamrock Rovers Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Ruagairí na Seamróige) is an Irish association football club based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club's senior team competes in the League of Ireland Premier Division and it is the most su ...

which secured the

1976–77 League of Ireland Statistics of League of Ireland The League of Ireland ( ga, Sraith na hÉireann), together with the Football Association of Ireland, is one of the two main governing bodies responsible for organising association football in the Republic of Ir ...

title. He also helped the club win the 1982–83

FAI Cup The Football Association of Ireland Senior Challenge Cup (FAI Cup), known as the Extra.ie FAI Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland (as well as Derry ...

, although he was taken off injured 20 minutes into the final win over

Bohemians Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...

. A broken leg sustained in a 1984–85

League of Ireland Cup The League of Ireland Cup ( ga, Corn Sraithe na hÉireann), also referred to in Ireland as the 'League Cup', is an annual knockout competition in men's football in the Republic of Ireland. It is contested by League of Ireland clubs and invited c ...

tie against

Galway United Galway United Football Club (Irish language, Irish: ''Cumann Peile Ghaillimh Aontaithe'') is an List of association football clubs in the Republic of Ireland, Irish association football club based in Galway. They play in the League of Ireland Fi ...

ended Rutherford's playing career at the age of 28. He made 281 appearances for Sligo Rovers and was inducted into the club's Hall of Fame in November 2019.

Coaching career

Rutherford served as

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

of Strand Celtic in the Sligo/Leitrim junior league and then of

Finn Harps Finn Harps Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Chláirsigh na Finne) are an Irish football club that play in the First Division of the League of Ireland, as of 2023. The club was founded in 1954 and elected to the league in 1969. However, it was te ...

in the

League of Ireland First Division The League of Ireland First Division ( ga, Céad Roinn Sraith na hÉireann), also known as the SSE Airtricity League First Division, is the second level division in both the League of Ireland and the Republic of Ireland football league system. Th ...

. He returned to Sligo Rovers and was assistant to several different managers. While serving as

caretaker manager In association footballing terms, a caretaker manager or interim manager is somebody who takes temporary charge of the management of a football team, usually when the regular Manager (association football), manager is dismissed or leaves for a ...

in 1994, he oversaw Sligo Rovers' first ever win in European competition, a 1–0 home win over

Floriana Floriana ( mt, Il-Furjana or ''Il-Floriana''), also known by its title Borgo Vilhena, is a fortified town in the South Eastern Region area of Malta, just outside the capital city Valletta. It has a population of 2,205 as of March 2014. Floriana i ...

in the

1994–95 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup The 1994–95 season of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was won by Real Zaragoza in the final against defending champions Arsenal, the Spanish club winning thanks to a last-minute goal from midfielder Nayim with a shot from 40 yards. Moldova joined the ...

. He left Sligo Rovers in 1999 on the appointment of

Jim McInally James Edward McInally (born 19 February 1964) is a Scottish football manager and former player. He played for Dundee United for 10 seasons in which he won the 1993–94 Scottish Cup and played in the 1987 UEFA Cup Final. At United he was also ...

player-manager A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...

Personal life

During and after his football career, Rutherford worked as a glazier for Sligo Glass. After settling in Sligo he married Sligonian woman Bernadette Verdon and converted to

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

. They have two daughters, Nina and Gemma, as well as a son, Stuart. The footballer

Emma Hansberry Emma Hansberry (born 26 May 1994) is an Irish footballer and coach who plays for Women's National League (WNL) club Sligo Rovers. She previously represented Castlebar Celtic and Wexford Youths. An attacking midfielder, she has also represente ...

is his niece.

Honours

;Sligo Rovers *

(1): 1976–77 *

(1): 1982–83

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rutherford, Chris Living people 1955 births Footballers from Liverpool English men's footballers Men's association football central defenders League of Ireland players Cardiff City F.C. players Sligo Rovers F.C. players Finn Harps F.C. managers Converts to Roman Catholicism from Anglicanism English expatriate men's footballers English expatriate sportspeople in Ireland Expatriate men's association footballers in the Republic of Ireland Association football coaches English football managers League of Ireland managers Expatriate association football managers in the Republic of Ireland