Kevin Daniel Kilbane (; born 1 February 1977) is a 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 ...

who played as a

left winger A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

or full back. Kilbane won 110 caps for the Republic of Ireland national team, fourth behind only

Robbie Keane Robert David Keane (born 8 July 1980) is an Irish professional football coach and former player who played as a striker. Keane served as captain of the Republic of Ireland from March 2006 until his international retirement in August 2016. Keane ...

Shay Given Séamus John James Given (born 20 April 1976) is an Irish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. With 134 caps, he is the second-highest capped Republic of Ireland player. Given started his career at Celtic, however he nev ...

and

John O'Shea John Francis O'Shea (; born 30 April 1981) is an Irish professional football coach and former player. He was known for his versatility in playing several positions on either side of the pitch or the centre. Born in Waterford, O'Shea joined ...

as the most capped Irish player of all time. Kilbane played for several English clubs, including Everton,

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional Association football, football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English foo ...

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 193 ...

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. ...

and

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 1884 ...

(the last two on loan from

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving from Boothferry Park in 2002. The club's ...

) and

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed the ...

. Towards the end of his career Kilbane concentrated on forging a media career. He now works as an analyst for

Virgin Media Television (Ireland) Virgin Media Television Ltd (formerly known as TV3 Television Network Ltd; previously traded as the TV3 Group until August 2018) is a commercial television company in Ireland, based in Dublin. Launched in 1998 as TV3 Television Network, the ...

, BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC ''

Match of the Day ''Match of the Day'' (abbreviated to ''MOTD'') is a football highlights programme, typically broadcast on BBC One on Saturday nights, during the Premier League season. The show's current presenter is former England international striker Gary ...

'', ''

Football Focus ''Football Focus'' is a BBC television magazine programme launched in 1974 covering football, normally broadcast live on BBC One on Saturday lunchtimes during the football season. From the 2009–10 season to the 2020–21 season Football Focus ...

'',

Final Score ''Final Score'' is a BBC Television football news and results programme produced by BBC Sport. The programme is broadcast on late Saturday afternoons in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, usually on BBC One. BBC Northern Ireland opts away du ...

, Ireland's ''

Newstalk Newstalk (formerly NewsTalk 106) is a national independent radio station in Ireland. It is operated by News 106 Limited, a subsidiary of Bauer Media Audio Ireland, and broadcasts under a sound broadcasting contract with the Broadcasting Aut ...

'' Radio Off The Ball Football Show and most recently for Canada's

The Sports Network (TSN) The Sports Network (TSN) is a Canadian English language sports specialty channel established by the Labatt Brewing Company in 1984 as part of the first group of Canadian specialty cable channels. Since 2001, it has been majority-owned by commu ...

and their coverage of FIFA World Cup 2022.

Club career

Early career

Born in

Preston Preston is a place name, surname and given name that may refer to: Places England *Preston, Lancashire, an urban settlement **The City of Preston, Lancashire, a borough and non-metropolitan district which contains the settlement **County Boro ...

, Lancashire, Kilbane made his professional debut at his hometown club,

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syst ...

, 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

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.

Sunderland

In December 1999,

Peter Reid Peter Reid (born 20 June 1956) is an English football manager, pundit and former player. A defensive midfielder in his playing days, Reid enjoyed a long and successful career. He built his reputation as one of England's brightest midfield ta ...

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 Southampton () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire, S ...

, 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 The Stadium of Light is an all-seater football stadium in Sunderland, England, and the eighth and current home to Sunderland A.F.C. With space for 49,000 spectators, the Stadium of Light is the ninth largest football stadium in Engla ...

seemed numbered.

Everton

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 David William Moyes ( ; born 25 April 1963) is a Scottish professional football coach and former player. He is currently the manager of Premier League club West Ham United. He was previously the manager of Preston North End, Everton, Manches ...

. The

Goodison Park Goodison Park is a football stadium in the Walton area of Liverpool, England. It has been the home stadium of Premier League club Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892. Located in a residential area 2 miles (3 km) north of Liverpo ...

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 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 ...

, he was sent off by referee Mark Halsey for two bookable offences.

Wigan Athletic

On 31 August 2006, Kilbane signed a three-year deal with

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

. 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.

Hull City

With limited first team opportunities at Wigan due to the emergence of

Maynor Figueroa Maynor Alexis Figueroa Róchez (born 2 May 1983) is a Honduran professional footballer who plays as a centre-back. He is best known for his time at Wigan Athletic, where he made 179 Premier League appearances and won the 2013 FA Cup. Figueroa ...

and with his contract set to expire in the summer, Kilbane transferred to

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.

Huddersfield Town (loan)

On 1 January 2011, as the transfer window reopened, Kilbane joined

Football League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Lea ...

side

on loan until the end of the season, mainly as a replacement for the injured

Damien Johnson Damien Michael Johnson (born 18 November 1978) is a Northern Irish football coach and former international player. Sincce 2019 he has been first team technical coach & head of player development at Blackburn Rovers. He began his career with ...

. He made his debut the same day in the 2–2 draw against

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They have played their home games at Brunton Park ...

Brunton Park Brunton Park is a football stadium and the home of Carlisle United. It is situated in the city of Carlisle and has a certified capacity of 17,949. The ground opened in 1909. Brunton Park's grandstand burned down in 1953 and the stadium floode ...

. He scored his first goal for the club in the 4–2 win over

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east of Wolverhampton and from Lichfield. Walsall is t ...

at the

Bescot Stadium Bescot Stadium, also known as the Poundland Bescot Stadium for sponsorship purposes, is a football stadium in Walsall, England, and the current home ground of Walsall Football Club. It was built in 1989–90, by GMI Construction, with a report ...

on 15 January 2011. 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.

Derby County (loan)

On 2 August 2011, Kilbane joined

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 Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team compete in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club play their home games at T ...

on 20 August 2011, however Kilbane's loan was cut short on 29 November 2011 due to a back injury.

Coventry City

On 2 July 2012 Kilbane joined

on an initial one-year deal. On his debut against Dagenham & Redbridge in the League Cup on 14 August 2012, he scored a late winner from the penalty spot. On 16 August 2012, Kilbane was named captain for the 2012–13 Coventry City's season. He made his final professional appearance as a substitute in a 2–1 defeat at

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings w ...

on 24 October 2012 before announcing his immediate retirement on 8 December 2012.

International career

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. Kilbane is an Irish citizen since birth, as both his parents are Irish,Section 7(1) of the ''Irish Nationality and Citizenship Acts 1956 to 2004''. and he made his international debut against

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its ...

on 6 September 1997. He was chosen as part of

Mick McCarthy Michael Joseph McCarthy (born 7 February 1959) is a professional football manager, pundit, and former player. He was last in charge of EFL Championship club Cardiff City. McCarthy began his playing career at Barnsley in 1977, and he later ha ...

's squad for the

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial football world championship for men's national teams organized by FIFA. It was held from 31 May to 30 June 2002 at sites in South Korea ...

in Japan and

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

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

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

in a penalty shootout when

Iker Casillas Iker Casillas Fernández (; born 20 May 1981) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper and currently works as a football commentator. Popularly dubbed "''San Iker''" ("Saint Iker") for his ability to produce specta ...

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 The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. Th ...

on 11 October 2006. He scored his 8th international goal on 7 September 2010 against

Andorra , image_flag = Flag of Andorra.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Andorra.svg , symbol_type = Coat of arms , national_motto = la, Virtus Unita Fortior, label=none ( Latin)"United virtue is str ...

, the first competitive goal for the Republic of Ireland at the new

Aviva Stadium Aviva Stadium (also known as Lansdowne Road) is a sports stadium located in Dublin, Ireland, with a capacity for 51,700 spectators (all seated). It is built on the site of the former Lansdowne Road Stadium, which was demolished in 2007, and re ...

. Kilbane won his 100th cap against

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = ...

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 England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

's Billy Wright has achieved a longer unbroken run in competitive international football. Kilbane was only four games away from equalling Wright's record of 70 consecutive competitive international starts. However this run ended after he was not selected for Ireland's crunch

UEFA Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th European Championship for men's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament, held between 8 June and 1 ...

qualification tie against

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the ...

due to a back operation. He never played for Ireland again, and announced his retirement as a footballer in December 2012.

Media career

Kilbane obtained a degree in Professional Sports Writing and Broadcasting at

Staffordshire University , mottoeng = Dare to know , type = Public , endowment = £70 million (2015) , administrative_staff = 1,375 , chancellor = Francis Fitzherbert, 15th Baron Stafford , vice_chancellor = Professor Martin Jones , ...

. Kilbane was enlisted by

RTÉ Sport RTÉ Sport is a department of Irish public broadcaster RTÉ. The department provides sporting coverage through a number of platforms including RTÉ Radio, RTÉ Television, RTÉ.ie, RTÉ Player Sport and RTÉ Mobile. RTÉ holds the televisi ...

for their squad of pundits ahead of the

2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

in South Africa. From 2012 he has been a studio analyst for

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...

and

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...

coverage on TV3 and 3e in Ireland, and is also a regular on

Setanta Sports Setanta Sports is a sports television company based in Dublin, Ireland broadcasting throughout select Eurasian. The company was formed in 1990 to facilitate the broadcasting of Irish sporting events to international audiences. The company previo ...

. On 7 April 2013, he made his first appearance as a studio pundit on the BBC One's

Match of the Day 2 ''Match of the Day 2'' is a Premier League football highlights programme. It is a companion show to Match of the Day, usually broadcast on BBC One on Sunday evenings, thus facilitating coverage of the respective week's PL matches that were playe ...

. On 9 May 2013, he made his first appearance on the Guardian Football Weekly Extra podcast. In 2014 Kilbane was part of the commentary team for the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

at the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting rig ...

in Brazil. Since August 2016, Kilbane has had the role of co-presenter on the Off the Ball show on

radio in Ireland. Kilbane also provides commentary for the station's Premier League coverage. In 2020, Kilbane competed in the twelfth series of ''

Dancing on Ice ''Dancing on Ice'' is a British television series presented by Phillip Schofield alongside Holly Willoughby from 2006 to 2011, who then returned in 2018, and Christine Bleakley from 2012 to 2014. The series features celebrities and their pr ...

'', alongside partner

Brianne Delcourt Professional skaters from the British television show ''Dancing on Ice'' are figure skaters who appear with celebrities in front of a panel of judges. Most of the professionals on the series are former ice dancers or pair skaters. Competit ...

. Kilbane is married to ''

'' professional figure skater

they married in September 2020 in Haliburton, Ontario. They have a daughter Gracie, and Brianne is pregnant with their child and due to give birth in early 2021. Kilbane & Delcourt became engaged in February 2020 after being partners in the twelfth series of the show. After relocating to Canada, Kevin took up a role as professional analyst on

during the COVID-delayed

UEFA Euro 2020 The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2020) or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Euro ...

. He is a patron of the Down's Syndrome Association, and in February 2015 sent a complaint to the FA over allegations that

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium ...

fans had sung a chant mocking the condition.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Preston North End *

Football League Third Division The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following th ...

: 1995–96 Individual * FAI Senior International Player of the Year: 2004

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kilbane, Kevin Republic of Ireland association footballers Republic of Ireland international footballers Republic of Ireland under-21 international footballers Association football midfielders Preston North End F.C. players West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Sunderland A.F.C. players Everton F.C. players Wigan Athletic F.C. players Hull City A.F.C. players Huddersfield Town A.F.C. players Derby County F.C. players Coventry City F.C. players Premier League players English Football League players 2002 FIFA World Cup players English footballers English people of Irish descent 1977 births Living people Association football utility players FIFA Century Club Alumni of Staffordshire University English association football commentators Footballers from Preston, Lancashire Republic of Ireland expatriate association footballers