Kevin Hunt (born 4 July 1975) 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 as a

midfielder 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 ...

Playing career

Hunt started his career with

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...

. He has also played for Gillingham,

Sittingbourne Sittingbourne is an industrial town in Kent, south-east England, from Canterbury and from London, beside the Roman Watling Street, an ancient British trackway used by the Romans and the Anglo-Saxons and next to the Swale, a strip of sea separa ...

Hong Kong Rangers Hong Kong Rangers Football Club (), often abbreviated to Rangers, currently known as Biu Chun Rangers due to sponsorship reasons, is a Hong Kong football club which currently competes in the Hong Kong Premier League. They have won the Hong Kong ...

and in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

. In December 1998, Hunt made his debut for

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 ...

at Turners Cross against

Cork City Cork ( , from , meaning 'marsh') is the second largest city in Ireland and third largest city by population on the island of Ireland. It is located in the south-west of Ireland, in the province of Munster. Following an extension to the city' ...

. Hunt quickly established himself as a dominant force in the

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 ...

, helping to steer a struggling Bohemians side away from relegation. The following season, Bohemians came close to the league title and losing in the

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 ...

Final in a replay to Shelbourne. The following season, 2000–01, Hunt became club captain and led Bohemians through the greatest season in its history. In the early season Bohemians progressed in the

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...

, with impressive results including victories in Scotland against

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

and in Germany against

Kaiserslautern Kaiserslautern (; Palatinate German: ''Lautre'') is a city in southwest Germany, located in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate at the edge of the Palatinate Forest. The historic centre dates to the 9th century. It is from Paris, from Frankfur ...

, before guiding the club to its first league title since 1978. One week later, Hunt led the team out in

Tolka Park Tolka Park ( ga, Páirc na Tulchann) is an Irish football ground located in the north Dublin suburb of Drumcondra, on the northern banks of the River Tolka. It is currently the home ground of League of Ireland club Shelbourne. The stadium fo ...

for the FAI Cup Final, which Bohemian won, capping a historic Double for the club. While the 2001–02 season was disappointing for the champions, Hunt earned a runners up medal in the FAI Cup. Hunt won his second league winners medal as Bohemians, leading the league from start to finish. He was also voted the League's Player of the Year for 2003 at the FAI's annual awards ceremony. Kevin made 282 league appearances for Bohemian and scoring 21 goals. Kevin and his wife Faye were widely regarded as the " Posh and Becks" of Irish football. He still occasionally appears in content on Bohemians.ie and also attends matches.

Retirement

Hunt retired from football on 17 July 2008 due to family circumstances, having made a total of 364 appearances for Bohemians, scoring 22 goals in the process. A testimonial match was held for him at

Dalymount Park Dalymount Park (Irish: ''Páirc Cnocán Uí Dhálaigh'') is a football stadium in Phibsborough on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. It is the home of Bohemian F.C., who have played there since the early 20th century. Affectionately known as D ...

on Sunday 12 October, featuring a Bohemians XI and an Ireland XI. The game ended in a 4–3 victory for the Bohemians XI, who were captained one last time by Kevin Hunt. After retiring from Bohemians he joined Manchester City, working as a scout. In 2013, he was part of a mass exodus of scouts and left Manchester City FC to take up a European Scouting role for Liverpool FC.

Honours

Club

Bohemians *

: 2000–01, 2002–03 *

: 2001

Individual

*League of Ireland Player of the Year: 2003

References

External links

Kevin Hunt Testimonial official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunt, Kevin 1975 births Living people Sportspeople from Chatham, Kent Footballers from Kent English footballers Association football midfielders Queens Park Rangers F.C. players Gillingham F.C. players Hong Kong Rangers FC players Geylang International FC players Bohemian F.C. players Sittingbourne F.C. players Hong Kong First Division League players League of Ireland players Manchester City F.C. non-playing staff Expatriate footballers in Hong Kong English expatriate sportspeople in Hong Kong English expatriate footballers