Noel King (born 13 September 1956) 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 le ...

and the current head

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

of Women's National League club Shelbourne. For 10 years from 2000 until 2010 he was manager of the Republic of Ireland women's national team. He was appointed interim men's national team senior manager on 23 September 2013 following the resignation of

Giovanni Trapattoni Giovanni Trapattoni (; born 17 March 1939), sometimes popularly known as "Trap" or "Il Trap", is an Italian football manager and former player, considered the most successful club coach of Italian football. A former defensive midfielder, as a p ...

.King named Ireland interim manager
Irish Independent, 23 September 2013.

Playing career

King was born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

. During his career he played for

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...

(two spells),

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 ...

(three spells), Home Farm,

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 ...

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; nl, label=also Dutch, Valencijn; pcd, Valincyinnes or ; la, Valentianae) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced a s ...

Derry City Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

, and

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

. He was a substitute on Home Farm's

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 ...

winning side of 1975 as a teenager. He made his European bow the following season in the

1975–76 European Cup Winners' Cup The 1975–76 European Cup Winners' Cup was the 16th season of the European Cup Winners' Cup, a club football tournament organised by UEFA for the winners of its member associations' domestic cup competitions. It was won by Anderlecht of Belgium, w ...

playing in Farm's only 2 European games. King signed for Dundalk in 1977 and played 2 games in the

1977–78 European Cup Winners' Cup The 1977–78 European Cup Winners' Cup was won by Anderlecht in the final against Austria Wien. It was Anderlecht's third consecutive final, the best record in the competition, of which they won two. Qualifying match First round ...

as well as being ever present in that league campaign. The following season he signed for

Playing at right-back, he was sent off on his debut in the President's Cup final defeat to Bohemians at Milltown on 30 August 1978. He played 19 consecutive games and 4 in the

1978–79 European Cup Winners' Cup The 1978–79 season of the European Cup Winners' Cup was won by FC Barcelona in the final in Basel against Fortuna Düsseldorf Düsseldorfer Turn- und Sportverein Fortuna 1895 e.V., commonly known as Fortuna Düsseldorf (), is a German footba ...

while also earning his

Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world an ...

coaching badge. He then went to Home Farm before linking up with Bohemians for two seasons, and then it was back to Dundalk where he played 2 games in the

1982–83 European Cup The 1982–83 season of the European Cup football club tournament was won for the first time by Hamburg, who beat Juventus 1–0 in the final at Athens' Olympic Stadium. It was the first time since 1976 that the trophy did not go to a club from E ...

. His second stint at Milltown saw him link up with Rovers manager Jim McLaughlin, this time as player/coach. His fiery style of play combined with his great coaching abilities won him two League and one FAI Cup medal with the now resurgent Hoops. He made 76 appearances in this second stint including two in the 1984-85 European Cup. The call for a fresh challenge saw King move to French second division club

where he played for the first team and coached their youths side. In November 1985 he left France to become

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 ...

at Derry. He had his contract terminated in November 1987. He then moved to

Waterford United Waterford Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Phort Láirge) formerly Waterford United Football Club is an Irish association football club based in Waterford who play in the League of Ireland First Division. The club was founded and elected to the ...

for the rest of that

1987–88 League of Ireland Premier Division The 1987–88 League of Ireland Premier Division was the third season of the League of Ireland Premier Division. The Premier Division was made up of 12 teams. Overview The Premier Division was contested by 12 teams and Dundalk F.C. won the champio ...

season. He played for the

Republic of Ireland national football team , FIFA Trigramme = IRL , Name = Republic of Ireland , Association = Football Association of Ireland (FAI) , Confederation = UEFA (Europe) , website fai.ie, Coach = Stephen Kenny (foot ...

amateur team that qualified and reached the semi finals of the 1978

UEFA Amateur Cup The UEFA Amateur Cup was a football competition for amateur teams in Europe. All tournaments External linksAll TournamentsHistory

. In January 1977 he played for the
League of Ireland XI The League of Ireland XI, more recently referred to as the ''Airtricity League XI'' for sponsorship reasons, is the representative team of the League of Ireland, the national association football league of the Republic of Ireland. For much of its ...
team against Italian League B which included
Gaetano Scirea Gaetano Scirea (; 25 May 1953 – 3 September 1989) was an Italian professional footballer who is considered one of the greatest defenders of his generation and one of the greatest defenders of all time. He spent most of his career with Juventus ...
.

Management career

Club
In July 1988 King was appointed manager of Shamrock Rovers, The club was in a mess after losing
Glenmalure Park Glenmalure Park, often simply known as Milltown, was a football stadium on the Southside of Dublin city in Ireland. Located in the suburb of Milltown, it was home to Shamrock Rovers from 1926 to 1987, when it was sold to property developers ...
and Noel was quoted "I have the best job I have ever had in football. It's the biggest tradition, the biggest club, in the country. We don't have the size of Derry's support but we're a bigger club". In February 1990 King was awarded undisclosed damages in settlement of his libel action against the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT 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 ex ...
. He was sacked after three years in charge in December 1991 after guiding the club to the 1991 FAI Cup Final. In July 1992 King was appointed manager of
Limerick FC Limerick Football Club ( ga, Club Peile Luimnigh) was an association football club based in Limerick, Ireland who played in the League of Ireland and currently have teams competing in the underage National League of Ireland. The first Limerick ...
but despite a
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 ...
and a top six finish win he left in May 1993. Then he resigned in August but was reappointed in October. In July 1994 he returned as a director and as a player. The following season King played as well as being the club's general manager and later in the season back to manager. In 2001, he replaced
Dermot Keely Dermot Keely (born 8 March 1954) is an Irish former manager and player. He was a schoolteacher by profession. Family Keely's family have played League of Ireland football at various levels. His late father Peter Keely played for Shelbourne., hi ...
who was on medical rest as Shelbourne won the Title. He again worked with Shelbourne's management team in 2002, after coaching in the League of Ireland with
Drogheda United Drogheda United Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Dhroichead Átha Aontaithe) is a semi-professional Irish association football club based in Drogheda, County Louth playing in the League of Ireland Premier Division. They play their home matches ...
. He also managed
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 ...
during their play-off battle with fierce local rivals
Derry City Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...
in 2003. On 31 December 2020, King was appointed manager of the Shelbourne Women's National League team for the
2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...
and
2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...
seasons.

International
King was appointed the manager of the Ireland Women's senior team in 2000. In 2009, the team missed out on qualification to the European Championships, losing in a play-off to Iceland. In 2010 under his guidance, the women's under-17 team finished runners up at the 2010 UEFA Championship and qualified for the
2010 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 ...
. After his success with the Irish women's squads, King was appointed the head coach of the Republic of Ireland under-21 side in July 2010.Noel King appointed Under-21 Head Coach
FAI, 19 July 2010 His first game in charge at
Tallaght Stadium Tallaght Stadium ( ga, Staid Thamhlachta) is an association football stadium in the Republic of Ireland based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club Shamrock Rovers originally announced details of the stadium in July, 1996. The stadium is now ow ...
ended in a record win. He was also part of the
Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...
coaching staff, attending the
1990 World Cup The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second time (the first being M ...
as a team coach. On 23 September 2013, King was named as interim Ireland senior manager following the resignation of
Giovanni Trapattoni Giovanni Trapattoni (; born 17 March 1939), sometimes popularly known as "Trap" or "Il Trap", is an Italian football manager and former player, considered the most successful club coach of Italian football. A former defensive midfielder, as a p ...
. In his first game in charge on 11 October 2013, Ireland lost 3–0 away to
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
in a 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier at the RheinEnergieStadion. In his second and final game in charge on 15 October, Ireland defeated
Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
3–1 at the
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 r ...
. On 7 November 2018, King retired as U21 manager of the Republic of Ireland, taking up the role of Player Identification Manager for the Football Association of Ireland in the process.

Honours

Player
Shamrock Rovers *
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 ...
: 1984–85, 1985–86 *
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 ...
: 1985 *
LFA President's Cup The LFA President's Cup was an association football cup competition featuring League of Ireland clubs affiliated to the Leinster Football Association. It was played for between 1930 and 2002. It was a ''de facto'' national super cup and on twent ...
: 1984–85 Dundalk F.C. *
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 ...
: 1977–78

Manager
Derry City *
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 ...
: 1986–87 *
League of Ireland First Division Shield The League of Ireland First Division Shield was an association football competition featuring teams from the League of Ireland First Division. The inaugural winners were Derry City. It was also the first competition Derry City won after they joi ...
: 1985–86 Limerick F.C. *
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 ...
: 1992/93 Shelbourne women * premier division: 2021 , 2022 *
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 solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay, ...
2022

Sources
* ''The Hoops'' by Paul Doolan and Robert Goggins () * ''The Four-in-a-Row Story'' by Robert Goggins

References
{{DEFAULTSORT:King, Noel 1956 births Living people Association football midfielders Republic of Ireland football managers Republic of Ireland association footballers Shamrock Rovers F.C. players Valenciennes FC players Ligue 2 players Expatriate footballers in France Irish expatriates in France Shamrock Rovers F.C. managers Bohemian F.C. players League of Ireland players League of Ireland managers Derry City F.C. players Derry City F.C. managers Waterford F.C. players Limerick F.C. players Limerick F.C. managers Finn Harps F.C. managers League of Ireland XI players Omagh Town F.C. players NIFL Premiership players Stella Maris F.C. players Republic of Ireland women's national football team managers Women's National League (Ireland) managers