Anthony Peter Dunne (24 July 19418 June 2020) was an Irish

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-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

. Born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

, he began his career with youth side Stella Maris before signing for Drumcondra-based Shelbourne, with whom he won the FAI Cup in his second year in the senior team in 1960. That year, he moved to England to play for Manchester United, for whom he made more than 500 appearances in 13 years, winning the First Division in 1965 and 1967, the

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 ...

in 1963 and the European Cup in 1968. After being released in 1973, he signed for Bolton Wanderers, making another almost 200 appearances in six years, before playing a single season with the

Detroit Express The Detroit Express was a soccer team based in suburban Detroit that played in the now defunct North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1978 to 1980. Its home field was the Pontiac Silverdome. The Express were co-owned by Jimmy Hill, Roger ...

in the North American Soccer League in 1979. Dunne won 33 caps for 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 Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...

between 1962 and 1975, and was named Irish Footballer of the Year in 1969. After retiring, he had a brief spell as manager of Norwegian club

Steinkjer FK Steinkjer FK is a Norwegian football club from the town of Steinkjer, currently playing in the 3. divisjon, the fourth tier in the Norwegian league system, after being relegated from 2. divisjon in 2011. The club was founded in 1910. Steinkjer ...

in 1982–83.

Club career

Early career

Born in

on 24 July 1941, Dunne played for Stella Maris as a schoolboy and Shelbourne from 1958 to 1960. Having helped Shelbourne win the

FAI Youth Cup The FAI Youth Cup, also known as the FAI Umbro Youth Challenge Cup, is a cup competition organised by the FAI for youth association football clubs and teams in the Republic of Ireland. The inaugural winners were Greenmount Rangers. The competi ...

in 1959, he won the FAI Cup with them the following year, beating Cork Hibernians 2–0 in the final.

Manchester United

A week after the final, on 26 April 1960, he was signed by Manchester United for £5,000 as cover for

Noel Cantwell Noel Euchuria Cornelius Cantwell (28 February 1932 – 8 September 2005) was an Irish footballer player and sometime cricketer. Club career Cantwell was born in Cork, Ireland, and was educated at the Roman Catholic Presentation Brothers College ...

and

Shay Brennan Seamus Anthony "Shay" Brennan (6 May 1937 – 9 June 2000) was an Irish footballer in the 1960s. He was a full back for Manchester United. His first game for the club came in an FA Cup match against Sheffield Wednesday on 19 February 1958; this ...

. His debut for United came against

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, Lancashire, Preston, at the confluence of the River C ...

on 15 October 1960, playing at left-back alongside

Maurice Setters Maurice Edgar Setters (16 December 1936 – 22 November 2020) was an English football player and manager. As a player, he made more than 400 appearances in the Football League for Exeter City, West Bromwich Albion, Manchester United, Stoke City, ...

. He helped Manchester United win the

in 1963, and the First Division title 1965 and

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

. His highest honour came as part of the side that won the 1968 European Cup, beating Benfica 4–1 in

the final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

. This was despite having ruptured his

Achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcaneus ( ...

in the quarter-final of the competition against Gornik Zabrze. He made 535 appearances for Manchester United, behind only

Bobby Charlton Sir Robert Charlton (born 11 October 1937) is an English former footballer who played either as a midfielder or a forward. Considered one of the greatest players of all time, he was a member of the England team that won the 1966 FIFA World ...

and

Bill Foulkes William Anthony Foulkes ( or ; 5 January 1932 – 25 November 2013) was an English footballer who played for Manchester United in the Busby Babes teams of the 1950s, and also in the 1960s. His favoured position was centre-half. For Manchester ...

at the time of his departure in 1973.

Bolton Wanderers

Dunne was released by Manchester United following the 1972–73 season, and signed for newly promoted

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

side Bolton Wanderers in August 1973, though he returned to Manchester United for a testimonial match two months later. In six years with Bolton, he made almost 200 appearances and helped them win the Second Division in 1977–78.

Detroit Express

He joined

in the North American Soccer League (NASL) in 1979.

International career

He made his full international debut in the 3–2 home defeat by Austria on 8 April 1962. Over 13 years, he earned 33 caps, appearing in both full-back positions and at centre-half. He captained his country on four occasions. He was named Irish Footballer of the Year in 1969.

Management career

After retiring from professional football, Dunne returned to Bolton as an assistant manager from 1979 to 1981; he then replaced his former Manchester United teammate

as manager of Norwegian club

in 1982–1983.

Personal life

Dunne lived in Sale and ran a driving range in

Altrincham Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester city centre, southwest of Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2011 Census, it had a population ...

. He died on 8 June 2020, aged 78.

Honours

Shelbourne

* FAI Cup: 1959–60

Manchester United

* Football League First Division: 1964–65, 1966–67 *

: 1962–63 * European Cup: 1967–68 * FA Charity Shield: 1965,

Bolton Wanderers

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third t ...

: 1977–78

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

External links

Irish football greats @ fai.ie
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunne, Tony 1941 births 2020 deaths Republic of Ireland association footballers Republic of Ireland expatriate association footballers Republic of Ireland international footballers Shelbourne F.C. players Manchester United F.C. players Bolton Wanderers F.C. players Bolton Wanderers F.C. non-playing staff North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Detroit Express players Expatriate footballers in England Expatriate soccer players in the United States Association footballers from Dublin (city) League of Ireland players Stella Maris F.C. players Association football defenders UEFA Champions League winning players Republic of Ireland expatriate football managers Irish expatriates in Norway Republic of Ireland football managers Steinkjer FK managers Expatriate football managers in Norway FA Cup Final players