Kenneth Edward Cunningham (born 28 June 1971) is an Irish former

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, rugb ...

who played as a defender. He played international football 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 the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. ...

until his retirement in 2005. He spent his professional club career, from 1989 to 2007, in England, making more than 500 appearances in

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in Association football around the wor ...

and

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

playing for

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, eas ...

, Wimbledon,

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...

and

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 ...

. After retirement as a professional player, he worked as a pundit for

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 television ...

, and successfully completed the UEFA Pro Licence coaching qualification in 2011.

Early life and career

Cunningham was 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 ...

. He attended

St. Vincent's C.B.S. St Vincent's Secondary School, or St Vincent's , is an independent Catholic Voluntary Secondary School in Glasnevin, Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It operates as a registered charity under the trusteeship of the Edmund Rice Schools Trust ...

primary and secondary school in the

Glasnevin Glasnevin (, also known as ''Glas Naedhe'', meaning "stream of O'Naeidhe" after a local stream and an ancient chieftain) is a neighbourhood of Dublin, Ireland, situated on the River Tolka. While primarily residential, Glasnevin is also home ...

district. At school, he played more

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by ki ...

than soccer: he played for St Vincent's at

Croke Park Croke Park ( ga, Páirc an Chrócaigh, ) is a Gaelic games stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Named after Archbishop Thomas Croke, it is referred to as Croker by GAA fans and locals. It serves as both the principal national stadium of Ireland and h ...

alongside future Gaelic star

Dessie Farrell Dessie Farrell is an Irish Gaelic football coach and former player. He has been manager of the Dublin county team since 2019. A former All Star Gaelic footballer who played at senior level for Dublin county team for nearly 15 years, he retire ...

in a schools' final, and played for Na Fianna and the Dublin minor team. At association football, he played for the Home Farm club from under-9s to under-17s, before moving on to

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, self-taught, user-generated, DIY, and hobbyist. History ...

club Tolka Rovers.

Millwall

On 18 September 1989, the 18-year-old Cunningham signed a one-year contract with

of the English First Division. His expectations, to play out the season in England and use the experience to earn himself a good contract back in Ireland, changed when, three months before the end of that "trial" season, Millwall offered him a further two-year contract. He made his Football League debut on 17 March 1990, at right back in the starting eleven in a 1–1 draw away to Norwich City, and started four more first-team games during that season. In five years with the club, he made 136 league appearances. scoring his only career goal at Portsmouth in April 1994.

Wimbledon

Cunningham and teammate

Jon Goodman Jonathan Goodman (born 2 June 1971) is a former professional footballer who played as a forward for Wimbledon, Millwall and Bromley. Born in England, he represented the Republic of Ireland national team at international level. Following ret ...

moved to Wimbledon in November 1994, for the joint fee of £1,300,000. Cunningham played 250 league games for Wimbledon and twice named as the London side's Player of the Season. In February 2000, Cunningham was involved in an incident with Chelsea captain Dennis Wise following their match. Cunningham admitted improper behaviour in response to severe provocation from Wise and was fined £5,000 by

The 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 a ...

. Wise was charged with misconduct for the alleged confrontation in the tunnel and fined £7,500 and Chelsea and Wimbledon were both fined £50,000 each for failing to control their players.

Birmingham City

Cunningham moved to

, newly promoted to the

, in 2002 for a £600,000 fee. He went straight into the starting eleven, playing at

centre 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 ...

in place of injured captain Steve Vickers rather than his customary right back. He formed a fine defensive partnership with

Matthew Upson Matthew James Upson (born 18 April 1979) is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre back. Upson played for England at full international level including at the 2010 World Cup. Upson started his career with Bedfordshire ...

, who joined in the January transfer window, and at the end of that campaign, his teammates chose him as their Player of the Season. After the first few matches of 2003–04, Birmingham's manager

Steve Bruce Stephen Roger Bruce (born 31 December 1960) is an English professional football manager and former player who played as a centre-back. He most recently managed West Bromwich Albion. Born in Corbridge, Northumberland, he was a promising scho ...

was describing Cunningham as "on current form ... the best defender in the Premiership". Nicknamed "King Kenny" by the fans, Cunningham had a reputation as an organised solid defender, and

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...

and Ireland full-back

Denis Irwin Joseph Denis Irwin (born 31 October 1965) is an Irish former professional footballer and sports television presenter. As a player, he played as a full-back from 1983 to 2004. Irwin is best known for his long and successful stint at Manchester ...

suggested in November 2003 that, though his ability had been under-rated in the past, "this year ... people are realising how good he actually is". After the club's relegation at the end of the 2005–06 Premier League season, Cunningham and seven other first team players were released. On 11 May 2006, Cunningham launched a scathing attack in the press on Bruce and the board, blaming the club's relegation on a lack of preparation throughout the season and likening the club to a "stiff corpse" that has "no heartbeat and, more worryingly, no soul". While fans were in the main supportive of Cunningham's views, the club reacted furiously, and chairman David Gold wondered "if Kenny would have said the same things if we'd stayed up, Portsmouth had gone down and he'd been given a lucrative new contract".

Sunderland

Cunningham signed for Sunderland on 19 July 2006 with Sunderland chairman Niall Quinn praising his leadership qualities. He made 11 appearances for the Black Cats as they won the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

, but no more appearances after October when he was made captain by manager

Roy Keane Roy Maurice Keane (born 10 August 1971) is an Irish football pundit, coach and former professional player. He is the joint most successful Irish footballer of all time, having won 19 major trophies in his club career, 17 of which came durin ...

before sustaining an injury. He was released at the end of the season, and retired as a player.

International career

Cunningham won a total of 72 caps 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 , ...

. He made his debut on 24 April 1996 in 2–0 friendly loss to 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. The ...

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

. He was named as FAI Senior International Player of the Year in 1998. In March 2001, he returned after a long layoff due to injury, replacing Richard Dunne to partner

Gary Breen Gary Patrick Breen (born 12 December 1973) is a former footballer who made more than 500 appearances in the Football League and Premier League. A centre back, played for numerous clubs over a 20-year career, including more than 100 appearances ...

in defence for a match against

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ...

. Cunningham was named team captain after the

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

. According to manager Mick McCarthy: "Kenny's qualities as a player are easy to see. From day one he has been a great influence. He is a talker on the pitch, he organises the players around him, and off the pitch he is a calm influence. He retired from international football after achieving 72 caps at the age of 34 on 12 October 2005, following Ireland's draw with

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

at Lansdowne Road, which resulted in his team's failure to qualify for the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host th ...

. Cunningham urged caution following a FIFA rule change allowing players over the age of 21 to switch their international allegiance. Commenting in relation to Ireland's qualifying campaign 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 ...

, he said: "It wouldn't be something I'd be hugely in favour of" and "I'd be very disappointed if I was a player in that squad to miss out on the World Cup for somebody who was jumping on board at the last minute".

After football

Cunningham has worked as a pundit on the Premier League and Champions League for both

Setanta Ireland Eir Sport 1 (formerly Setanta Ireland) was an Irish pay television sports channel featuring local and international sporting events. The channel is available on some basic cable packages in Ireland, while it is available upon direct subscription t ...

and Premier Sports, on

's coverage of the League of Ireland and for

Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It ...

's coverage of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

matches. He coached at English non-league club Nuneaton Town, who won promotion in his first year there. before completing his UEFA Pro Licence in Ireland. He was appointed assistant to 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 ...

manager Damien Richardson for the Dublin Super Cup tournament in 2011. He covered tournaments including the 2013 Confederations Cup, 2014 World Cup,

Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe o ...

, and

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 Europ ...

Honours

Sunderland *

Football League Championship The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the E ...

: 2006–07 Individual * FAI Senior International Player of the Year: 1998 * Wimbledon Player of the Season: 1999–2000, 2001–02

Career statistics

Club

:Source:

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cunningham, Kenny 1971 births Living people Dublin Gaelic footballers Gaelic footballers who switched code Association football defenders Association footballers from County Dublin Republic of Ireland association footballers Republic of Ireland international footballers Republic of Ireland B international footballers Republic of Ireland under-21 international footballers Home Farm F.C. players Tolka Rovers F.C. players Millwall F.C. players Wimbledon F.C. players Birmingham City F.C. players Sunderland A.F.C. players Premier League players English Football League players 2002 FIFA World Cup players Republic of Ireland football managers