Colin Terence Cooper (born 28 February 1967) is an English football manager and 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 ...

. As a player, he was a defender who notably played in the

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 Foo ...

for

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

and

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

. He played over 500 league appearances combined for both clubs. He also played in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

for both

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, east ...

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 ...

. He was capped twice by

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 b ...

, having previously earned eight games at U21 level. Following retirement, he moved into coaching and worked in the Middlesbrough academy, later progressing into the first team before taking charge on a temporary basis in 2009. He later moving to

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes. Th ...

as assistant manager and then in 2013 becoming manager of

Hartlepool United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They were founded in 1908 as Hartle ...

. In 2016 he joined the coaching staff of the England U21 setup under former team mate

Gareth Southgate Gareth Southgate (born 3 September 1970) is an English professional football manager and former player who played as a defender and midfielder. He has been the manager of the England national team since 2016. Southgate won the League Cup w ...

Playing career

He played as a centre back, but was equally useful at full-back. He spent the first seven years of his professional career contracted to

, making 188 league appearances and scoring six league goals in the process. During this time, he helped Middlesbrough through

liquidation Liquidation is the process in accounting by which a company is brought to an end in Canada, United Kingdom, United States, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, and many other countries. The assets and property of the company are redistrib ...

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

. In the summer of 1991, he was transferred to Division Two side

for the sum of £300,000 spending two successful seasons at

The Den The Den (previously The New Den) is a football stadium in New Cross, south-east London, and the home of Millwall Football Club. The Den is adjacent to the South London railway originating at , and a quarter of a mile from the Old Den, which it ...

. After impressing several big name clubs, he decided to move to

in 1993 for £1,700,000. It was at Forest where Colin arguably played the best football of his career, his form earning him two

caps in 1995 against

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

and

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. After experiencing the joys of two promotions and the heart-break of a relegation, "Super Coops" was re-purchased by his first club, Middlesbrough, in a £2,500,000 deal. Many people questioned the signing of the stalwart from Nottingham Forest, but Colin proved to many people that he was more than capable of playing

football. He maintained a consistent level of play throughout the seven years that he spent with Middlesbrough, and could always be relied upon to do a job. He almost gave up the game in 2002 after his son, Finlay, died in an accident at the family home just hours after their victory over Manchester United in the FA Cup. In 2003–04, he spent some time on loan with

. Cooper was part of Middlesbrough's 2004 League Cup-winning team. Despite not making the squad for the final he appeared in the earlier rounds. In 2005, Cooper was awarded a one-year contract extension, which saw him play at the age of 39. His final season with Middlesbrough, 2005–06, saw Boro reach the

2006 UEFA Cup Final The 2006 UEFA Cup Final was a football match that took place at Philips Stadion in Eindhoven, Netherlands on 10 May 2006 as the culmination of the 2005–06 UEFA Cup. The match was contested by Middlesbrough of England and Sevilla of Spain. Both s ...

. However, he made just one appearance all campaign, coming on as a late substitute on the last day of the season against

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

International career

Cooper made his England international debut in a 3–3 draw against

. He gained two caps for the

national team and made eight caps for the Under-21 side where he finished runners-up with the U21s in the 1988 Tournoi Espoirs de Toulon tournament.

Managerial career

After he retired from playing, in June 2006, Cooper was officially given a job with the

coaching staff, as the Reserve team coach. Following Steve Round's departure from the club in December 2006, Cooper was promoted to a more active role with the first team. Following the departure of Malcolm Crosby on 17 June 2009, Cooper was promoted to assistant manager at Middlesbrough. On 22 October 2009, following the departure of manager

, Cooper was appointed caretaker manager at Middlesbrough. However, he was only employed in this position for four days, as

Gordon Strachan Gordon David Strachan ( born 9 February 1957) is a Scottish former football coach and player. He played for Dundee, Aberdeen, Manchester United, Leeds United and Coventry City, as well as the Scotland national team. He has since managed Cove ...

was announced as the new manager on 26 October. Cooper's solitary match in charge was a 2–2 draw with

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 syste ...

on 24 October 2009. In May 2010, Cooper was relieved of all duties at Middlesbrough by Strachan. On 9 March 2011, Cooper was appointed as assistant to interim manager

Peter Jackson Sir Peter Robert Jackson (born 31 October 1961) is a New Zealand film director, screenwriter and producer. He is best known as the director, writer and producer of the ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy (2001–2003) and the ''Hobbit'' trilogy ( ...

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

side

. Jackson was subsequently appointed full-time manager on 25 May 2011, but he resigned on 25 August 2011, resulting in Cooper taking over as caretaker manager. winning his first game 4–2 against

Barnet Barnet may refer to: People *Barnet (surname) * Barnet (given name) Places United Kingdom *Chipping Barnet or High Barnet, commonly known as Barnet, one of three focal towns of the borough below. *East Barnet, a district of the borough below; an ...

Phil Parkinson Philip John Parkinson (born 1 December 1967) is an English professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He is currently manager of National League side Wrexham. Parkinson is the only manager to take an English fou ...

was appointed as Jackson's permanent successor, and on 8 September 2011, Cooper left Bradford to rejoin Middlesbrough and take up a coaching role with Middlesbrough's under-18 side. On 24 May 2013, he became manager at

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

side

, replacing John Hughes, who had been sacked the previous month. He named fellow ex-Middlesbrough player

Craig Hignett Craig Hignett (born 12 January 1970), is an English former professional footballer. He started his career as a striker but later moved into midfield. Playing career Born in Whiston and previously a trainee at Liverpool, Hignett began his se ...

as his assistant manager. After winning four out of five league games in October, Cooper won the Sky Bet League Two Manager of the Month Award. Cooper resigned as Hartlepool United manager on 4 October 2014, after a 3–0 home defeat by

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 Par ...

, which left the club at the bottom of the League Two table. In April 2016, Cooper joined

's coaching staff at the England U21's.

Media work

Cooper was a regular guest on the ITV late night football review programme '' Soccer Night'', which was hosted by Roger Tames. During this programme, three legendary figures, representing one of each of the North-East's top three clubs (

, and

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

), come to the studio and discuss recent footballing events.

Personal life

In 2006, Colin and his wife Julie, formed the charity the Finlay Cooper Fund, named after his son who died in a tragic accident in 2002, which raises money for children's causes. In 2013, Colin and 12 others (which included

and

Jeff Stelling Robert Jeffrey Stelling (born 18 March 1955) is an English television presenter. He currently presents '' Gillette Soccer Saturday'' for Sky Sports and hosted coverage of the Champions League between 2011 and 2015. He also presented the Chann ...

) climbed

Mount Kilimanjaro Mount Kilimanjaro () is a dormant volcano in Tanzania. It has three volcanic cones: Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira. It is the highest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain above sea level in the world: above sea level and ab ...

for charity; the climb raised £100,000.

Career statistics

Playing career

''Statistics for league appearances only''

Managerial career

Honours

Player

Middlesbrough *

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 ...

promotion: 1987–88 * Third Division runner-up: 1986–87 *

Football League Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...

: 2003–04 *

Zenith Data Systems Cup The Full Members' Cup was an association football cup competition held in English football from 1985 to 1992. It was also known under its sponsored names of the Simod Cup from 1987 to 1989 and the Zenith Data Systems Cup from 1989 to 1992. Th ...

runner-up: 1989–90 Nottingham Forest * First Division: 1997–98; runner-up: 1993–94 England U21s *Tournoi Espoirs de Toulon runner-up: 1988 Individual *

PFA Team of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's English football; the Premie ...

: 1992–93 First Division, 1993–94 First Division, 1997–98 First Division

Manager

Individual *

Manager of the Month Award: October

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Colin 1967 births Living people Sportspeople from Durham, England Footballers from County Durham English footballers Association football central defenders Middlesbrough F.C. non-playing staff Middlesbrough F.C. players Millwall F.C. players Nottingham Forest F.C. players Sunderland A.F.C. players England under-21 international footballers England international footballers Premier League players Middlesbrough F.C. managers Bradford City A.F.C. managers Hartlepool United F.C. managers English Football League managers Outfield association footballers who played in goal English football managers