Kevin Kilbane

Football player infobox
playername = Kevin Kilbane


fullname = Kevin Daniel Kilbane
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1977|2|1|df=yes
cityofbirth = Preston
countryofbirth = England
currentclub = Wigan Athletic
clubnumber = 8
position = Midfielder
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years = 1995–1997
1997–1999
1999–2003
2003–2006
2006–
clubs = Preston North End
West Bromwich Albion
Sunderland
Everton
Wigan Athletic
caps(goals) = 048 0(3)
106 (15)
113 0(8)
104 0(4)
068 0(2)
nationalyears =
1997–
nationalteam = Republic of Ireland U21
Republic of Ireland
nationalcaps(goals) = 009 0(1)
090 0(7)
pcupdate = 13:14, 27 September 2008 (UTC)
ntupdate = 13:14, 27 September 2008 (UTC)

Kevin Daniel Kilbane (born 1 February 1977, in Preston, Lancashire) is an English born Irish footballer who plays a left-sided midfielder for Wigan Athletic in the Premier League. He plays international football for the Republic of Ireland through Irish parentage.

Club career

Early career

Kilbane made his professional debut at his hometown club, Preston North End, after making his way through the youth system at Deepdale. It wasn't long before his performances began to attract attention from other clubs, and he was sold to West Bromwich Albion for a fee of £1m in 1997. Kilbane was Albion's first £1m player, breaking a club transfer record which had stood since 1979.

This heralded in a bright new era for Kilbane, as he quickly became a fan favourite at The Hawthorns and at the same time broke into the Irish international setup.

underland

In December 1999, Peter Reid's Sunderland paid £2.5 million for the left winger, making him the third most expensive club signing at the time. His impact was quite literally immediate; coming off the bench on his debut against Southampton, Kilbane crossed for Kevin Phillips to score the match winner. However, this was to be Sunderland's last win until March 2000, a loss in form which came to be known as "The Curse of Kilbane". [cite web | title=Kevin Kilbane|work=ESPN Soccernet| url=http://soccernet.espn.go.com/players/profile?id=8069&cc=5739| accessmonthday=August 31 | accessyear=2006.]

In spite of his best efforts on the pitch, he soon became a target for the Black Cats fans to vent their frustrations, as the team's drop in form under Peter Reid continued and the team were relegated from the Premiership. The constant booing eventually proved too much for Kilbane in the summer of 2003 and after he gave the travelling Sunderland fans a two-fingered salute on a pre-season tour of France, his days at the Stadium of Light seemed numbered.

Everton

On the last day of the transfer window at the start of the 2003–04 season, Kilbane moved to Everton for just under £1m, where he was reunited with his old boss, David Moyes. The Goodison Park fans would appreciate his commitment and re-invigorate Kilbane as a player. In return, he displayed great versatility which resulted in him being deployed right across the midfield, at left back or even as a support striker, as well has his preferred left-wing position. On 26 August 2006, during his last game for Everton, he was sent off by referee Mark Halsey for two bookable offences.

Wigan

On 31 August 2006, Kilbane signed a three-year deal with Wigan Athletic for an estimated fee of £2 million. [cite web | title=Wigan sign Kilbane from Everton|work=BBC Sport| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/w/wigan_athletic/5303638.stm| accessmonthday=August 31 | accessyear=2006.] On 15 April 2007, he scored his first goal for Wigan Athletic with a powerful header in the 3–3 draw against Tottenham Hotspur. This was his first goal at club level since October 2004. He then scored his second goal for Wigan with a looping header over Robert Green's head from Ryan Taylor's cross as Wigan went on to beat West Ham 1–0. Kilbane played most of his second season in the unfamiliar left back role, but still managed to win Wiganer.net's Player of The Season Award. [cite web | title=WIGANER.net Player of the Season 2008|work=Wiganer.net| url=http://www.wiganer.net/news/loadfeat.asp?cid=EDZ2&id=392480| accessmonthday=May 17 | accessyear=2008.]

International career

Having made his international debut against Iceland on 6 September 1997. [cite web | title=Republic of Ireland:Squad Profile|work=FAI.ie| url=http://www.fai.ie/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=56| accessmonthday=August 31 | accessyear=2006.]

He was chosen as part of Mick McCarthy's Ireland squad for the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan. The team did relatively well at the tournament, progressing to the last 16 where they were unlucky to lose out to Spain in a penalty shootout. One of the Irish penalties was missed by Kilbane.

He is however, jokingly known by the Irish supporters as "Zinedine Kilbane" as a mockery rhyme to the famous Zinedine Zidane. There were at one point t-shirts with this printed on it for sale outside Lansdowne Road after international matches.Fact|date=October 2007

Kilbane scored his first international goal in nearly four years with a magnificent strike against the Czech Republic on 11 October 2006.

As of 10 September 2008 he is third on the list of all-time appearances for Ireland, having won 90 caps. His appearance against Montenegro was his 50th consecutive competitive game for his country; only England's Billy Wright and Theo Zagorakis of Greece have achieved longer unbroken runs in competitive international football. [cite news
title=Former West Bromwich Albion star Kevin Kilbane celebrates Ireland achievement
url=http://www.sundaymercury.net/midlands-sport/west-bromwich-albion-fc/west-brom-news/2008/09/10/former-west-bromwich-albion-star-kevin-kilbane-celebrates-ireland-achievement-66331-21717436/
publisher=Sunday Mercury
date=2008-09-10
accessdate=2008-09-12]

Personal life

Kilbane's brother, Farrell is also a footballer. He currently plays for Conference North club Fleetwood Town.cite news
title= Kilbane boosts the Fleetwood Town defence
publisher= Blackpool Gazette
date=2008-05-28
url=http://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/sports-news/Kilbane-boosts-the-Fleetwood-Town.4126953.jp
accessdate=2008-05-28]

References

External links

*soccerbase|id=4193|name=Kevin Kilbane