Alan Kennedy (born 31 August 1954) is an English former professional footballer who played the majority of his career as a

left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

for

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

and then

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

. He was a stalwart member of the latter team that won many honours from the late 1970s to the mid-1980s. At different times Kennedy was active as a professional in England, Denmark, Belgium and Wales, making over 500 appearances in a career that lasted for 22 years. He also represented England at senior international level.

Club career

Born in

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

, Kennedy started his professional career at the age of 18 for Newcastle United. After establishing his place in the side he played there for five years. He was a member of the team that lost the 1974 FA Cup Final to Liverpool. In 1978 he was transferred to Liverpool for £330,000, at the time a British record amount for a full-back. Kennedy scored in the 1981 League Cup Final against West Ham, which ended 1–1 and was won by Liverpool in the replay. He scored the equalising goal with 15 minutes left in the game in the 1983 League Cup Final against

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

, a match Liverpool went on to win in extra time. Kennedy was a member of two other League Cup–winning Liverpool teams: in

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

(against

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

) and

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

(against Everton). In the 1981 European Cup Final against

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

, Kennedy scored the only goal of the match late in the second half. The 1984 European Cup Final between Liverpool and Roma was tied at 1–1 after extra time, so the winner was determined by penalty kicks. Kennedy scored the decisive penalty (the fifth taken by the team, the fourth that was successful) that clinched the victory for Liverpool. Kennedy was a regular player in the Liverpool teams that won five league championship titles, in 1978–79, 1979–80, 1981–82, 1982–83 and 1983–84.

International career

He also earned two caps for the England national team in 1984.

Personal life

His elder brother is fellow footballer Keith Kennedy. His nephew is Tom Kennedy, Keith's son. In 2019 and 2020, Kennedy featured as a guest substitute player in both seasons of ITV show ''

Harry's Heroes ''Harry's Heroes'' is an English documentary television programme produced by Fremantle (company), Fremantle for ITV (TV network), ITV. The first series ''Harry's Heroes: The Full English'' aired in March 2019. Series 2, entitled ''Harry's Heroes ...

'', which featured former football manager

Harry Redknapp Henry James Redknapp (born 2 March 1947) is an English former association football, football manager (association football), manager and player. He has previously managed AFC Bournemouth, West Ham United F.C., West Ham United, Portsmouth F.C., ...

attempting to return a squad of former England international footballers to sufficient fitness for a game against Germany legends.

Honours

Newcastle United *

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

runner-up: 1973–74 Liverpool *

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was the top division of the Football League in England from 1888 until the end of the 1991–92 season, when its teams broke away to form the Premier League. From 1992 to 2004, the name First Division was g ...

: 1978–79, 1979–80, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84 *

Football League Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

: 1980–81, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84 *

European Cup The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by top-division European clubs. The competition begins with a round robi ...

: 1980–81, 1983–84

References

External links

Profile
at the Liverpool F.C. website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, Alan 1954 births Living people Footballers from Sunderland Men's association football defenders English men's footballers England men's international footballers England men's under-23 international footballers Newcastle United F.C. players Liverpool F.C. players Sunderland A.F.C. players Wigan Athletic F.C. players Hartlepool United F.C. players Boldklubben 1903 players K. Beerschot V.A.C. players Northwich Victoria F.C. players Wrexham A.F.C. players Colne Dynamoes F.C. players Morecambe F.C. players Kendal Town F.C. players Radcliffe F.C. players Barrow A.F.C. players English Football League players English expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Denmark English expatriate sportspeople in Denmark Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium English expatriate sportspeople in Belgium UEFA Champions League–winning players