Anthony Leo Rougier (born 17 July 1971) is a Trinidadian 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, rugby lea ...

. A former

international International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

with 67 caps to his name, he came close to making the

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

team for Trinidad and Tobago. He played for La Brea Angels, Trintoc,

United Petrotrin United Petrotrin Football Club was a football club from Trinidad and Tobago and a former member of the TT Pro League of Trinidad. It was dissolved in 2009. History Formed in 1980, ''Trintoc'' entered the Point Fortin Football League that same ye ...

, and Trinity Pros before signing with Scottish club

Raith Rovers Raith Rovers Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the town of Kirkcaldy, Fife. The club was founded in 1883 and currently competes in the as a member of the Scottish Professional Football League. The club has won f ...

in March 1995. He helped the club to the

First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

title in 1994–95 before joining

Hibernian Hibernian may refer to: * Of Hibernia, Latin name for Ireland; hence ** Irish (disambiguation) Hibernian, Hibernians or The Hibernian may refer to: Sports clubs * Hibernian F.C., a Scottish football club, founded 1875 * Hibernian W.F.C., a Sc ...

in July 1997 for a £250,000 fee. He helped "Hibs" to secure the First Division title in 1998–99, before he was sold on to English club

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in , the third tier of the English football league system. Vale are named after the valley of ports on the Trent and Mersey Canal ...

for £175,000 in January 1999. He moved on to

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

for £325,000 in August 2000 and helped the "Royals" to

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

out of the

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 ...

in 2000–01. He switched to

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

in May 2003 before joining

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England. The team compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded in 1894, the club competed in the Southern League and Western L ...

in March 2004. He then had spells in China with

Nanjing Yoyo Nanjing Yoyo Football Club () was a Chinese football club based in Nanjing which played in the China League One (formerly known as Jia B League) from 2003 to 2010. Founded in 2002 as Liaoning Xingguang Football Club, it was based on the youth te ...

and in America with

Rochester Rhinos Rochester Rhinos, formerly known as the Rochester Raging Rhinos, was an American soccer team based in Rochester, New York, United States. The club won the 1999 U.S. Open Cup, marking the only time a non-MLS team has won the U.S. Open Cup sinc ...

before returning to Trinidad to play for United Petrotrin,

North East Stars Athletic Club of Port of Spain (previously known as North East Stars FC) is a Trinidad and Tobago professional association football, football club based in Port of Spain, Trinidad, that plays in the TT Premier Football League. The team plays its ...

, and

FC South End FC South End was a football team from Trinidad and Tobago based in Point Fortin/ La Brea and is a former member of the TT Pro League, the highest level of football in Trinidad. History Founded in 2008, it played its home games at the Manny Ramjoh ...

Club career

Starting his career in his native Trinidad and Tobago with La Brea Angels, Trintoc,

, and Trinity Pros, Rougier switched to the Caribbean for

Kirkcaldy Kirkcaldy ( ; ; ) is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It is about north of Edinburgh and south-southwest of Dundee. The town had a recorded population of 49,460 in 2011, making it Fife's second-largest s ...

, Scotland in March 1995. He would have signed for

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The club competes in , the third tier of English football, and is managed by Graham Alexander. The club was founded in 1903 and ...

but could not secure a work permit in time. He spent the first half of 1998–99 with Hibernian, playing 18 games and scoring once against Morton. It would prove to be an easy campaign for

Alex McLeish Alexander McLeish (born 21 January 1959) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player. He played as a defender for Aberdeen during their 1980s glory years, making nearly 500 League appearances for the club, and won 77 caps f ...

's "Hibs", as they eventually finished 23 points clear of second place

Falkirk Falkirk ( ; ; ) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a resident population of 32,422 at the ...

. Rougier was not at

Easter Road Easter Road is a football stadium located in the Leith area of Edinburgh, Scotland, which is the home ground of Scottish Premiership club Hibernian (Hibs). The stadium currently has an all-seated capacity of , which makes it the fifth-largest ...

for the celebrations, however, having been sold to English club

for £175,000 in January 1999. He arrived at

Vale Park Vale Park is a football stadium in the area of Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, and it has been the home ground of Port Vale Football Club since its opening in 1950. It has a current capacity of 15,695, and was renovated durin ...

with the club about to suffer a drastic downturn in fortunes as chairman Bill Bell replaced

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

John Rudge John Robert Rudge (born 21 October 1944) is an English former professional football player and manager who is the president of club Port Vale. Rudge began his playing career at Huddersfield Town in November 1961, but made little impact at t ...

with

Brian Horton Brian "Nobby" Horton (born 4 February 1949) is an English former footballer and manager. He spent 16 years as a professional player and 22 years as a manager, making 689 appearances and managing 1,098 matches. In addition to this, he spent four ...

. He made twelve appearances for Vale at the end of the season. Rougier scored nine goals in 41 games in 1999–2000, becoming a crowd favourite and the club's top scorer, but it was not enough to prevent the "Valiants" from losing their

status. Chairman Bill Bell was not as keen on the player as the supporters, bemoaning Rougier's international commitments by stating "he may have been on the pitch nearly 40 times, but he did not play 40 games". In August 2000 he was sold on to fellow

side

for £325,000, signing a three-year

contract A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typically involves consent to transfer of goods, services, money, or promise to transfer any of thos ...

. Reading got to the play-off final at the end of the 2000–01 season, but Rougier scored an

own goal An own goal occurs in sports when a player performs actions that result in scoring points for the opposition, such as when a Association football, footballer puts a ball into their own net. In some parts of the world, the term has become a met ...

as they lost to

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...

after

extra time Overtime (OT) or extra time (ET) is an additional period of play to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only if the game is required t ...

. The following season, the club pushed for a second-successive

, aiming for the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

. Rougier was

loan In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the deb ...

ed out to

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, commonly referred to as Brighton, is a professional football club based in Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Their home gr ...

late in the season, scoring twice for the "Seagulls" in six appearances, leading to speculation of a permanent

transfer Transfer may refer to: Arts and media * ''Transfer'' (2010 film), a German science-fiction movie directed by Damir Lukacevic and starring Zana Marjanović * ''Transfer'' (1966 film), a short film * ''Transfer'' (journal), in management studies * ...

. Returning to the

Madejski Stadium The Madejski Stadium (), currently known as the Select Car Leasing Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Reading, Berkshire, England. It is the home of Reading Football Club, who play in EFL League One. It also provides the ...

in time for the

play-offs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

, he played a part of the semi-final second leg, replacing

Darius Henderson Darius Alexis Henderson (born 7 September 1981) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. Born in Sutton, England, (although he is often mistakenly cited as being born in Doncaster, where he moved at a young age and ...

after 64 minutes. Eventual

play-off The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eith ...

winners

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club ( ), commonly referred to as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league s ...

beat Reading 3–1 on aggregate. At the end of the campaign, Rougier was not offered a new contract, and instead signed with

. Rougier played 34 games for Brentford in the 2003–04 season before switching to

in late March. On 2 May, his 21st-minute winner over

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

proved not enough to catch

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional association football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English f ...

, though the club had easily qualified for the play-offs. He scored the opener of the semi-final with

Hartlepool United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. They were founded in 190 ...

at Victoria Park, City winning 2–1 on aggregate, before falling 1–0 at the

Millennium Stadium The Millennium Stadium (), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium () for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it has a retractable roof and is the home of the Wales national rugby union team; it has ...

to his old club Brighton. He was then released by City. After a short spell with

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

club

and speculation of signing with

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the c ...

in September 2005, he spent a brief period in the US with

USL Pro The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) as its premier league for men above USL League One. Operating under a f ...

club

. He ended his playing career back in Trinidad with United Petrotrin before becoming a Technical Advisor at

under manager David Farrell in 2008. In 2009, he co-founded

, which is the newest club to compete in the

TT Pro League The TT Premier Football League (formerly known as the TT Pro League) is the Trinidad and Tobago professional league for association football clubs. It is the country's primary football competition and serves as the top division in the Trinidad an ...

. In July 2009, he registered himself as a player-

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

to boost the fortunes of his struggling side.

International career

Rougier earned 67

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

for the

Trinidad and Tobago national team Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in th ...

between 1995 and 2005, scoring five goals. He served as

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

on numerous occasions. During this time his country won the

Caribbean Cup The Caribbean Cup was an association football competition organized by CFU as its top regional tournament for men's senior national teams from the Caribbean. The tournament was held from 1989 to 2017, as the direct successor competition of the ...

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

and

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

, beating

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

on home soil in the final on both occasions. They also reached the final in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

, but were beaten 2–1 by

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

. He was also in the squad for the

and

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

editions of the

CONCACAF Gold Cup The CONCACAF Gold Cup () is an association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for men's senior national teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The tournament is held every two ...

. He was on the 24-man shortlist for the squad for the

, but was excluded from the final 23. Manager

Leo Beenhakker Leo Beenhakker (; 2 August 1942 – 10 April 2025) was a Dutch football player and coach. Nicknamed "Don Leo" for his role in Spanish football, he had an extensive and successful career both at club and international level. After his amateur pl ...

said: "The guy worked fantastically and he did everything he had to do to try and make it and in the end I had to make a decision."

Personal life

A "proud and passionate

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

", Rougier used to celebrate goals with a

prayer File:Prayers-collage.png, 300px, alt=Collage of various religionists praying – Clickable Image, Collage of various religionists praying ''(Clickable image – use cursor to identify.)'' rect 0 0 1000 1000 Shinto festivalgoer praying in front ...

. He advised good friend and fellow footballer

Dwight Yorke Dwight Eversley Yorke Chaconia Medal, CM (born 3 November 1971) is a Trinidadian and Tobagonian professional Association football, football coach and former player who is the head coach of Trinidad and Tobago national football team, Trinidad an ...

to "calm down a bit with the ladies" following Yorke's love life being splashed across the British tabloids. He grew up next door to

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

Gus Logie Augustine Lawrence Logie (born 28 September 1960), commonly known as Gus Logie, is a former West Indies and Trinidad and Tobago cricketer and is currently an international cricket coach. He coached the West Indies to win the 2004 ICC Champions T ...

and worked at an

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

before trying his luck with football in England. Rougier is a lifelong

teetotaler Teetotalism is the practice of voluntarily abstaining from the consumption of alcohol, specifically in alcoholic drinks. A person who practices (and possibly advocates) teetotalism is called a teetotaler (US) or teetotaller (UK), or said to be ...

. On multiple occasions during his playing career, he was awarded a bottle of champagne for winning the

man of the match In team sport, a player of the match award (also known as man of the match or woman of the match) is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chose ...

award, only to refuse it and hand it back to the organisers. His family include his wife Trisha and daughters Alishia-Kae and Maya-Kai.

Career statistics

Club

International

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rouguer, Tony 1971 births Living people Trinidad and Tobago Christians Trinidad and Tobago men's footballers 20th-century Trinidad and Tobago sportsmen Trinidad and Tobago men's international footballers Trinidad and Tobago expatriate men's footballers Men's association football midfielders United Petrotrin F.C. players Expatriate men's footballers in Scotland Raith Rovers F.C. players Hibernian F.C. players Expatriate men's footballers in England Port Vale F.C. players Reading F.C. players Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players Brentford F.C. players Bristol City F.C. players Expatriate men's footballers in China Nanjing Yoyo F.C. players China League One players Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Rochester New York FC players AC Port of Spain players F.C. South End players TT Pro League players Scottish Football League players English Football League players USL First Division players Trinidad and Tobago expatriate sportspeople in China Trinidad and Tobago expatriate sportspeople in England Trinidad and Tobago expatriate sportspeople in Scotland Trinidad and Tobago expatriate sportspeople in the United States 1996 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Association football technical directors 20th-century Trinidad and Tobago sportsmen 21st-century Trinidad and Tobago sportsmen