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, rugby lea ...

who played as a defender. He played international football for the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

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 football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...

and

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 ...

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 Poplar, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east of ...

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...

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. The team compete in the ...

and

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 ...

. 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, RTÉ Player Sport and RTÉ.ie, RTÉ Mobile. RTÉ h ...

, and successfully completed the

UEFA Pro Licence The UEFA coaching licences are documents testifying credentials of manager (association football), managers/ coach (sport), coaches among members of UEFA. The governing body for association football, football in Europe mandates several licences, e ...

coaching qualification in 2011.

Early life and career

Cunningham was born in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

. He attended St. Vincent's C.B.S. 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 to ...

district. At school, he played more

Gaelic football Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...

than soccer: he played for St Vincent's at

Croke Park Croke Park (, ) 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 headquarters of the Gaelic At ...

alongside future Gaelic star Dessie Farrell 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, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

club Tolka Rovers.

Club career

Millwall

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

of the English

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 ...

. 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 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 ...

in the starting eleven in a 1–1 draw away to

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...

, 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 moved to

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 Dennis Frank Wise (born 16 December 1966) is an English former professional football player and manager who played as a central midfielder. He spent the majority of his career at Chelsea, from 1990 to 2001. Beginning his career at Wimbledon, ...

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 (the FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest footb ...

. 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 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 ...

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 Association football, footballer who played as a centre back. Upson played for England national football team, England at full international level, including at the 2010 ...

, 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 Manager (association football), football manager and former Association football, player who was a centre-back in a twenty-year playing career. He is currently the head coa ...

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 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 ...

and Ireland full-back

Denis Irwin Joseph Denis Irwin (born 31 October 1965) is an Irish former professional footballer and sports television presenter. Irwin is the joint most successful Irish footballer in history, a record he shares with Ronnie Whelan and fellow Manchester U ...

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 Niall John Quinn (honorary Order of the British Empire, MBE; born 6 October 1966) is an Irish former professional Association football, footballer, manager, businessman and sports television pundit. As a player, he was a Striker (association f ...

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 sys ...

, 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, former coach, and former professional player. He is best known for his career in the Premier League, in particular his captaincy of Manchester United. He is the joint most ...

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 The Republic of Ireland Men's national football team () represents the Republic of Ireland in men's international Association football, football. It is governed by the Football Association of Ireland (FAI). The team made their debut at the Ir ...

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

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

. 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 Richard Patrick Dunne (born 21 September 1979) is an Irish former professional footballer and current television pundit for TNT Sports, who played as a centre-back. He made 431 Premier League appearances, including 253 for Manchester City. Du ...

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, Breen played for numerous clubs over a 20-year career, including more than 100 appear ...

in defence for a match against

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

. 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 Michael Joseph McCarthy (born 7 February 1959) is a professional Manager (association football), football manager, pundit and former Association football, footballer. He was most recently the head coach of Blackpool F.C., Blackpool. McCarthy b ...

: "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 Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

Lansdowne Road Lansdowne Road Stadium (, ) was a stadium in Dublin owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) that was primarily used for rugby union and association football matches. The stadium was demolished in 2007 to make way for the Aviva Stadium on ...

, which resulted in his team's failure to qualify for 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 ...

. 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 The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

, 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 Premier Sports is a group of pay sports television channels owned by SSBL Limited that are available in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Premier Sports holds exclusive live rights to La Liga, Scottish League Cup, Elite Ice Hockey League, NHL a ...

, on

's coverage of the League of Ireland and for

Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British broadcasting of sports events, subscription sports channels operated by the satellite television, satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television ...

's coverage of

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

matches. He coached at English

non-league Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...

club Nuneaton Town, who won promotion in his first year there. before completing his

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 Ireland. For much of its history, the League ...

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

2014 World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

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 or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe organised by the Union of E ...

Honours

Sunderland *

Football League Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Betting & Gaming, Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, i ...

: 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 Association footballers from County Dublin Gaelic footballers who switched code Gaelic games players from County Dublin Men's association football defenders Republic of Ireland association football managers Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Republic of Ireland men's international footballers Republic of Ireland men's B international footballers Republic of Ireland men's 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