Kevin Foley (footballer)
 Foley playing for Wolves in April 2010 |
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Kevin Patrick Foley | ||
| Date of birth | 1 November 1984 | ||
| Place of birth | Luton, England | ||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[1] | ||
| Playing position | Right back / Midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Wolverhampton Wanderers | ||
| Number | 32 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1995–2002 | Luton Town | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2002–2007 | Luton Town | 151 | (3) |
| 2007– | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 154 | (4) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2004–2006 | Republic of Ireland Under 21 | 8 | (1) |
| 2006 | Republic of Ireland B | 1 | (0) |
| 2009– | Republic of Ireland | 8 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15:00, 21 January 2012 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). |
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Kevin Patrick Foley (born 1 November 1984) is an English-born Republic of Ireland international footballer who plays for Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Foley, a right back also able to operate in midfield, previously spent twelve years at Luton Town before joining Wolves in 2007 with whom he won promotion to the Premier League in 2009.
Contents |
[edit] Club career
[edit] Luton Town
Born in Luton, England to Irish parents, Foley joined hometown club Luton Town at the age of nine, and progressed through the youth ranks until graduating to the first team. He finally broke into the first team squad in 2002-03, making his league debut on 19 April 2003, in a 2-2 draw with Bristol City. The following season he established himself as first choice right-back at the club and was named Luton's Young Player of the Season. He also won this award the following season. Foley won promotion with Luton to the Football League Championship in 2005, and spent two seasons at this level before the club dropped back into League One in 2007. Foley made a total of 151 appearances for Luton, scoring three times.
[edit] Wolverhampton Wanderers
On 14 August 2007, Foley joined Wolverhampton Wanderers on a three-year contract for an undisclosed fee. He made his first league start against Sheffield Wednesday on 19 August 2007, winning the game 3-1 at Hillsborough. He scored his first league goal for the club against Norwich City on 22 September 2007, at Molineux. He ended his first season for Wolves as a vital member of the squad, starting 42 games out of 48, missing only six league games.
The following season Foley found his second league goal on the 13 December 2008, against Barnsley, winning the game 2-0 at Molineux. Foley found this to be his best season yet for the club as Wolves clinched the Football League Championship title at the end of the 2008-09 season. He made a total of 47 appearances in the league, missing just one game. He also achieved the Club's Player of the Season award, voted by Wolves fans. His good form was rewarded with a new contract at the end of the season for his outstanding performances and he signed a new four-year deal with the club, keeping him at Wolves until the summer of 2013.
Foley made his Premier League debut against West Ham United on 15 August 2009, losing the game 2-0 at Molineux, and also picking up a medial knee ligament injury. This injury kept him out for four months and it was not until December 2009 that Foley got a sustained run in the team at right-midfield and central-midfield. Although these were not Foley's favoured positions he went on to excel there in the 4-5-1 formation, and completed his first season in the Premier League with 23 league starts, plus two outings from the bench. Half way into the 2010-11 season, Foley had got two consecutive league goals at Molineux, the first against Bolton Wanderers, on 13 November 2010, losing the game 3-2, and the second against Sunderland, on 27 November 2010, winning the game 3-2.
[edit] International career
Foley qualified to play for Ireland as his parents are from County Kerry. He made his debut for Ireland u21s in May 2004 against Scotland. In 2005 he was named as the FAI under-21 player of the year.
On 29 May 2009, Foley made his debut for Ireland against Nigeria in an international friendly.[2] On 26 May 2011, he made his first competitive start for Ireland against Macedonia at right-back playing the full 90 minutes. On 4 May, he was called up for the 2011 Nations Cup games against Northern Ireland and Scotland. He played the full 90 minutes against Northern Ireland at the Aviva Stadium.
[edit] Honours
- Club
- Luton Town
- Football League One (1): 2005
- Wolverhampton Wanderers
- Football League Championship (1): 2009
- International
- Republic of Ireland
- Carling Nations Cup: 2011
- Individual
- Luton Town Young Player of the Season (2): 2003-04, 2004–05
- Wolverhampton Wanderers Player of the Season (1): 2008-09
[edit] References
- ^ "Premier League Player Profile". Premier League. http://www.premierleague.com/page/PlayerProfile/0,,12306~15809,00.html. Retrieved 18 March 2011.
- ^ "Rep of Ireland 1–1 Nigeria". BBC Sport. 29 May 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/internationals/8074830.stm. Retrieved 30 May 2009.
[edit] External links
- Official club profile
- Kevin Foley career stats at Soccerbase
- Football Association of Ireland profile
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- 1984 births
- Living people
- Association football defenders
- English footballers
- People from Luton
- Premier League players
- Republic of Ireland association footballers
- Republic of Ireland international footballers
- Republic of Ireland B international footballers
- Republic of Ireland under-21 international footballers
- The Football League players
- Luton Town F.C. players
- Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players
