Kevin Kilbane

Early career

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

Sunderland

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 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". 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. In the summer of 2002, 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 £1 million, where he was reunited with David Moyes. The Goodison Park fans would appreciate…

While still a youth player at Preston, Kilbane was called up to the England u-18 squad, but declined as he had always wished to represent Ireland. Kilbane is an Irish citizen since birth, as both his parents are Irish, and he made his international debut against Iceland on 6 September 1997. He was chosen as part of Mick McCarthy's squad for the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Japan and South Korea. The team did relatively well at the tournament, progressing to the knockout stage. They lost to Spain in a penalty shootout when Iker Casillas saved Kilbane and David Connolly's penalties. Kilbane scored his first international goal in nearly four years with a magnificent strike against the Czech Republic on 11 October 2006. He scored his 8th international goal on 7 September 2010 against Andorra, the first competitive goal for the Republic of Ireland at the new Aviva Stadium. Kilbane won his 100th cap against Montenegro on 14 November 2009, and on 2 March 2010, he and Shay Given became the joint most-capped players for the Republic of Ireland, both earning their 103rd caps in a 2-0 friendly defeat to Brazil. As of 4 June 2011, Kilbane played his 66th consecutive competitive international game (a run stretching back to 1999); only England's Billy Wright has achieved a longer unbroken run in competitive international football. Kilbane was only four games away from equalling Wright's record of 70 consecutive competitive international starts. However, this run ended after he was not selected…

Kilbane obtained a degree in Professional Sports Writing and Broadcasting at Staffordshire University. Kilbane was enlisted by RTÉ Sport for their squad of pundits ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. From 2012, he became a studio analyst for UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League coverage on TV3 and 3e in Ireland, and also a regular on Setanta Sports. On 7 April 2013, he made his first appearance as a studio pundit on the BBC One's Match of the Day 2. On 9 May 2013, he made his first appearance on the Guardian Football Weekly Extra podcast. In 2014, Kilbane was part of the commentary team for the BBC at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. From August 2016, Kilbane began a role as co-presenter on the Off the Ball show on Newstalk radio in Ireland. Kilbane also provided commentary for the station's Premier League coverage. In 2020, Kilbane competed in the twelfth series of Dancing on Ice, alongside partner Brianne Delcourt; the couple were eliminated in Week 5. After relocating to Canada with Delcourt, Kilbane took up a role as professional analyst on The Sports Network (TSN) during the COVID-delayed UEFA Euro 2020.

Kilbane has been a fan of the Mayo Gaelic footballers since boyhood, became a member of a fanclub upon his retirement from professional association football in 2012, and attended many of the team's matches when he lived in Ireland. He is a patron of the Down's Syndrome Association, and in February 2015, sent a complaint to the FA over allegations that West Ham United supporters had sung a chant mocking the condition. Kilbane entered into a relationship with professional figure skater Brianne Delcourt, his skating partner on the twelfth series of Dancing on Ice. They got engaged in February 2020, and were married in September 2020 in Haliburton, Ontario. The couple have two daughters together, while Kilbane is stepfather to Delcourt's daughter from a previous relationship. He had been married to his first wife Laura Harrison until 2011, with whom he also has two daughters.