Kevin Long (footballer)

Last updated

Kevin Long
Personal information
Full name Kevin Finbarr Long [1]
Date of birth (1990-08-18) 18 August 1990 (age 33) [2]
Place of birth Cork, Ireland
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) [2]
Position(s) Defender
Team information
Current team
Toronto FC
Number 5
Youth career
2007–2009 Cork City
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2008–2010 Cork City 16 (1)
2010–2023 Burnley 69 (1)
2010–2011Accrington Stanley (loan) 15 (0)
2011–2012Accrington Stanley (loan) 24 (4)
2012Rochdale (loan) 16 (0)
2012Portsmouth (loan) 5 (0)
2015–2016Barnsley (loan) 11 (2)
2016Milton Keynes Dons (loan) 2 (0)
2023–2024 Birmingham City 34 (1)
2024– Toronto FC 7 (0)
International career
2017– Republic of Ireland 17 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 03:22, 7 April 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 13:56, 4 March 2024 (UTC)

Kevin Finbarr Long (born 18 August 1990) is an Irish professional footballer who plays for Major League Soccer club Toronto FC and the Republic of Ireland national team. He plays mainly as a centre-back but can also fill in at full-back.

Contents

Long began his career with Cork City before joining Burnley in 2010 as a 19-year-old. He never established himself as a regular in the Burnley side, and spent several spells out on loan, before leaving the club in 2023 to sign for Birmingham City. He moved on to Toronto FC in February 2024.

Club career

Cork City

Long came through the Cork City youth structure, before signing on professional terms in January 2008.[ citation needed ] He played for the Cork City teams that won the FAI Youth Cup, [3] the Munster Youth Cup [ citation needed ] and FAI Futsal Cup [4] in 2009. Shortly after, the centre half made his senior City debut away to St Patrick's Athletic, coming on as a second-half substitute. [5]

Burnley

With his Cork City contract due to expire in November 2009, Long was linked with English clubs including Charlton Athletic, Millwall, Preston North End, Leeds United and Wolverhampton Wanderers. [6] [7] On 26 November, Premier League club Burnley confirmed that they had paid a six-figure fee and "beaten off stiff competition from top clubs north and south of the border" [8]  reported as Celtic and Everton [9]  to engage Long on a three-and-a-half-year contract, to begin when the January 2010 transfer window opened. [8]

Loan to Accrington Stanley

On 15 October 2010, Long joined League Two club Accrington Stanley on a month's loan. [10] He made his debut for the club in the 3–2 defeat to Rotherham United, but was sent off after 17 minutes for a foul on Adam Le Fondre. [11] The loan was twice extended [12] [13] before he returned to Burnley on 18 January 2011 after cracking a bone in his foot during a match against Cheltenham Town. [14] He rejoined Stanley at the end of January on loan for the remainder of the season. [15] He made 17 appearances. [16]

Long again signed for Stanley on 5 August 2011, this time on loan until the following January. [17] As he did during his first spell on loan, Long maintained his first-team status. He scored the first goal of his English career in a 2–2 draw with Plymouth Argyle on 8 October, and went on to score against Bristol Rovers, Torquay United and Macclesfield Town. [18] He re-joined Burnley on 5 January 2012, having made 26 appearances. [18]

Loan to Rochdale

Long's former manager at Accrington, John Coleman, signed him for League One club Rochdale on 27 January 2012 on loan for a month. [19] After playing four matches with two clean sheets during a run of two wins and a draw, Long extended his loan spell at Rochdale until the end of April. [20] He continued in the first team, [18] but Rochdale were unable to avoid relegation.[ citation needed ]

Loan to Portsmouth

On 18 August 2012, Long joined EFL League One side Portsmouth on a one-month emergency loan. [21] He made his first appearance the same day, as a member of a team of debutants starting a 1–1 draw against AFC Bournemouth, [22] was sent off for a second bookable offence in his third, [23] and suffered a back injury in his fifth and last that meant his loan was not renewed. [24]

Return to Burnley

Long scored his first goal for Burnley in a 4–3 FA Cup defeat at Southampton on 4 January 2014. [25] He made his Premier League debut a year later, in a 3–3 draw away to Newcastle United on 1 January 2015. He replaced the injured Jason Shackell in the 17th minute, but 20 minutes later was himself replaced, becoming the third Burnley player to be substituted during the match. [26] He had ruptured his cruciate knee ligaments. A few days later, he signed an extended contract with Burnley to run until 2017. [27]

Loan to Barnsley

In November 2015, after regaining full fitness, Long joined League One club Barnsley on a month's loan. [28] He scored a late winner against Oldham Athletic on his debut, [29] but was sent off in his second game, against Peterborough United. [30] He went on to help Barnsley reach the Football League Trophy final, successfully converting his kick in the penalty shootout that decided the northern area final. It was his last touch of a ball for Barnsley before his loan expired. [31]

Loan to Milton Keynes Dons

On 24 March 2016, Long joined Championship club Milton Keynes Dons on loan for the remainder of the 2015–16 season. [32]

Birmingham City

In January 2023, Long signed for Championship club Birmingham City until the end of the season. [33] Lack of match fitness marred his early appearances he had not played first-team football for eight months prior to joining [34]  but head coach John Eustace continued to select him, [35] [36] and he started 20 of a possible 23 matches. [37] Long was one of six senior professionals included on Birmingham's list of players to be released, [38] but signed a new one-year contract with the club on 25 June. [39] He played every minute of Birmingham's Championship season under Eustace's management, demonstrating aerial strength to complement centre-back partner Dion Sanderson's speed and ball skills, but lost his place to Emanuel Aiwu when Wayne Rooney took over as manager in October. [40] [41] A calf injury kept him out until January 2024, when Tony Mowbray restored him to the team, [42] and he started four Championship matches before leaving the club for an undisclosed fee on 20 February. [43] [44]

Toronto FC

Long signed for Major League Soccer club Toronto FC on 20 February 2024. His contract covered 2024 with an option for 2025. [45] He made his MLS debut five days later, playing the whole of the goalless opening-day visit to FC Cincinnati. [46]

International career

In May 2017, he received his first call-up to the Republic of Ireland senior side in a 37-man squad for a training camp in Fota Island. [47] He made the cut for the final squad for the friendlies against Mexico in New Jersey and Uruguay in Dublin, [48] and made his debut on 1 June in the 3–1 defeat to Mexico at the MetLife Stadium, replacing John Egan as a second-half substitute. [49]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 6 April 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Cork City 2008 [50] LOI Premier Division 0000000000
2009 [50] LOI Premier Division161001000171
Total161001000171
Burnley 2009–10 [51] Premier League 0000
2010–11 [16] Championship 000000
2011–12 [18] Championship000000
2012–13 [23] Championship1400000140
2013–14 [52] Championship701130111
2014–15 [53] Premier League10001020
2015–16 [54] Championship00000000
2016–17 [55] Premier League30001040
2017–18 [56] Premier League1611020191
2018–19 [57] Premier League6020113 [lower-alpha 1] 0121
2019–20 [58] Premier League802010110
2020–21 [59] Premier League802120121
2021–22 [60] Premier League60000060
2022–23 [37] Championship000000
Total6918211130914
Accrington Stanley (loan) 2010–11 [16] League Two 15020170
2011–12 [18] League Two24400101 [lower-alpha 2] 0264
Total394201010434
Rochdale (loan) 2011–12 [18] League One 160160
Portsmouth (loan) 2012–13 [23] League One501 [lower-alpha 2] 060
Barnsley (loan) 2015–16 [54] League One1122 [lower-alpha 2] 0132
Milton Keynes Dons (loan) 2015–16 [54] Championship2020
Birmingham City 2022–23 [37] Championship1713100202
2023–24 [61] Championship1701020200
Total3414120402
Toronto FC 2024 [43] MLS 70000070
Career total19991431517023413
  1. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  2. 1 2 3 Appearance(s) in Football League Trophy

International

As of match played 18 November 2020 [49]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Republic of Ireland 201740
201870
201921
202040
Total171

International goals

As of matches played 18 November 2020. Republic of Ireland score listed first, score column indicates score after each Long goal.
International goals by date, venue, cap, opponent, score, result and competition
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetitionRef.
110 September 2019 Aviva Stadium, Dublin, IrelandFlag of Bulgaria.svg  Bulgaria 2–13–1 Friendly [62]

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