Jimmy Rooney

Jimmy Rooney

Personal information
Full name	James Rooney
Date of birth	10 December 1945
Place of birth	Dundee, Scotland
Playing position	Left Midfielder
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
1964–1965	Lochee United
1965–1967	Peterborough United	7	(2)
1967–1968	Montrose FC	13	(1)
1968–1969	Essendon Lions
1970–1971	Prague
1972–1976	APIA Leichhardt
1977–1978	Club Marconi
1979-1981	Fitzroy Alexander	72
National team
1970–1980	Australia	99	(20)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (goals)

James "Jimmy" Rooney (born 10 December 1945 in Dundee, Scotland)^[1] is a former football (soccer) player. He was a member of the Australian 1974 World Cup squad in West Germany.

Biography

Rooney was a left sided midfielder who played first team football with Lochee United, Peterborough United and Montrose F.C. in the United Kingdom, before emigrating to Melbourne, Australia in the late 1960s. He was an instant success there with Ukrainian Essendon Lions before transferring to Sydney to join the Prague club in 1970, and later playing at APIA Leichhardt, in the New South Wales First Division. In 1977, with APIA not joining the newly formed National Soccer League, Rooney joined Marconi Fairfield for two seasons, before moving back to Victoria where he played with Fitzroy Alexander and Croydon City Arrows

He made his Australian debut against the England in 1971, going on play 99 times for his country in a career spanning a decade. He was Australia's first choice midfielder in the 1974 World Cup campaign, earning himself many admirers for his hard tackling and ball distribution. The Jimmy Rooney Medal, awarded from 1992 onwards to the man of the match in the Victorian Premier League Grand Final, was named in his honour.

He has recently settled to a managerial role of Victorian senior team, Eastern Lions, and also hosts a junior training program. He is also currently the head coach of the first eleven soccer team at St Kevin's College, Melbourne, Australia. In his second season in charge in 2009, he delivered the APS soccer premiership to the school, ending a nine-year drought.

References

1. Match report, including date of birth

External links

• Jimmy Rooney at National-Football-Teams.com
• Oz Football profile