Stephen Kenny

Stephen Kenny (born 30 October 1971) is an Irish football manager and former player who most recently managed the Republic of Ireland national team.

He has formerly managed Longford Town, Bohemians, Derry City, Dunfermline Athletic, Shamrock Rovers, Dundalk and the Republic of Ireland U21.

He is one of Republic of Ireland's most successful domestic league managers, having won eight trophies with Dundalk.

Kenny grew up in Tallaght and lived there for the first 18 years of his life.

He attended Our Lady of Loreto Boys National School and Old Bawn Community School.

A 79th-minute header from Sean Hargan was enough to give Derry a shock win in the first leg, and Stephen O'Flynn ensured a 1–0 home victory from the penalty spot.

Manager Stephen Kenny was delighted with the win, stating:

They have won the UEFA Cup twice and only a few years ago were in the group stages of the Champions League, so this is a great night for everyone connected with Derry City.

We were worthy winners.

It is not as if we got a goal and held on.

I think we played the better football.

This marked Derry City's first progression in European football since defeating Lyn Oslo more than 40 years ago.

Derry City were subsequently drawn against Scottish second-level side Gretna FC in the second qualifying round.

Kenny ran a successful meat-production business in the late 1990s before moving into football management full-time.

During his playing career, Kenny spent two years at Belvedere as a schoolboy before signing for St Patrick's Athletic.

Without making an appearance he then transferred to Home Farm, playing just four games in the League of Ireland First Division making his League of Ireland debut on 13 March 1994.

Kenny began his coaching career with St Patrick's Athletic when he took charge of the Dublin side's Under 21 squad in the Athletic Union League, guiding the team to a league win in his first managerial role.

In the summer of 1998, Kenny became the youngest manager in National League history when he took over Longford Town at the age of 26.

He led Longford to huge success during his three-year tenure as they won promotion to the League of Ireland Premier Division for the first time and subsequently reached the 2001 FAI Cup Final, qualifying for the 2001–02 UEFA Cup.

In December 2001, Kenny left the midlands club and became manager of Bohemians, taking over at Dalymount Park.

Bohemians were then the champions of the Eircom League, having won the Double the previous season.

However, the club was in something of a crisis, with former manager Roddy Collins' successor Pete Mahon struggling after a strong start to the season.

Kenny's impact at Bohemians was immediate, as the side steadily moved away from the lower end of the league table.

Kenny’s squad reached that year's FAI Cup final, which saw Dundalk FC seal a close 2–1 victory over Bohemians.

In the 2002–2003 season, Kenny made some changes within the first-team squad and led Bohemians to a Premier Division title win, granting the side qualification for the 2003–04 UEFA Champions League first qualifying round.

Although Bohemians did not progress to the second qualifying round, Kenny’s revitalised squad celebrated a 3–0 win over FC BATE Borisov, the record-holders for the most Belarusian Premier League titles won.

The following season, Bohemians placed second to winners Shelbourne FC in the league, securing the club’s place in the 2003–04 UEFA Cup first qualifying round.

Kenny left Bohemians on 27 July 2004 with a league record of 49 wins in 96 games.

After just three weeks out of the game, Kenny returned to management at Derry City following the departure of Gavin Dykes, taking over from caretaker manager Peter Hutton.

His time at the club was hugely successful and he has been credited for turning a team battling against relegation in the 2004 season into one which challenged for the Premier Division title in 2005, finishing runners-up.

Kenny also guided Derry City to their first advancement in European competition in over 40 years, the last seeing Norwegian side Lyn Oslo being knocked out.

Derry qualified for the 2006–07 UEFA Cup by finishing runners-up in the Premier Division in the 2005 season.

On 13 July 2006, Derry overcame two-time winners IFK Göteborg in the UEFA Cup first qualifying round 2–0 on aggregate.

On 10 August 2006, Derry claimed a 5–1 away win to gain a considerable advantage going into the home leg.

This result is the largest away winning margin for a League of Ireland team in Europe.

Following a 2–2 home draw with Gretna in the second leg and a 7–3 win on aggregate, Derry advanced to the UEFA Cup First Round.

In the draw, held on 25 August 2006, Derry City were handed a tough tie against Paris Saint-Germain FC.

The first leg was played at home at Brandywell Stadium on the evening of 14 September 2006 and ended in a hard-fought 0–0 draw, a magnificent result for the battling Derry side.

The second leg was played at Parc des Princes on 28 September.

Paris St. Germain won the second leg 2–0 with goals from Pauleta and Edouard Cisse.