Liam Buckley
Encyclopedia
Liam Buckley is an Irish
former professional football
player and manager.
and signed for Shamrock Rovers as a full time player in the 1979 close season. He scored his first goal for the Hoops against his former club at Milltown
on 21 October 1979 and he went on to score another seven league goals that season.
On 30 April 1980 he represented the League of Ireland against Argentina at the River Plate Stadium where Diego Maradona
scored in a 1-0 defeat.
Represented his country at U21 level in 1981.
Following a spell with Vancouver Whitecaps
in the 1981/82 season he finished as Rovers' top scorer with 21 goals and had a trial in Hanover
. While the following season was a disappointment he still ended up as top goalscorer at Milltown and guested for St Patrick's Athletic in a friendly with Manchester United. The 1983/84 season ended in triumph as Rovers won their first League title in twenty years. Liam had scored 13 League goals before he broke his collar-bone against Waterford at Milltown on the 26th of February. However he returned to action less than six weeks later to score the winner in the FAI Cup semi final replay against Shelbourne.
He made 5 appearances in European competition for the Hoops.
Liam was capped at full international level against Poland and in July was transferred to Belgian club K.S.V. Waregem
(4451). While there he gained his second international cap against Mexico. With Waregem he reached the UEFA Cup
semi final in 1986. He made 25 league appearances, scoring 5 goals.
He was transferred to Racing de Santander
on loan for the 1986/87 season and made his debut at the Camp Nou
on the 30th of August. It's a game he fondly remembers: "Gary Lineker and Mark Hughes were making their debut for FC Barcelona
and there I was making my debut for Santander. There was a crowd of around ninety thousand and the atmosphere was tremendous and although they beat us 2-0 I think that occasion is the highlight of my career"[1]. He later moved to Football Club Montreux-Sports (November 1987/89) where he spent two seasons.
He came home and signed for Rovers again in 1989 but injuries prevented him from establishing a regular first team place. In his final season in the Hoops in 1991/92 he scored once in eleven appearances.
He then transferred to St. Patrick's Athletic where he went on to win the League in 1996 as assistant to Brian Kerr. Kerr left in December 1996 after a decade at Richmond Park
to take up the position of technical director at the Football Association of Ireland
.
When he wasn't offered the managers job Liam left Pats in February 1997 to move to Sligo for the rest of that season and later went on to become player-manager at Athlone Town F.C.
semi final in 1998 in his first season as player-manager.
After guiding Pats to the League in 1998 Pat Dolan
stepped down after one game of the 1998/99 season and appointed Buckley as manager. Pats walked away with the league but 2 humiliating defeats in Europe followed by indifferent domestic form saw Buckley sacked in December 1999.
He then had another spell as Athlone's manager before being appointed Shamrock Rovers manager in April 2002.
In his first season he guided Rovers to the FAI Cup Final and 3rd spot thus ensuring European football again after the UEFA Cup
losses to Djurgårdens IF.
Famous wins over Odra Wodzisław saw Rovers become the first Irish side to win home and away since he himself had played and scored against Fram Reykjavik in 1982 http://www.shamrockrovers.ie./about/european-results.
However Rovers form dropped alarmingly after the UEFA Intertoto Cup
games and a seventh place finish had the fans worried. In the 2004 season with practically a new team Rovers again struggled and Liam was sacked in September 2004.
In 2008 Liam took on the role of manager of Sporting Fingal a brand new team that were awarded a licence to play in the League of Ireland
First Division. They finished a creditable 3rd in their first season in senior football. In their second season in 2009, Buckley guided Fingal to promotion through the play offs, and capped off a superb campaign by also winning the FAI Cup
.
In January 2010 he was awarded the SWAI Personality of the Year http://www.swai.ie/?q=node/99
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
former professional football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
player and manager.
Playing career
Liam began his League of Ireland career with Shelbourne F.C.Shelbourne F.C.
Shelbourne Football Club is an Irish professional football club based in the Drumcondra area of Dublin, currently playing in the League of Ireland Premier Division....
and signed for Shamrock Rovers as a full time player in the 1979 close season. He scored his first goal for the Hoops against his former club at Milltown
Glenmalure Park
Glenmalure Park, often simply known as "Milltown", was a football stadium on the Southside of Dublin city in Ireland. Located in the suburb of Milltown, it was home to Shamrock Rovers from 1926 to 1987, when it was sold to property developers by the club's directors...
on 21 October 1979 and he went on to score another seven league goals that season.
On 30 April 1980 he represented the League of Ireland against Argentina at the River Plate Stadium where Diego Maradona
Diego Maradona
Diego Armando Maradona is a retired Argentine football player and widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time. Over the course of his professional club career Maradona played for Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors, Barcelona, Napoli, Sevilla and Newell's Old Boys, setting...
scored in a 1-0 defeat.
Represented his country at U21 level in 1981.
Following a spell with Vancouver Whitecaps
Vancouver Whitecaps (NASL)
The original Vancouver Whitecaps were founded on December 11, 1973 and during the 1970s and 1980s played in the North American Soccer League . The Whitecaps achieved success, winning the 1979 Soccer Bowl. The Whitecaps of that era included international players such as Alan Ball, but also "home...
in the 1981/82 season he finished as Rovers' top scorer with 21 goals and had a trial in Hanover
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
. While the following season was a disappointment he still ended up as top goalscorer at Milltown and guested for St Patrick's Athletic in a friendly with Manchester United. The 1983/84 season ended in triumph as Rovers won their first League title in twenty years. Liam had scored 13 League goals before he broke his collar-bone against Waterford at Milltown on the 26th of February. However he returned to action less than six weeks later to score the winner in the FAI Cup semi final replay against Shelbourne.
He made 5 appearances in European competition for the Hoops.
Liam was capped at full international level against Poland and in July was transferred to Belgian club K.S.V. Waregem
K.S.V. Waregem
Koninklijke Sportvereniging Waregem was a Belgian football club that existed between 1925 and 2001. It played three spells at the highest level in the Belgian football league system each separated by a single season at the second level: from 1966 to 1972, from 1973 to 1994 and in 1995–96...
(4451). While there he gained his second international cap against Mexico. With Waregem he reached the UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
semi final in 1986. He made 25 league appearances, scoring 5 goals.
He was transferred to Racing de Santander
Racing de Santander
Real Racing Club de Santander, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in Santander, in the autonomous community of Cantabria. Founded in 1913, it currently plays in La Liga, holding home games at Estadio El Sardinero, with a capacity for 22,400 spectators....
on loan for the 1986/87 season and made his debut at the Camp Nou
Camp Nou
Camp Nou , sometimes called "the Nou Camp" in English, is a football stadium in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The stadium, located in the west of the city, has been the home of FC Barcelona since its construction in 1957....
on the 30th of August. It's a game he fondly remembers: "Gary Lineker and Mark Hughes were making their debut for FC Barcelona
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....
and there I was making my debut for Santander. There was a crowd of around ninety thousand and the atmosphere was tremendous and although they beat us 2-0 I think that occasion is the highlight of my career"[1]. He later moved to Football Club Montreux-Sports (November 1987/89) where he spent two seasons.
He came home and signed for Rovers again in 1989 but injuries prevented him from establishing a regular first team place. In his final season in the Hoops in 1991/92 he scored once in eleven appearances.
He then transferred to St. Patrick's Athletic where he went on to win the League in 1996 as assistant to Brian Kerr. Kerr left in December 1996 after a decade at Richmond Park
Richmond Park
Richmond Park is a 2,360 acre park within London. It is the largest of the Royal Parks in London and Britain's second largest urban walled park after Sutton Park, Birmingham. It is close to Richmond, Ham, Kingston upon Thames, Wimbledon, Roehampton and East Sheen...
to take up the position of technical director at the Football Association of Ireland
Football Association of Ireland
The Football Association of Ireland is the governing body for the sport of association football in the Republic of Ireland. It should not to be confused with the Irish Football Association , which is the organising body for the sport in Northern Ireland.For the full history, statistics and records...
.
When he wasn't offered the managers job Liam left Pats in February 1997 to move to Sligo for the rest of that season and later went on to become player-manager at Athlone Town F.C.
Management career
Liam was to guide Athlone to the FAI CupFAI Cup
The Football Association of Ireland Challenge Cup, known as the FAI Ford Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland...
semi final in 1998 in his first season as player-manager.
After guiding Pats to the League in 1998 Pat Dolan
Pat Dolan
Patrick Dolan is a former football player, manager, and executive. He is a soccer analyst on Setanta Sports Ireland.-Early life:...
stepped down after one game of the 1998/99 season and appointed Buckley as manager. Pats walked away with the league but 2 humiliating defeats in Europe followed by indifferent domestic form saw Buckley sacked in December 1999.
He then had another spell as Athlone's manager before being appointed Shamrock Rovers manager in April 2002.
In his first season he guided Rovers to the FAI Cup Final and 3rd spot thus ensuring European football again after the UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
losses to Djurgårdens IF.
Famous wins over Odra Wodzisław saw Rovers become the first Irish side to win home and away since he himself had played and scored against Fram Reykjavik in 1982 http://www.shamrockrovers.ie./about/european-results.
However Rovers form dropped alarmingly after the UEFA Intertoto Cup
UEFA Intertoto Cup
The UEFA Intertoto Cup, also abbreviated as UI Cup and originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition for European clubs that had not qualified for one of the two major UEFA competitions, the Champions League and the UEFA Cup. The competition was discontinued...
games and a seventh place finish had the fans worried. In the 2004 season with practically a new team Rovers again struggled and Liam was sacked in September 2004.
In 2008 Liam took on the role of manager of Sporting Fingal a brand new team that were awarded a licence to play in the League of Ireland
League of Ireland
The League of Ireland is the national association football league of the Republic of Ireland. Founded in 1921, as a league of eight clubs, it has expanded over time into a two-tiered league of 22 clubs. It is currently split into the League of Ireland Premier Division and the League of Ireland...
First Division. They finished a creditable 3rd in their first season in senior football. In their second season in 2009, Buckley guided Fingal to promotion through the play offs, and capped off a superb campaign by also winning the FAI Cup
2009 FAI Cup Final
The 2009 FAI Cup Final was competed in by Sligo Rovers and Sporting Fingal who were 2-1 winners in only their 2nd year in the League of Ireland....
.
In January 2010 he was awarded the SWAI Personality of the Year http://www.swai.ie/?q=node/99
As a player
- League of IrelandLeague of IrelandThe League of Ireland is the national association football league of the Republic of Ireland. Founded in 1921, as a league of eight clubs, it has expanded over time into a two-tiered league of 22 clubs. It is currently split into the League of Ireland Premier Division and the League of Ireland...
: 2- Shamrock Rovers - 1983/84
- St. Patrick's Athletic - 1995/96
- Leinster Senior CupLeinster Senior Cup (football)The Leinster Senior Cup is an association football cup competition organised by the Leinster Football Association. It contested by the top League of Ireland sides based in the province in Leinster along with four Leinster Senior League sides and the two Leinster Junior Cup finalists. The Cup was...
- Shamrock Rovers - 1982
- Player of the Year: 2
- Shamrock Rovers - 1981/82, 1982/83
As a manager
- League of IrelandLeague of IrelandThe League of Ireland is the national association football league of the Republic of Ireland. Founded in 1921, as a league of eight clubs, it has expanded over time into a two-tiered league of 22 clubs. It is currently split into the League of Ireland Premier Division and the League of Ireland...
- St. Patrick's Athletic 1998/99
- FAI CupFAI CupThe Football Association of Ireland Challenge Cup, known as the FAI Ford Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland...
- Sporting Fingal 2009
- SWAI Personality of the Year
- Sporting Fingal F.C.Sporting Fingal F.C.Sporting Fingal Football Club was a professional football club based in Fingal, County Dublin, Ireland. The club competed in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland from 2008 to 2011. Former Shamrock Rovers manager, Liam Buckley was the club's manager while former Arsenal player, John Devine...
- 2009
- Sporting Fingal F.C.