Tony Kane

Football player infobox
playername= Tony Kane
fullname = Anthony Michael Kane


dateofbirth = birth date and age|1987|8|29
cityofbirth = Belfast
countryofbirth = Northern Ireland
height = height|ft=5|in=11
currentclub = Stockport County (on loan from Blackburn Rovers)
clubnumber = 33
position = Defender
years = 2004–
2006
2007
2008–
clubs = Blackburn Rovers
→ Stockport County "(loan)"
→ Cercle Brugge "(loan)"
→ Stockport County "(loan)"
caps(goals) = 0 (0)
4 (0)
11 (0)
0 (o)
nationalyears = 2006–2007
2007–2008
nationalteam = Republic of Ireland U21s
Northern Ireland U21s
nationalcaps(goals) = 5 (0)
5 (0)
pcupdate = 10 October 2008
ntupdate = 20:43, 8 August 2008 (UTC)

Anthony Michael "Tony" Kane (born August 29 1987) is a Northern Irish footballer who plays as a full-back for Stockport County on loan from Blackburn Rovers. As an international, Kane has played for both for the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland at under-21 level.

Club career

Blackburn Rovers

Kane joined Blackburn Rovers as a youth in November 2004 and was subsequently a member of the squad that won the Premier Academy League in 2004-05. He then became a regular member of the Rovers reserve team before signing a two year contract in 2006. In November 2006 he had a brief loan spell at Stockport County before joining Cercle Brugge on another loan deal in January 2007 [ [http://www.rovers.premiumtv.co.uk/page/ProfilesDetail/0,,10303~36335,00.html Blackburn Rovers bio] ] [ [http://nifootball.blogspot.com/2007/11/tony-kane.html Northern Ireland’s Footballing Greats] ] . In his first appearance for Cercle, Kane was voted man of the match by fans after a strong debut in a 2-0 win a debut against Zulte Waregemcite news
title = Cercle Brugge K.S.V. - S.V. Zulte-Waregem 2-0
url = http://www.cerclebrugge.be/index.php?catnr1=10&catnr2=100&catnr3=100&catnr4=100&wedstrijd=2266&tab=motm] [ [http://home.scarlet.be/~tsd51501/KANE%20TONY.htm www.cerclemuseum.be] ] .

Kane again joined Stockport County on loan in October 2008, this time for a month alongside Jarosław Fojut from Bolton Wanderers [ [http://www.stockportcounty.premiumtv.co.uk/page/LatestNews/0,,10419~1417171,00.html Defenders join on loan] ]

Irish international

Kane, together with Michael O'Connor, Marc Wilson and Darron Gibson, is one of several Northern Irish footballers, involved in an on going dispute between the (Northern) Irish Football Association and the Football Association of (the Republic of) Ireland over international eligibility. The dispute emerged after the Good Friday Agreement allowed people born in Northern Ireland to claim either Republic of Ireland and/or United Kingdom nationality. As a result Kane has been selected to represent both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland at international level [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/6083842.stm FAI responds over NI defections] ]

Northern Ireland

Kane initially represented Northern Ireland at both under-18 and under-19 levels [ [http://www.uefa.com/Competitions/Under19/Teams/Team=63/kindstatic=16/ www.uefa.com] ] before playing for the Republic of Ireland U21s during the 2006-07 season. He subsequently switched allegiances back to Northern Ireland and in November 2007 was called up for the senior team [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/6974998.stm senior Northern Ireland call up] ] . He has also played for Northern Ireland U21s [ [http://www.irishfa.com/squad-profiles/87/under-21/tony-kane-defender www.irishfa.com] ] , becoming a regular member of the squad during the qualifying rounds for the 2009 European Under-21 Championship. To date he has played twice against Israel [ [http://www.uefa.com/competitions/under21/fixturesresults/round=15084/match=300208/report=lu.html Northern Ireland U-21 v Israel] ] [ [http://www.uefa.com/competitions/under21/fixturesresults/round=15084/match=300210/report=lu.html Northern Ireland U-21 v Israel] ] and in games against Luxembourg [ [http://www.uefa.com/competitions/under21/fixturesresults/round=15084/match=300214/report=lu.html Northern Ireland U-21 v Luxembourg] ] and Moldova [ [http://www.uefa.com/competitions/under21/fixturesresults/round=15084/match=300198/report=lu.html Northern Ireland U-21 v Moldova] ] . On March 26 2008 he also played in a 3-1 friendly defeat against Romania [ [http://www.irishfa.com/international-matches/match-reports/210/northern-ireland-u21-v-romania-nationwide-international Northern Ireland U-21 v Romania] ]

Republic of Ireland

During the 2006-07 season Kane also made 5 friendly appearances for the Republic of Ireland U21s, making his debut on October 18 2006 in a 2-0 win against Luxembourg [ [http://www.fai.ie/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1297 Republic U-21 v Luxembourg] ] . Then in February 2007 he was selected for the Republic U-21 squad to play in the Madeira Cup, subsequently playing in two of the three games - a 1-0 win against Slovakia [ [http://www.fai.ie/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1746 Republic U-21 v Slovakia] ] and a 2-2 draw with Madeira [ [http://www.fai.ie/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1749 Republic U-21 v Madeira] ] . On March 27 he played in a 1-0 defeat against the Netherlands [ [http://www.fai.ie/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1883 Republic U-21 v Netherlands] ] before making his final appearance for the Republic U-21s on August 21 2007 in 2-2 draw with Germany [ [http://www.fai.ie/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2306 Republic U-21 v Germany] ] .

References