Caoimhín Kelleher

Caoimhín Odhrán Kelleher (KWEE-veen ORR-un KELL-uh-her; born 23 November 1998) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Premier League club Liverpool and the Republic of Ireland national team.

Caoimhín Kelleher
Kelleher with Liverpool in 2021
Personal information
Full name Caoimhín Odhrán Kelleher[1]
Date of birth (1998-11-23) 23 November 1998[2]
Place of birth Cork, Ireland[3]
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[4]
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team
 Liverpool
Number 62
Youth career
Ringmahon Rangers
2015–2019 Liverpool
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019– Liverpool 5 (0)
International career‡
2014–2015 Republic of Ireland U17 1 (0)
2016–2017 Republic of Ireland U19 8 (0)
2019 Republic of Ireland U21 10 (0)
2021– Republic of Ireland 10 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:27, 28 May 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 20:32, 21 September 2023 (UTC)

Early life

Kelleher was born in Cork, County Cork,[5] where he attended Presentation Brothers College.[6]

Club career

Kelleher joined Liverpool's academy from Ringmahon Rangers in summer 2015. He featured regularly for Liverpool's side during their pre-season programme of 2018 and was part of the squad that travelled to the United States for Liverpool's summer tour.[7]

In August 2018, he signed a new contract with Liverpool.[8] He was an unused substitute for the 2019 UEFA Champions League Final against Tottenham Hotspur.[9] In winning the Champions League, he became the 12th Irish footballer to do so and the first for over a decade.[10]

Though he was recovering from wrist surgery, Kelleher was on the bench for Liverpool's victory in the 2019 UEFA Super Cup against Chelsea in Istanbul due to the absence of first-choice Alisson.[11][12] He made his competitive debut for the club on 25 September 2019 in an EFL Cup Third Round match, keeping a clean sheet against League One side Milton Keynes Dons, in a 2–0 away win.[13]

On 1 December 2020, he started and kept a clean sheet in a 1–0 victory against Ajax in the Champions League.[14][15] Five days later, Kelleher was named in the starting line-up for a Premier League match against Wolverhampton Wanderers.[16] He kept a clean sheet in the match, a 4–0 win, which was his third consecutive shutout for the club.[17] At 22 years and 13 days, Kelleher became the third-youngest Liverpool goalkeeper to keep a Premier League clean sheet and the youngest to do so on his first league start.[17] After several strong performances, manager Jürgen Klopp confirmed that Kelleher had been promoted to second choice, behind Alisson and ahead of Adrián.[18] It was also reported that Liverpool were seeking to sign Kelleher to a new long-term contract on improved terms.[19]

On 24 June 2021, Kelleher signed a new long-term deal with the club until 2026, saying "For me, it was a positive moment to commit my future to the club for the next few years. It’s such a big club and it’s an honour to be a part of it, so when I got the chance to sign for a few more years I was obviously delighted."[20] James Pearce, who covers Liverpool F.C. for The Athletic said that it was "Reward for his impressive progress last season," and that he was now Alisson's Number 2.[21]

On 27 February 2022, Kelleher started in the 2022 EFL Cup Final and scored the decisive penalty in the 11–10 penalty shoot-out win against Chelsea.[22][23]

On 9 November 2022, Kelleher made his first start of the 2022–23 season and saved three penalties in a 3–2 penalty shoot-out win against Derby County in the third round of the 2022–23 EFL Cup at Anfield. He has now saved a total of six penalties in four shootouts for Liverpool which is a club record. Four of his eight appearances in the EFL Cup have gone to penalties with Liverpool winning all of them.[24]

On 1 June 2023, Republic of Ireland national team boss Stephen Kenny said he expected Kelleher to leave the club because he had been given so few opportunities to play. "He has been starved of games this year and that has been a problem for him," Kenny said.[25]

On 27 September 2023, Kelleher played in the 3-1 win against Leicester City in the 2023–24 EFL Cup and wore the captain's armband for the last 12 minutes of the game when stand-in captain Curtis Jones was substituted.[26]

International career

Kelleher featured for the Republic of Ireland U17s in the 2015 UEFA European Under-17 Championship.[7]

He was capped by his country at under-17 level in 2014, making his debut against Malta. He has also been capped at under-19 and under-21 level.[27]

On 6 November 2018, he was named in the senior Republic of Ireland squad for the first time for the friendly match against Northern Ireland on 15 November and the UEFA Nations League match against Denmark on 19 November 2018.[28]

He was called up again by the senior national team in March 2019, whilst still part of the under-21s.[29]

On 8 June 2021, Kelleher made his senior Ireland debut, coming on as a half-time substitute against Hungary in a 0–0 draw.[30] He was then included in the lineup for a friendly against Qatar in October 2021.[31]

Personal life

Kelleher is the younger brother of fellow footballer, Fiacre Kelleher.[32][33] He has three other older brothers who played hurling.[34]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 27 October 2023
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup EFL Cup Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Liverpool 2018–19[35] Premier League 00000000—00
2019–20[36] Premier League 001030000040
2020–21[37] Premier League 2010002[lower-alpha 1]00050
2021–22[38] Premier League 20204000—80
2022–23[39] Premier League 101020000040
2023–24[40] Premier League 0000102[lower-alpha 2]0—30
Total 50501004000240
Liverpool U21 2020–21[37] —————1[lower-alpha 3]010
Career total 50501004010250
  1. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  2. Appearance in UEFA Europa League
  3. Appearance in EFL Trophy

International
As of match played 22 March 2023[41]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Republic of Ireland 202120
202270
202310
Total100

Honours

Liverpool

References
  1. "List of Players under Written Contract Registered Between 01/08/2018 and 31/08/2018". The Football Association. p. 7. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 May 2019. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  2. "Caoimhin Kelleher: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  3. "Caoimhín Kelleher". Liverpool F.C. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
  4. "Caoimhin Kelleher". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  5. "C. Kelleher: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
  6. Ryan, Larry (11 March 2016). "A whole new ball game as Presentation Brothers aim for the top". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
  7. "Caomhin Kelleher". Liverpool F.C. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
  8. "Highly-rated Irish goalkeeper rewarded with new Liverpool contract". The42. TheJournal.ie. 30 August 2018. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  9. "Team news: Confirmed Liverpool line-up for Champions League final". Liverpool F.C. 1 June 2019. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
  10. Brent, Harry (2 June 2019). "Caoimhin Kelleher joins famous group of Irishmen to have won the Champions League after victory with Liverpool". The Irish Post. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  11. Krishnan, Joe (15 August 2019). "Liverpool win the Uefa Super Cup: Adrian the penalty shootout hero vs Chelsea in Istanbul". Evening Standard. London: ESI Media. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
  12. Doyle, Ian (15 August 2019). "Liverpool analysis – Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain patience required as defensive waters remain muddied in Chelsea victory". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
  13. "MK Dons 0–2 Liverpool". BBC Sport. 25 September 2019.
  14. Carroll, James (1 December 2020). "Team news: Confirmed Liverpool line-up v Ajax". Liverpool F.C. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  15. "Liverpool 1–0 Ajax: Curtis Jones punishes Andre Onana error as Reds make Champions League last 16". Sky Sports. 2 December 2020. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  16. Carroll, James (6 December 2020). "Team news: Confirmed Liverpool line-up v Wolves". Liverpool F.C. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  17. Sanders, Emma (6 December 2020). "Liverpool 4–0 Wolverhampton Wanderers". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  18. Murphy, Darragh (2 March 2021). "Jurgen Klopp confirms Liverpool goalkeeper pecking order after Adrian clean sheet". Pundit Arena. Pundit Arena HQ. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  19. Whitfield, Jonny (16 February 2021). "Liverpool open contract talks with backup star given big Klopp promise". TeamTalk. Planet Sport. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  20. Carroll, James. "Caoimhin Kelleher signs new long-term Liverpool contract". LiverpoolFC.com. Liverpool Football Club. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  21. Pearce, James. "James Pearce Tweet". Twitter.com. Twitter, Inc. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  22. "Liverpool wins the Carabao Cup". Skysports.com. Sky Sports. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
  23. "Liverpool win Carabao Cup final after beating Chelsea in penalty shootout". Guardian. 27 February 2022. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  24. "Kelleher's shootout saves see Liverpool scrape past Derby in Carabao Cup". Guardian. 9 November 2022. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  25. "Republic boss expects Kelleher to leave Liverpool". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  26. "Caoimhin Kelleher dons armband as Liverpool progress in Carabao Cup". RTE Sport. 27 September 2023. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  27. "Stephen Kenny begins Irish Under-21 reign in style". The Irish Times. 24 March 2019. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  28. "Nigerian-eligible Southampton teenager among four new call-ups in Ireland squad". The42. TheJournal.ie. 6 November 2018. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  29. "Euro 2020 qualifiers: Republic of Ireland boss McCarthy hands three players first call-ups". BBC Sport. 7 March 2019. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
  30. "Ireland round out season with encouraging draw away to Euros-bound Hungary". The 42. 8 June 2021. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  31. "Ex-England U21 striker Will Keane receives first Ireland call-up for October double-header". The 42. 30 September 2021. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  32. "Caoimhin Kelleher". Football Association of Ireland.
  33. Nash, Mathew (22 April 2015). "Liverpool complete signing of Celtic top talent Fiacre Kelleher's younger brother Caoimhin". Here Is The City. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  34. "Getting to know Fiacre Kelleher". Celtic F.C. 15 November 2015. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  35. "Games played by Caoimhin Kelleher in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
  36. "Games played by Caoimhin Kelleher in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
  37. "Games played by Caoimhin Kelleher in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
  38. "Games played by Caoimhin Kelleher in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  39. "Games played by Caoimhin Kelleher in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  40. "Games played by Caoimhin Kelleher in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
  41. "Caoimhín Kelleher". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  42. McNulty, Phil (14 May 2022). "Chelsea 0–0 Liverpool". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
  43. McNulty, Phil (27 February 2022). "Chelsea 0–0 Liverpool". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
  44. McNulty, Phil (1 June 2019). "Tottenham Hotspur 0–2 Liverpool". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
  45. McNulty, Phil (28 May 2022). "Liverpool 0–1 Real Madrid: Reds beaten in Paris as Vinicius Jr hits winner". BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  46. Rose, Gary (14 August 2019). "Liverpool 2–2 Chelsea". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
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