Chris Kirkland

Goalkeeping is a thankless trade, and Chris Kirkland's career reads like a meditation on resilience. Once hailed as one of England's brightest young keepers at Coventry City, the 191cm shot-stopper from Barwell strung together an 18-year run of 321 appearances despite the injuries that quietly haunt so many keepers. He earned just one England cap in 2006, which sounds slight, but I read it differently: longevity at the top demands a kind of stubborn nerve most players never develop. His shift into coaching feels like the natural extension of a man who spent two decades thinking under pressure.

Name (English)

Chris Kirkland

Name (Japanese)

クリス・カークランド

Reading

くりす・かーくらんど

Born

May 2, 1981 (age 45)

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Taurus / Rooster

Origin

Barwell, United Kingdom

Height

191 cm

Occupation

association football player / association football coach

University

Henley College, Coventry

Motto

Private

• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%AF%E3%83%AA%E3%82%B9%E3%83%BB%E3%82%AB%E3%83%BC%E3%82%AF%E3%83%A9%E3%83%B3%E3%83%89

Tags

• association football player
• association football coach

Last updated

2026-06-02

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.