Jimmy Rooney

James Rooney (born 10 December 1945) is a former footballer. He was a member of the Australian 1974 FIFA World Cup squad in West Germany.

Biography

Rooney was a left winger who played first team football with Lochee United, Peterborough United and Montrose F.C. in the United Kingdom, before emigrating to Melbourne, Australia in the late 1960s. He was an instant success there with Ukrainian Essendon Lions before transferring to Sydney to join the Prague club in 1970, and later playing at APIA Leichhardt, in the New South Wales First Division. In 1977, with APIA not joining the newly formed National Soccer League, Rooney joined Marconi Fairfield for two seasons, before moving back to Victoria where he played with Fitzroy Alexander and Croydon City Arrows.

He made his Australian debut against an England XI in 1971, going on play 57 times for his country (although he also accrued caps in "B" team fixtures, bringing the total to 102) in a career spanning a decade. He was Australia's first choice midfielder in the 1974 FIFA World Cup campaign, earning himself many admirers for his hard tackling and ball distribution. The Jimmy Rooney Medal, awarded from 1992 onwards to the man of the match in the Victorian Premier League Grand Final, was named in his honour.

He has recently settled to a managerial role of Victorian senior team, Eastern Lions, and also hosts a junior training program. He is also currently the head coach of the first eleven soccer team at St Kevin's College, Melbourne, Australia. In his second season in charge in 2009, he delivered the APS soccer premiership to the school, ending a nine-year drought.