Kenny Cooper

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Kenny Cooper
Personal information
Date of birth	October 21, 1984 (1984-10-21) (age 23)
Place of birth	Baltimore, MD, United States
Height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Playing position	Striker
Club information
Current club	FC Dallas
Number	33
Youth clubs
	Dallas Solar 85 Soccer Club
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
2003–06 2004 2005 2006–	Manchester United → Académica Coimbra (loan) → Oldham Athletic (loan) FC Dallas	00 0(0) 00 0(0) 10 0(3) 56 (21)
National team2
2007–	United States	02 0(1)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 02 June 2008. 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 20 January 2007. * Appearances (Goals)

Kenny Cooper (born October 21, 1984 in Baltimore, Maryland) is an American soccer striker, who currently plays for FC Dallas of Major League Soccer.

Contents 1 Youth career 2 Manchester United reserves 3 MLS 4 National team 4.1 International goals 5 See also 6 External links

[edit] Youth career

Cooper's father, Kenny Cooper Sr., played professional soccer as a goalkeeper in England before moving to the United States to play for the Dallas Tornado of the North American Soccer League. Under the mentorship of his father, Cooper became an outstanding youth player.^[1] After retiring from coaching professional soccer, Cooper's father had settled the family in Dallas, Texas where Cooper attended high school at Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas. He was the Dallas area high school player of the year while playing, graduating in 2003. During his last game at Jesuit College Prep Kenny was seen walking off the field crying, which he later admitted was because his frustration of not being able break the Strake Jesuit defense. While playing with the Dallas Solar 85 Soccer Club in the Dallas Cup, a major international youth tournament, Cooper caught the attention of several former NASL players who contacted Jimmy Ryan, Director of Youth Football at Manchester United. Ryan had also once played with Cooper's father when they were both with the Tornado. Ryan contacted the Cooper's and invited him to England for a trial. The fact that Cooper's father was a native of England helped grease the skids for Cooper as United did not need to acquire a work permit for him. Following a successful week long trial, United signed him on a free transfer. At the time Cooper had intended to attend Southern Methodist University, but decided to forgo college to pursue his professional career.^[2]

[edit] Manchester United reserves

During his time with Manchester United, Cooper was unable to break into the first team, spending his time with the reserve squad. As a result, the team loaned him to Académica Coimbra of Portugal at the beginning of the 2004-2005 season. However, the loan was terminated after half a season due to Cooper seeing very limited playing time. After a brief return to Manchester, the team loaned him again, this time to Oldham Athletic.^[3] When it became obvious that Cooper had little chance of becoming a starter with Manchester United, the team released Cooper midway through the 2005-06 season to allow him to pursue other opportunities. He saw time in one game with Sunderland before returning to the U.S.

[edit] MLS

When Cooper returned to the U.S., he signed with FC Dallas. He scored 11 goals in his first season. His second season started out strongly, scoring a quick four goals, but in a game against the LA Galaxy a strong tackle from Tyrone Marshall broke his leg and put him out for a majority of the season. This ended his hopes of playing in the 2007 Copa America for the United States.

[edit] National team

Cooper got his first cap and first goal for the US national team on January 20, 2007 against Denmark where he scored a goal after coming on near the end of the game. He then played in the Guatemala game, which was played in his MLS clubs' home stadium, Pizza Hut Park, as a second half sub. He was widely considered to be a member of the United States Copa America squad until he was sidelined with a broken right tibia^[4].

[edit] International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	20 January 2007	Home Depot Center, California, United States	Denmark	3-1	3-1	Friendly match

[edit] See also

• List of current MLS players

[edit] External links

• Kenny Cooper articles on Yanks Abroad
• Kenny Cooper's player page.
• Article about U.S. National Team's Prospects

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