HE spent 11 years in the Premier League, played in Europe for Mid- dlesbrough and was twice capped by England.
Now Colin Cooper is managing one of the game’s least glamorous outfits at the wrong end of League Two, but don’t expect the 46-year-old to start talking about a culture shock. Because compared to where he started out, Hartlepool‘s Victoria Park is like the New York Hilton.
Born on a Sunderland council estate, Cooper said he played football for a chance to “escape”. Yet even when he was spotted by Middlesbrough, things weren’t much better.
Back in 1985, Boro were beginning the slide towards financial oblivion that would ultimately see them kicked out of Ayresome Park, slide down the divisions and come within hours of liquidation.
A year later, almost every senior pro had gone, leaving a bunch of local teenagers to pick up the pieces. Cooper was one. So too were Gary Pallister, Tony Mowbray and Stuart Ripley. They trained on a local field and spent Saturdays playing in front of 3,000 diehards.
“We weren’t treated as prima-donnas,” says Cooper, who made his debut as an 18-year-old in a Full Members Cup tie at Hull City under the great Willie Maddren. “There was none of the sparkling kit or sparkling conditions you get now. All we got was a pair of boots. We had to roll up our sleeves and graft with the groundsman.
“Kids don’t have to do that anymore. That makes you appreciate things when it turns in your favour and you become a successful professional.”
Which almost all of that team did, nurtured by Maddren and finished by Bruce Rioch, who led Boro to consecutive promotions. Rioch was famously disciplinarian, but Cooper believes the Scot’s iron rod set him for life.
“As a young player, the thing that I was taught by Bruce was to have high standards,” he said. “If you are happy giving 70 per cent, you aren’t doing yourself justice.”
And those standards would yield moves to Millwall in 1991 – where he was converted from left-back to centre-half by Mick McCarthy – and Nottingham Forest in 1993, a £1.7m switch that brought promotion to the Premier League, a third-place finish and international recognition.
There, he formed a no-nonsense back four with the likes of Des Walker and Stuart Pearce, becoming one of the first names on the team sheet.
“Colin Cooper was a hard man,” said then Forest boss Frank Clark. “With him and Stuart Pearce, we had two good leaders and a bit of devil in the dressing room.
“In terms of character, Stuart and Colin are half our team. When the ball bounced around the edge of the box he was always the one who made the block. A man like that is vital to any team.”
His final move was a return to Middlesbrough, for £2.5m in 1998. Though fans questioned such a hefty outlay on a 31-year-old, Cooper was a regular for seven seasons, continuing even after the death of his infant son, Finlay, in a choking accident in 2002.
“I’ve known Coops a long, long time, and he has always been the same,” said Boro coach Steve Harrison. “He is so passionate about his football and he works so hard in everything he does. He’s a great example on how to look after yourself and continue to have a career at the very top of the game.”
Sacked
Several years as a coach at Boro – first as reserve manager then as assistant to Gareth Southgate – were followed by a move to Bradford as No 2 to Peter Jackson in 2011.
Indeed, when Jackson was sacked, Cooper stepped up and oversaw impressive victories over Sheffield Wednesday and Barnet. Many fans wanted him installed full-time, and Cooper did apply. But when he was overlooked in favour of Phil Parkinson, old mate Tony Mowbray wasted little time in tempting him back to Teeside.
“Colin is someone I’ve always thought a tremendous amount of,” said Mogga. “He has an affinity for the area. He’s a very solid guy and somebody I value having alongside me in the dressing room.”
Clearly, though, that taste of management at Bradford had an effect and when Hartlepool came calling in May, Cooper made the short trip down the A19.
COLIN COOPER FACTFILE
Born: Durham, 1967 (Age 46)
Playing career: A left-back and later centre-half, Cooper was spotted playing for his school team and signed as a teenager by Middlesbrough, making his debut aged 18 in 1985.
He would spend the next six years at Ayresome Park, forming a legendary back four with Tony Mowbray, Gary Pallister and Gary Parkinson that saw the Teesiders win back-to-back promotions.
A £300,000 move to Millwall brought a further 77 appearances before the £1.7m switch to Forest that saw Cooper win promotion to the Premier League, qualify for Europe and win England honours.
After 20 goals in 180 games for Forest, Cooper returned to Middlesbrough in a £2.5m deal in 1998, playing a further eight seasons before eventually retiring, aged 39, in 2006. He finished his career with 37 goals in 606 games.
Managerial career: Appointed reserve team coach by Middlesbrough upon his retirement, Cooper was promoted to the first-team set up in 2006, then to assistant in 2009 following the departure of Malcolm Crosby.
When Gareth Southgate was sacked in October 2010, Cooper spent a single match in caretaker charge – a 2-2 draw with Preston – before being dismissed by new manager Gordon Strachan.
A stint as assistant to Peter Jackson at Bradford followed, with a further successful caretaker spell bringing win over Barnet and Sheffield Wednesday.
Overlooked for the job in 2011, he rejoined Middlesbrough as Under-18 manager before clinching his first managerial post with Hartlepool in May 2013.
