Dominic Foley

Dominic Joseph Foley (born 7 July 1976) is an Irish former professional footballer who played as a forward.

Dominic Foley
Personal information
Full name Dominic Joseph Foley
Date of birth (1976-07-07) 7 July 1976
Place of birth Cork, Republic of Ireland
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
Charleville
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1994–1995 St. James's Gate
1995–1999 Wolverhampton Wanderers 21 (3)
1998 → Watford (loan) 8 (1)
1998 → Notts County (loan) 2 (0)
1998–1999 → Ethnikos Piraeus (loan) 7 (3)
1999–2003 Watford 33 (5)
2001 → Queens Park Rangers (loan) 1 (0)
2002 → Swindon Town (loan) 7 (1)
2002 → Queens Park Rangers (loan) 4 (0)
2003 → Southend United (loan) 5 (0)
2003 → Oxford United (loan) 6 (0)
2003–2004 Braga 12 (1)
2004–2005 Bohemians 30 (7)
2005–2009 Gent 103 (29)
2009–2012 Cercle Brugge 70 (19)
2012 Limerick 15 (3)
Total 324 (73)
National team
1996 Republic of Ireland U21 ? (1)
2000 Republic of Ireland 6 (2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

He played for nine clubs in England, finding stability in his late 20s and 30s in Belgium, where he represented two teams.

Football career

England

Foley was born in Cork. In 1995, at the age of 19, he was signed by English First Division club Wolverhampton Wanderers from St. James's Gate. He made his debut on 18 November as a substitute in a 1–3 away loss against Oldham Athletic, but never managed to earn a regular place, and appeared in just 29 competitive matches in four seasons combined at Molineux Stadium.[1]

To gain playing time, Foley was loaned several times in the following years, to Watford, Notts County and Greek club Ethnikos Piraeus FC. He eventually moved to Watford, signed by Graham Taylor – who had originally brought him to Wolverhampton – on a free transfer.

Foley played 12 times in his first year with the Hornets (one goal), also making his Premier League debut. Even though the campaign ended in relegation, he received his first call-up to the Republic of Ireland national team;[2] his debut came on 30 May 2000 in a 1–2 friendly defeat to Scotland; five days later, his second cap, against Mexico, saw him score the first of his two international goals, with all six appearances coming during the year.[3]

Early into 2000–01, Foley netted a last-minute winner against Barnsley,[4] but overall found playing opportunities scarce, being successively loaned by the Vicarage Road side to Queens Park Rangers (two spells),[5] Swindon Town,[6] Southend United[7] and Oxford United.[8]

Braga

Foley left England in 2003 for Portuguese club S.C. Braga,[9] being scarcely used during one sole season,[10] after which he returned to his country after one decade by signing for Bohemians.

He impressed in the team's 2005 UEFA Intertoto Cup game against Belgium's K.A.A. Gent, who bought him soon afterwards.[11]

Belgium and later years

Foley established at the Ghelamco Arena, scoring six goals in 25 Belgian First Division A appearances his first season and bettering his totals in the following two campaigns, netting in double digits (respectively ten and 11) as the Flemish club finished fourth and sixth in the table, respectively;[12][13] additionally, he helped it reach the semi-finals of the Belgian Cup in 2007, scored three goals in that year's UEFA Intertoto Cup to help his team reach the third round,[14] notably netting against Cliftonville F.C. in a 2–0 home win (6–0 on aggregate),[15] and was named club captain at the start of 2007–08.[16]

Foley helped Gent reach the final of the domestic cup in 2007–08, opening the score against R.S.C. Anderlecht after just six minutes but eventually losing the match 2–3.[17] The next season, however, new coach Michel Preud'homme rarely used him in his starting eleven and, with the player's contract due to expire, he was sold during the winter break to fellow league side Cercle Brugge KSV.[18]

On 22 February 2012, aged nearly 36, Foley returned to his homeland and joined Limerick FC, having been released by Cercle the previous day.[19]

Transfer controversies

Foley caused controversy in 2005 when he successfully had his contract with Bohemians terminated over the failure of payment by the club of "bonuses". He then signed for Gent which had played against the Irish side only a few weeks before, sparking rumours of secret meetings between player and management after the match.

In 2009, Gent accused Cercle Brugge of secret reunions with Foley before he was allowed to engage in conversations in order to discuss his future. With his contract due to expire at the end of the season, the former's general manager, Michel Louwagie, claimed the player had discussed a contract before the allowed date of 1 January, saying: "I don't at all appreciate the way Cercle have behaved in relation to Foley. It is against the rules." On 21 January, Cercle announced that Foley had signed a three-year contract with the club, starting in June 2009.[20] On the 27th, however, both clubs agreed on an immediate transfer during the winter transfer window.[21]

Honours

Limerick

References
  1. "Dominic Foley". Sporting Heroes. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  2. "Holland and Foley get Republic call". BBC Sport. 25 August 2000. Retrieved 23 August 2010.
  3. "Ireland's international players". Football Association of Ireland. 17 February 2010. Retrieved 12 April 2010.
  4. "Watford 1–0 Barnsley". BBC Sport. 19 August 2000. Retrieved 23 August 2010.
  5. "QPR 3–2 Notts County". BBC Sport. 1 April 2002. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  6. "Football transfers". BBC Sport. 1 August 2002. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  7. "Foley joins Southend". BBC Sport. 11 February 2003. Retrieved 19 August 2011.
  8. "Foley extends Oxford loan". BBC Sport. 24 April 2003. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  9. "Mike Walsh apadrinha Foley" [Mike Walsh champions Foley]. Record (in Portuguese). 6 June 2003. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  10. "Foley: "Não é fácil marcar em 10 ou 20 minutos"" [Foley: «It's not easy to score in 10 or 20 minutes»]. Record (in Portuguese). 2 April 2004. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  11. "Brits Abroad: Dominic Foley". Not Bad on Paper. 13 August 2010. Archived from the original on 19 April 2015. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  12. "Dominic Foley niet vies van bier, maar bij AA Gent verkiest hij goals boven vertier" [Dominic Foley does not dislike beer, but at AA Gent he prefers goals above stir]. Het Nieuwsblad (in Dutch). 4 November 2005. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  13. "AA Gent-spits Dominic Foley al aan acht goals in negen matchen" [AA Gent striker Dominic Foley scores eight goals in nine matches]. Het Nieuwsblad (in Dutch). 29 January 2008. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  14. "UEFA Intertoto Cup 2007 – Match Details". RSSSF. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  15. "Ghent 2–0 Cliftonville". BBC Sport. 7 July 2007. Retrieved 23 August 2010.
  16. "Westerlo acht Foley te duur" [Westerlo deem Foley too expensive] (in Dutch). Voetbal België. 5 July 2008. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  17. "Anderlecht wint Beker van België na zinderende finale: 3–2" [Anderlecht win Belgian Cup in thrilling final: 3–2]. Gazet van Antwerpen (in Dutch). 18 May 2008. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  18. "Foley (AA Gent) tekent voor drie jaar bij Cercle Brugge" [Foley (AA Gent) signs for three years with Cercle Brugge]. Het Nieuwsblad (in Dutch). 21 January 2009. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  19. "Foley signs on for Limerick". Extra Time. 22 February 2012. Archived from the original on 4 December 2013. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
  20. "Foley (Gent) voor drie jaar naar Cercle Brugge" [Foley (Gent) to Cercle Brugge for three years]. Gazet van Antwerpen (in Dutch). 22 January 2009. Retrieved 23 August 2010.
  21. "Cercle praat met Gent over Foley" [Cercle talk to Gent about Foley]. Het Nieuwsblad (in Dutch). 27 January 2009. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Oleg Yashchuk		 Cercle Brugge top scorer
2010		 Succeeded by
Reynaldo
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