Where is Kevin Ball now?
Sunderland icon and former club captain Kevin Ball retired from playing in 2002 after a two year spell at Burnley.
Starting his professional career in 1982 with Portsmouth he went onto make over 600 first team appearances for four teams winning promotion to the Premier League with Sunderland in 1996 and 1999.
Upon retiring from playing, Ball rejoined Sunderland as their assistant academy manager before moving up to caretaker manager for the last 10 games of the 2005-06 season after Mick McCarthy was sacked.
Although he was keen to carry on as manager, the club wanted to bring in a higher profile name so opted for Roy Keane with Ball returning to his academy post.
In July 2012 he was promoted by new manager Martin O’Neill to senior professional development coach which involved taking charge of the under-21’s team.
In 2013 Ball was back as caretaker manager once again after Paolo Di Canio was sacked but went back to his under 21 coaching duties when Gus Poyet arrived as manager.
He returned to the club in July 2014 in an ambassadorial role after major knee surgery meant that he could no longer continue with his coaching role but left in February 2022 ending a three-decade-long association with the Black Cats.
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Kevin Ball: Premier League Statistics
| Nationality | English |
| Position | Midfielder |
| Appearances | 43 |
| Goals | 3 |
| Yellow Cards | 9 |
| Red Cards | 0 |
| Premier League Teams Played for | Sunderland |
Statistics courtesy of www.premierleague.com
Last Updated on 19 February 2022 by Admin