After 10 years’ exemplary service to the Whites, Liam Cooper leaves Leeds United having made over 250 appearances for the club, captaining the side to the 2019/20 Sky Bet Championship title and leading his team out in the Premier League. With news of the skipper’s departure, we have taken a look at a number of moments both on and off the pitch that have defined Liam’s time at the club and cement his status as a Leeds United legend.
After signing from Chesterfield, Cooper’s first competitive appearance for the Whites would come in the 2014/15 curtain raiser against Middlesbrough, with the centre-half playing the full 90 minutes alongside Jason Pearce in the heart of the defence. Aged 22, Cooper’s maiden Leeds appearance ended in success, with Billy Sharp’s late goal firing Dave Hockaday’s side to a 1-0 victory at Elland Road.
Liam’s first goal in white came in just his seventh league appearance and in some style, emphatically smashing in a volley against Blackpool at Elland Road. Alex Mowatt’s cross from the left had been charged down initially by the visitors, with the ball setting up invitingly for Cooper on the edge of the box to lash a stunning left-footed strike beyond the despairing dive of Joe Lewis in the Tangerines' goal, with United recording a 3-1 win.
A proud moment for Liam and his family came at the turn of the year during his first season, captaining his boyhood club for the very first time in an FA Cup tie away at Sunderland. After being handed the armband by Neil Redfearn, Cooper said it was "a dream come true to captain a club like Leeds United. It’s a great experience and long may it continue". And continue it did, with the Scotland international captaining the side over 200 more times throughout his illustrious time in West Yorkshire.
The 2018/19 season brought around a new era at Elland Road under Argentinian coach Marcelo Bielsa, with the season's opener against Stoke City living long in the memory for those inside Elland Road. Mateusz Klich and Pablo Hernandez fired Leeds into a two-goal lead at the break, with Cooper's powerful second-half header ensuring victory for the Whites. That season would ultimately end in heartbreak for the club, but with fresh optimism and belief that success was around the corner, Leeds would go again the following campaign…
Heading into February 2020's clash away at Brentford, Bielsa's side had lost four of their last five in the Sky Bet Championship and that torrid run of form threatened to continue when Said Benrahma put the hosts into an early lead. However, before the break, the defender was well-placed to bundle home an equaliser as Leeds earnt a vital point to get their season back on track.
Leeds would go on to win 12 of their next 14 league matches, ultimately to be crowned champions and earn a long-awaited return to the Premier League. After a 4-0 demolition of Charlton Athletic in the final game of the season, Cooper proudly lifted the Sky Bet Championship trophy aloft, with the Whites’ 16-year exile from the top-flight coming to an end. Sadly, the Covid-19 pandemic meant this moment was done behind closed doors, with fans forced to watch on from afar with the country still in lockdown.
An injury picked up on the eve of Leeds United’s Premier League return saw Liam miss the following season’s opener away at Liverpool, with United’s skipper back to proudly captain the club in our first home match of the campaign. In a thrilling encounter that swung one way and another, Bielsa's side eventually came out on top with a superb 4-3 victory, thanks to goals from Klich, Patrick Bamford and a Helder Costa brace.
The first match of Daniel Farke’s tenure at Elland Road brought a home tie with Cardiff City, as Leeds looked to put relegation behind them and plot a return to the Premier League. The opener would prove to be a tricky affair when the Bluebirds raced into a two-goal lead, but Cooper’s crucial header after the break handed the Whites a lifeline, with Crysencio Summerville then smashing home a last-gasp leveller. Liam’s header would encapsulate the ‘side before self’ mantra of the club, with the captain forced off through an injury picked up whilst scoring, going on to miss the next five matches.
Whilst the Play-Off campaign would ultimately end in heartbreak under the Wembley Arch, the semi-final provided another memorable moment for Liam when he was brought off the bench to a standing ovation from all four sides of the ground, with Leeds 4-0 up against Norwich City. ‘If Cooper scores, we’re on the pitch!’ shouted the fans and, whilst unable to get on the scoresheet, the 32-year-old helped ensure Leeds reached the final in the capital.
Liam led by example both off the pitch and on it, and his commitment to the city, the community and the people of Leeds was a great source of pride for the club. Everyone connected with Leeds United, and the wider football family, was truly saddened to hear of the passing of young Whites supporter Toby Nye who unfortunately lost his brave fight against cancer in 2019. During his treatment, Liam and his teammates became incredibly close with Toby, who featured as a mascot for the club.
The family spirit of the club has been something Liam has epitomised during his time in West Yorkshire, spending time with a number of families and making experiences memorable whenever children have had chance to meet the players. Last November, Roux, a young boy bravely fighting against a life-threatening brain tumour, was invited up to Thorp Arch along with his brother Noah and their parents, to spend time with the squad and have a front row seat to watch Farke’s side in training.
A vocal supporter of equality and inclusion within football, Liam has proudly supported different campaigns such as Rainbow Laces and Black Lives Matter. Throughout his time at the club, Liam has also regularly backed the Mission Christmas campaign, helping ensure families from all backgrounds were supported over the festive period and young children had presents to open.
