Irish keeper Gary Rogers retires after 20 years

Gary Rogers ended his goalkeeping career in Dundalk’s last match of the season, at home to Arsenal in their final UEFA Europa League group match.

Rogers played 583 times for a variety of Irish clubs including Galway United, St Patrick’s Athletic, Sligo Rovers as well as Dundalk for the last five years of his career.

He holds the record for most appearances in European competition for an Irish domestic player (54) and featured in the Republic of Ireland squad on three occasions but never played at International level.

After brief spells at Shelbourne and out on loan to St Francis, Rogers joined Drogheda United in 2001 at the age of 19 and spent four seasons there helping the club to gain promotion to the top flight in his first season as well as winning the Irish FAI Cup in his last season.

Rogers then moved on to play for Dublin City, Bray Wanderers and Galway United before joining St Patrick’s Athletic in 2009. While at St Patrick’s, Rogers was selected to be part of the League of Ireland XI side that played Manchester United in the opening game of the newly developed Aviva Stadium and also got his first taste of European football featuring in two UEFA Europa league campaigns.

Rogers then signed for Sligo Rovers in 2012 and helped  the club to a first league title in 35 years playing in every single league game until after the title was secured. Rogers signed for his last club Dundalk at the end of 2014 and in his first season won the league and cup double. He went on to help the club win further league titles in 2016, 2018 and 2019 and was part of the Dundalk side that made Irish footballing history by reaching the play-off round in the 2016-17 UEFA Champions League.

After the COVID19-delayed 2020 League of Ireland season had finished and following another FAI Cup victory, Rogers finally hung up his goalkeeping gloves at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin in Dundalk’s final match of their season against Arsenal in the UEFA Europa League.

Gary Rogers playing in his last match of his 20-year career in Dundalk’s Europa League match in Dublin (Photo: Stephen Gormley (Red Eye Photo Agency))

Rogers ends his long and successful career at the age of 39 having won five Irish Premier League titles and five Irish FAI Cups.

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