I’ve been to Hull and back
REJECTION BY TIGERS WAS THE MAKING OF LEEDS SKIPPER
MOST of the influential figures in Liam Cooper’s career are all pretty obvious.
There’s his “old man and hero” Dave, who works on the pallet boats on the River Humber. Cooper credits him with teaching him “to be the best person and version of himself”.
There’s also his former Chesterfield boss Paul Cook, who resurrected his career, and of course current manager Marcelo Bielsa.
Steve Bruce also played an important, if lesser-known, role in the Leeds skipper’s journey back to the Premier League.
Bruce did not want Cooper when he took over at Hull in June 2012 and sent him out on loan to League Two Chesterfield that November without seeing him play a single minute.
The defender chose to use Bruce’s snub as motivation.
Cooper joined Chesterfield permanently in January 2013 with a point to prove and became a key member of Cook’s League Two title-winning side the following season.
He earned a move to the Championship when Leeds snapped him up for £600,000 in August 2014 and is now living his dream of captaining his boyhood club in the Premier League. “I wasn’t wanted at Hull and it’s a bitter pill to swallow when someone doesn’t want you,” said Cooper. “You can either let it get you down or you can go and prove people wrong. “I like to think I’ve done that over the years. After Hull, I went to an unbelievable club and Chesterfield was great for me.
“I had some of the best days of my career there. We had an unbelievable manager in Paul Cook and a great group of players.
“The Leeds chairman was Massimo Cellino at the time. He made an offer for me and the rest is STALLED: Cooper, right, on duty for Hull in 2012 history. Being captain of Leeds is unbelievable. I have to pinch myself, not just for me but for my family as well.
“I grew up a Leeds fan and those dreams are distant when you’re a young boy.
“You never think you’ll be able to go back to the Premier League. To do what we’ve done is unbelievable.”
Bielsa has turned Cooper into an assured ball-playing centre-half.
The Scotland international is fifth in the ranking of Premier League defenders for his 64 aerial duels won and joint sixth for interceptions and blocks.
He is comfortable in possession and averages 71 passes per game with a completion rate of 88 per cent, compared to just 27 passes with a success rate of 70 per cent when he joined Leeds.
Cooper, 29, is quick to acknowledge Bielsa’s role in his development.
“I can’t speak highly enough of him,” he added. “He’s taken my game to a completely different level, not just as a football player, but as a human being too.
“I can only thank him for that. I’d like to think he knows how much me and the rest of the team appreciate what he does for us.
“We’ve started to create an elite mentality and that’s the way it’s got to be.”