Played For Both: Blackburn Rovers & Leeds United | OneFootball

We take a look through the players who have featured for both sides

Leeds United travel to Ewood Park on Saturday as the Whites prepare to face Blackburn Rovers in the Sky Bet Championship.

Ahead of the fixture, we take a look back through the years and pick out a starting XI from the players who have worn the shirts of both clubs.

GK: Paul Robinson The Leeds United FA Youth Cup winner began his senior footballing career with the Whites. Over the course of six seasons, Robinson made 119 appearances and even scored one goal, a last minute equaliser against Swindon Town in the League Cup, during his time in Yorkshire. After a spell with Tottenham, the shot-stopper signed for Blackburn in 2008 where he spent the next seven seasons of his career. He featured 201 times in all competitions for the Rovers until his departure in 2015.

DEF: Barry Douglas In the summer of 2018, Douglas was snapped up by Leeds from Wolves and featured 45 times in all competitions for LUFC. After achieving promotion to the Premier League in 2020, Douglas was sent out on loan to Blackburn Rovers ahead of the 2020/21 campaign. The full-back played 31 times for Rovers during his loan spell.

DEF: Stephen Warnock

The former England international joined Blackburn in 2006 from Liverpool and played on 109 occasions for the club until 2009. He then had spells with Aston Villa and Bolton Wanderers before signing for Leeds United during the 2012/13 campaign. Over the course of two and a half seasons, Warnock scored three goals and featured 67 times for the club before leaving for Derby County in January 2015.

DEF: Dom Matteo The former Scotland international was snapped up by Leeds United following his departure from Liverpool in 2000 and became an important figure in Leeds’ run to the Champions League semi-final that season. 146 appearances and four goals later, Matteo left the club in July 2004 for Blackburn Rovers. Despite spending two and a half seasons at Ewood Park, Matteo featured just 39 times and scored once in all competitions.

DEF: Matt Kilgallon Kilgallon came through LUFC’s youth academy and made his professional debut with Leeds United back in 2002. Before signing for Sheffield United in 2007, Kilgallon played 95 games for Leeds and scored three goals. He later had spells with Sunderland, Middlesbrough and Doncaster Rovers before eventually making the move to Blackburn in the summer of 2013. The defender played 64 times in three seasons for the Rovers before signing for Bradford City in 2016.

MID: Kevin Hird

Hird came through Blackburn Rovers’ youth academy and netted 20 goals in 132 appearances for his boyhood club during his six-year senior spell with the Rovers. The midfielder signed for Leeds in March 1979 for a fee of £357,000, a record fee for both clubs at the time. Hird played at both right back and in midfield during his Leeds days and he racked up exactly 200 appearances and 21 goals in the process before leaving in 1984.

MID: David Batty A Second Division and First Division champion with Leeds United, David Batty played 373 games and scored four goals over the course of two separate spells with the club. The first spell was between 1987 to 1993, and after spells with Blackburn and Newcastle, he returned to Elland Road in 1998 where he stayed for another six seasons. During his time at Blackburn, he played 71 times from 1993 to 1996 and won the Premier League title with the club.

MID: Bradley Johnson

Between January 2008 and 2011, Johnson played 140 games and scored 16 goals for LUFC. He also achieved promotion from League One in 2010 with the Whites and after spells with Norwich City and Derby, Blackburn secured his signature in 2019. The midfielder stayed with the Rovers for the next three seasons and played 86 times, scoring six goals in process in al competitions.

MID: Jason Wilcox

Wilcox joined Blackburn as a 16-year-old and stayed with the club until 1999. During that time, Wilcox won the Premier League in 1995, played over 300 games and scored 33 goals. He joined Leeds directly from Rovers in December 1999 and went on to help LUFC reach both the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup and the Champions League. Overall, he played 106 games and scored six goals for Leeds before being release in 2004.

ATT: El Hadji Diouf

In 2009, Diouf signed for Blackburn from Sunderland and netted four times in 62 games for the club  until he left in 2011. The attacking forward then had a spell with Doncaster before signing for Leeds United ahead of the 2012/13 season. Diouf remained with the club until May 2014, during this time he scored seven goals and played on 52 occasions for LUFC.

ATT: Paul Dickov The former Scottish international spent two seasons with Blackburn Rovers, the 2004/05 and 2005/06 campaigns. DIckov netted 17 goals and played 61 times in all competitions for the Rovers during this period. In March 2010, he made the move to Yorkshire to sign for LUFC towards the end of the 2009/10 campaign where Leeds would eventually go on to achieve promotion back to the Championship. He featured four times and would later leave the club at the end of his short-term contract.