Stuart Dallas and Liam Cooper have formed a phenomenal relationship at Leeds United both on and off the field during their time together at the club.
The two players are now in their ninth and final season of sharing a dressing room together after Dallas made the decision to hang up his boots due to injury last month.
Cooper hailed Dallas as his ‘best pal’ following the Northern Irishman’s retirement and it would be fair to say they have been through plenty of ups and downs at Leeds.
It looks set to be the end of an era at Leeds this summer with Cooper also likely to leave. His contract is up next month and there has been no indication he will be offered a new one.
Despite his critics, Cooper has ultimately proved to be a stellar piece of business having now offered 10 years of service at Elland Road, signing for just £600k from Chesterfield in 2014. Dallas joined him a year later from Brentford.
Dallas shares Cooper story which ‘speaks volumes’ on his attitude
Cooper has had to settle for a considerably more bit-part role at Leeds this season, starting just two league matches during the calendar year of 2024, and only eight over the course of the campaign.
However, there is no doubt the 32-year-old has continued to be the leading figure in the dressing room. Mateo Joseph is among those to share how much Cooper has helped him behind-the-scenes.
Cooper’s best period as a Leeds player undoubtedly came under Marcelo Bielsa in the 2019/20 Championship promotion season.
He made 38 appearances over the course of that campaign as Leeds boasted the best defensive record in the league, and in an interview with Sky Sports, Dallas has now shared a brilliant story about Cooper from that season.
With four defeats in five through January and February, Leeds’ season had looked as though it was on the ropes. However, in more pressing matters for Cooper, his two-week old son had been rushed to intensive care with severe bronchitis.
Cooper spent the days after Leeds’ defeat to Nottingham Forest by his hospital bed but just 72 hours later, made himself available for the trip to Brentford.
Brentford were one of Leeds’ rivals for automatic promotion and had been in superb form heading into the match, taking the lead through Said Benrahma.
However, it was Cooper’s equalising goal that night which effectively got Leeds’ season back on track as that draw sparked a run of 12 wins in their last 14 matches.
Dallas believes that sort of commitment to the club just typifies the brilliant attitude of Cooper throughout his time at Elland Road.
He said: “It speaks volumes for Liam and the type of guy he is that he was there a few days later and scored an important goal [he scored the equaliser at Brentford in February 2020] which probably did turn our season around.
“Honestly the industry we’re in you don’t get a lot of time off, we know what we’re getting ourselves into and it can be difficult. You miss a lot of things with the kids, that’s just part and parcel of the game, you’ve got to get on with it.”
Could Cooper be worth a shot in Leeds’ XI for the play-offs?
As mentioned, Cooper has had to take more of a back seat in terms of his involvement on the field for Leeds this season.
That was completely understandable between the turn of the New Year and March international break, as a partnership of Ethan Ampadu and Joe Rodon saw Leeds concede just three goals in 12 matches with them together.
However, Leeds’ defence has looked considerably more shaky recently and ended the season by shipping nine goals in their last three.
A key part of that has been actually how open the midfield is, and it would be great if Ampadu was able to return to his more favoured midfield role.
With Pascal Struijk out injured, the only way that could be possible is if Cooper returns to the starting XI. Given how poor Leeds have been recently, it is a change which makes sense, particularly with his experience.