Inter-county
Cooper was first called up to the Kingdom team in 2002 and made his National Football League debut against Laois. He continued his rise in that year's Championship, making his debut against Limerick on 12 May en route to the 2002 All-Ireland final, where they faced Armagh. Armagh defeated Kerry in the final by 1-12 to 0-14 with Cooper scoring a point. Cooper was awarded his first All Star award in 2002.[14]
In 2003 Kerry won a Munster Senior Football Championship, but were knocked out of the All-Ireland Championship by Tyrone at the semi-final stage losing by 0-13 to 0-6.[15]
2004 proved to be a good year for Cooper. Kerry won the 2004 National League, with victory over Galway in the final on 2 May. They also defended their Munster title, before going on to win the All-Ireland Championship – beating Mayo in the final by 1-20 to 2-9. Cooper scored 1–05 in the final, including a goal where he caught a ball and ran at the Mayo defence before slotting the ball low to the net. Cooper received his second All Star in 2004 and was named the Texaco Footballer of the Year.[16]
Kerry won their third consecutive Munster Championship in 2005, beating old rivals Cork in the decider. Kerry reached an All-Ireland final, this time against Tyrone. After a bright start, Cooper was injured in a clash with Tyrone goalkeeper Pascal McConnell which limited his involvement. Tyrone won the game 1–16 to 2–10.[17] Cooper won a third All Star award in 2005.
In the 2006 Championship Cork defeated Kerry in the Munster final. Kerry advanced to the All-Ireland final, where they once again met Mayo. Kerry won the game by 13 points and Cooper was again one of Kerry's main contributors scoring 1–02. He was the Kerry captain for part of that year, although the other captain Declan O'Sullivan was restored as captain for the All-Ireland final. After winning the game, the Sam Maguire Cup was lifted by both O' Sullivan and Cooper.[18]
In 2007 Cooper played with Kerry regaining their Munster Championship title after an enthralling game against Cork, which Kerry won 1–15 to 1–13. Having been quiet for long spells, he burst into life and in a five-minute period scored 1–02. After beating Dublin by two points in the semi-final, Kerry progressed to face their bitter rivals Cork in the first ever all-Munster All-Ireland final. Kerry comfortably beat Cork 3–13 to 1–09, to become the first team to retain the title since Cork themselves 17 years before. Cooper got the goal that put Kerry in the driving seat, rising to fist the ball over the onrushing Alan Quirke. Cooper finished the game with 1-05.[19]
He received his fourth All Star and was nominated as one of three contenders for 2007 Footballer of the Year. He was also named on the GPA Team of the Year.
Kerry reached the 2008 National League final, but were beaten by Derry on a 2-13 to 2-9 scoreline. Cork beat Kerry in the 2008 Munster final. Kerry nevertheless advanced to the 2008 All-Ireland final, to face Tyrone for the third time in six years. Tyrone once again came out on top winning by four points. Cooper scored six points in the final and won his fifth All Star award that year and was once again named on the GPA Team of the Year.
In 2009, Cooper was dropped from the starting Kerry 15 for the qualifier game against Antrim on 26 July, due to a breach of team discipline. Cooper came on against Antrim and made an immediate impact notching 4 frees in another win for Kerry. Kerry progressed to face Dublin in the quarter final on 3 August, a Dublin side who had won their fifth Leinster Championships in a row. Within a minute Cooper had Kerry in front with a goal and were 1–13 to 0–03 ahead at the break. The game ended with Kerry on top and Cooper silently announcing his return to form with a haul of 1–08. Cooper and Kerry brushed Meath aside in a low-key semi-final before they faced against Cork in the final. Kerry won the final 0–16 to 1–09, with Cooper scoring six points and winning his fourth All Ireland Medal.[20][21]
In April 2010, Cooper sustained a serious eye injury in an NFL Division 1 win over Monaghan. He tore a duct in one of his eyes: doctors in Kerry expressed concern about his condition. He collided with Monaghan defender Darren Hughes after seven minutes and required treatment on and off the field.[22] However, he returned to the Kerry team for the championship. After winning the Munster Championship, beating Limerick in the final, Kerry progressed to the All-Ireland quarter final, facing historic rivals Down but lost by 1-16 to 1-10 with Cooper scoring seven points in the game.[23]
The 2011 championship ended in final day disappointment for Cooper. Kerry, in control of the final having been 4 points up in the closing minutes, succumbed to rivals Dublin, who outscored Kerry by 1–3 to 1 point in the final stages to win the cup for the first time since 1995.
The 2012 championship saw Kerry lose to Cork in the Munster semi-final but go on to play Donegal in the All-Ireland quarter-final on 5 August. Kerry lost the game by 1-12 to 1-10 with Cooper scoring four points.[24]
Kerry won the Munster Championship in 2013 with Cooper getting 1-3 in the final on 7 July at Fitzgerald Stadium. Kerry defeated Cavan in the All-Ireland quarter-finals before losing to Dublin in the semi-final by 3-18 to 3-11 with Cooper scoring four points in the game.
In February 2014, Cooper suffered a cruciate ligament rupture in the All-Ireland Club Championship semi-final against Castlebar Mitchels which kept him out of action for most of 2014. He was named as a substitute for Kerry in the 2014 All-Ireland Final against Donegal which Kerry went on to win by 2-9 to 0-12.
Cooper won his eight Munster Championship medal on 18 July 2015 when Kerry defeated Cork in the final by 1-11 to 1-6 after a replay. They defeated Kildare in the All-Ireland quarter-finals by 7-16 to 0-10 with Cooper getting 2-3 before defeating Tyrone in the semi-final by 0-18 to 1-11, Cooper getting two points. In the final against Dublin on 20 September, Cooper scored didn't get on the score sheet as Kerry lost by 0-9 to 0-12 in very wet conditions.
In 2016, Kerry reached the Munster Final again and played Tipperary, winning by 3-17 to 2-10. Cooper went off injured in the first half of the game with a collarbone injury. He missed the quarter final win against Clare but returned for the epic semi-final against Dublin on 28 August. Dublin won by 0-22 to 2-14 after coming back from conceding two first half goals. Cooper scored five points in what would turn out to be his last game for Kerry.[25]
On the 4 April 2017, Cooper announced his retirement from inter county football at the age of 33.
In 85 Championship games for Kerry he scored 23 goals and 283 points, and in 60 league games he scored 12 goals and 165 points.[26][27][28][29][30][31]
