Colin Clarke
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| Colin Clarke | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Colin John Clarke | |
| Date of birth | October 30, 1962 | |
| Place of birth | Newry, Northern Ireland | |
| Playing position | Forward | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | Puerto Rico Islanders | |
| Youth clubs | ||
| -1980 | Ipswich Town | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1980–1981 1981–1984 1984 1984–1985 1985–1986 1986–1989 1988 1989–1990 1990–1993 |
Ipswich Town Peterborough United Gillingham (loan) Tranmere Rovers Bournemouth Southampton Bournemouth (loan) Queens Park Rangers Portsmouth |
0 (0) 82 (18) 8 (1) 45 (22) 46 (26) 82 (36) 4 (2) 46 (11) 85 (18) |
| National team2 | ||
| 1986–1993 | Northern Ireland | 38 (13) |
| Teams managed | ||
| 1998–1999 2000 2003–2006 2007 2007– 2008– |
Richmond Kickers San Diego Flash FC Dallas Virginia Beach Mariners Puerto Rico Islanders Puerto Rico |
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1 Senior club appearances and goals |
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Colin Clarke (born October 30, 1962 in Newry, Northern Ireland) is a former Northern Irish football (soccer) player. He is the head coach for the Puerto Rico Islanders of USL First Division and the Puerto Rican national football team.
Contents |
[edit] Playing career
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1981-1982 Played 27 Scored 4 goals (Division 4)
1982-1983 Played 37 Scored 9 goals (Division 4)
1983-1984 Played 18 Scored 5 goals (Division 4)
Gillingham
1983-1984 Played 8 Scored 1 goal (Division 3)
Tranmere Rovers
1984-1985 Played 45 Scored 22 goals (Division 4)
Bournemouth
1985-1986 Played 46 Scored 26 goals (Division 3)
Southampton
1986-1987 Played 33 Scored 20 goals (Division 1)
1987-1988 Played 40 Scored 16 goals (Division 1)
1988-1989 Played 9 Scored 0 goals (Division 1)
Bournemouth
1988-1989 Played 4 Scored 2 goals (Division 2)
Q.P.R
1988-1989 Played 12 Scored 5 goals (Division 1)
1989-1990 Played 34 Scored 6 goals (Division 1)
[edit] International Caps
Like many players from Northern Ireland Colin Clarke's greatest playing days came in a Northern Ireland shirt, for whom he scored 13 goals (second behind David Healy) in 38 appearances. Clarke joined the National Team set up just as possibly the Greatest Northern Ireland team of all time was breaking up. With many of the team which had famously defeated Spain in their own back yard at the 1982 World Cup retiring Clarke, and the new younger players had the daunting task of keeping up the momentum. His goals were crucial in the team's bid to reach the 1984 European Championships, playing in the home and away victories over West Germans, although he failed to score in either match. The team were just twelve minutes away from qualifying for the final tournament at the German's expense before the latter managed to come from a goal down in Albania to snatch a last gasp victory and pip the Ulstermen to the group qualifying spot. Clarke then led the line in the team's 1986 World Cup bid, which concluded with a dramatic victory in Romania before an even more dramatic, backs to the wall, draw in England earned the Ulstermen a place at the Mexico finals. Clarke was by now the leading striker for his country but the team were unable to match the highs of four years earlier and were eliminated at the group stage. For Clarke there was at least the personal satisfaction, not only of having played in a World Cup but having scored in the 1-2 defeat by a Spanish team who relished their revenge.
[edit] Coaching and management career
Clarke was appointed interim coach during the latter half of the 2003 MLS season as a replacement for Mike Jeffries, and was appointed full-time to the position for the 2004 season. Clarke went on to manage both the 2005 and 2006 seasons with great regular season form indeed FC Dallas won the Western Conference comfortably in 2006, but was eliminated in the play-offs in both years latterly after a penalty shoot out. This led to his sacking on November 7, 2006. Before being appointed head coach, Clarke was an assistant coach for the Burn, and the head coach of the Richmond Kickers of the United States' A-League from 1998-99, as well as one year as head coach of the San Diego Flash.
He was appointed head coach at Virginia Beach Mariners in January 2007. Within two months of Clarke's arrival, the club folded and Clarke was again without a job.
On May 22, 2007 the Puerto Rico Islanders appointed Clarke to replace Toribio Rojas as head coach mid way through the team's worst season since their creation.[1] In Puerto Rico he turned the team's fortunes around and took them all the way to the playoff semi-finals where they lost to Seattle on penalty kicks. Late in 2007 he took the Islanders to another semifinals this time in the CFU Club Championship, the Caribbean qualifiers for the 2008 CONCACAF Champions Cup, where they lost 1–0 to Joe Public FC of Trinidad and Tobago.
On January 2008, Clarke was chosen to lead the Puerto Rico national team. After two wins against Bermuda and a draw versus Trinidad, he gained the trust of many Puerto Rican people. In June 2008, he will lead the Puerto Rican team against a strong Honduras team in the second round of the 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers for the CONCACAF zone. A good outing against Honduras will confirm Colin's coaching abilities and his chances of taking the Puerto Rican team to the World Cup.
[edit] References
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