Niall Thompson (soccer, born 1974)

Niall Joseph Thompson (born 16 April 1974) is an English-Canadian soccer player and coach, who works currently as an assistant coach with Vancouver FC of the Canadian Premier League.

Not to be confused with Niall Thompson (footballer, born 1993).

Niall Thompson
Personal information
Full name Niall Joseph Thompson[1]
Date of birth (1974-04-16) 16 April 1974
Place of birth Birmingham, England
Position(s) Striker
Team information
Current team
 Vancouver FC (assistant manager)
Youth career
1990–1991 PSV Eindhoven
1991–1992 Crystal Palace
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1990 Edmonton Brick Men 16 (3)
1991 Winnipeg Fury 8 (2)
1992–1994 Crystal Palace 0 (0)
1994–1995 Colchester United 13 (5)
1995 Montreal Impact 9 (0)
1996 Seattle Sounders 15 (0)
1996–1997 Zultse VV 16 (6)
1998 Brentford 8 (0)
1998 Vancouver 86ers 23 (20)
1999–2000 Airdrieonians 25 (5)
2000 Bay Area Seals 6 (2)
2000–2001 Wycombe Wanderers 8 (0)
2001 Montreal Impact 21 (5)
2002–2003 Vancouver Whitecaps 18 (4)
2004–2009 Vancouver Firefighters
International career
1993–2000 Canada 9 (2)
Managerial career
2010–? Surrey United Firefighters
2023– Vancouver FC (assistant)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

Thompson moved to Canada, aged two, and later played for the Edmonton Brick Men and Winnipeg Fury in the Canadian Soccer League. He then played for the PSV Eindhoven youth team. He started his professional career as a trainee with Crystal Palace but after an unsuccessful spell moved to play for Colchester United, before returning to Canada for family reasons.[2] Thompson played for Montreal Impact, Seattle Sounders and Zultse VV, before returning to Canada again to play local football, while waiting for a visa which would allow him to play in the United States.[2] Seattle Sounders expressed interest in re-signing him, but could not due to visa issues.[2] A friend contacted Micky Adams, then-manager of English Second Division side Brentford and Thompson signed for the club on non-contract terms in February 1998.[2] After leaving the Bees in September 1998, Thompson went on to play for Vancouver 86ers, Airdrieonians, Bay Area Seals, Wycombe Wanderers, Montreal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps.[3][4]

International career

Thompson represented Canada at the 1991 Pan American Games.[5] He made his senior debut for Canada in a March 1993 friendly match against South Korea and earned a total of nine caps, scoring two goals. He represented Canada in just one FIFA World Cup qualification match, in October 2000.[6] That game, against Panama, proved to be his final international.

Coaching career

Thompson served as a coach with amateur club Surrey United SC, before joining Canadian Premier League club Vancouver FC as an assistant ahead of the 2023 season.[7]

International goals
Scores and results list Canada's goal tally first.
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
14 June 1995Varsity Stadium, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Turkey1–21–3Friendly
218 May 1998Varsity Stadium, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Macedonia1–01–0Friendly

Personal life

While living in Vancouver in late 1997, Thompson worked for Umbro in a bid to earn money for a flight ticket back to the UK.[2]

References
  1. "Niall Thompson". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  2. Brentford Matchday Magazine versus Bournemouth 07/03/98. Quay Design of Poole. 1998. p. 6.
  3. CANADIAN JOINS ON TRIAL – Chairboys on the Net Archived 8 October 2006 at the Wayback Machine
  4. Niall Thompson Rejoins Vancouver – USL Fans
  5. "Canada Soccer". canadasoccer.com. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  6. Record at FIFA Tournaments – FIFA
  7. "Niall Thompson, Mark Village join Vancouver FC coaching staff". Canadian Premier League. 16 December 2022.
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