John Herdman

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This article is about the football manager. For the author, see John Herdman (author).

John Herdman
Herdman managing Canada at the 2022 FIFA World Cup
Personal information
Full name John Herdman[1]
Date of birth (1975-07-19) 19 July 1975 (age 48)
Place of birth Consett, County Durham, England
Height 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Team information
Current team
 Toronto FC (head coach)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
Hibiscus Coast
Managerial career
2006–2011 New Zealand (women)
2011–2018 Canada (women)
2018–2023 Canada (men)
2023– Toronto FC
Medal record
Women's football
Representing  Canada (as manager)
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 2012 Team
Bronze medal – third place 2016 Team
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 2011 Team
Men's football
Representing  Canada (as manager)
CONCACAF Nations League
Silver medal – second place 2023
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

John Herdman (born 19 July 1975) is an English professional football manager who is the head coach of Toronto FC in Major League Soccer. He previously served as the head coach of the Canada men's national soccer team.

Coaching career[edit]

Early career[edit]

Herdman began coaching football at a young age in England, while he was a student and part-time university lecturer at Northumbria University.[2] He was a development coach for Sunderland's youth academy until 2001, when he moved to New Zealand.[3]

New Zealand women's[edit]

Herdman arrived in New Zealand and joined the national association football programme in 2003, initially acting as Coach Education Manager and later as the Director of Football Development. Herdman was head coach for the New Zealand women's national football team from 2006 to 2011. Working with the national women's teams, he led the U-20 squad to the World Championship in 2006 and the later renamed U-20 World Cup in 2010. He also guided the senior squad to the FIFA Women's World Cups in 2007 and 2011 as well as the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.[4][5][6]

During his time in New Zealand, Herdman played amateur football for NRFL Division 2 club Hibiscus Coast.[7]

Canada women's[edit]

Herdman took over for the Canada women's national soccer team in 2011 from Carolina Morace after Canada finished last in their 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup group. Shortly after, he led them to a gold medal finish at the 2011 Pan American Games in Mexico.[8][9][10][11] He guided the team through the CONCACAF Olympic qualifying tournament in Vancouver, Canada, securing one of two qualifying spots for the 2012 Olympic Games in London that summer, where they won the bronze medal.[12][13] At the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada, Herdman guided Canada to a first place finish in their group, eventually getting eliminated in the quarter-finals, a 2–1 loss to England.[14] The team retained their bronze medal at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Canada men's[edit]

On 8 January 2018, Herdman was named head coach of the Canada men's national soccer team.[15] He "also becomes men's national director, with responsibility for all age groups from under-14s upward".[16]

In 2021, he guided the team up the FIFA World Rankings from 72nd to 40th, its highest position to date, to earn the team the honour of "Most Improved Side" of the year.[17] On 10 February 2022, he improved Canada to 33rd in the FIFA World Rankings.[18]

On 27 March 2022, he led the team to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, its first World Cup in 36 years,[19] becoming the first manager to have successfully led both the national women's and men's teams of a nation to qualify for a World Cup.[20][21] Canada's first match of the tournament against Belgium on November 23 ended in a 1–0 loss, despite Canada dictating most of the play, and failing to convert any of their 22 shots, including a penalty shot.[22][23] Four days later, Canada lost 4–1 to Croatia, despite scoring first, eliminating Canada from the tournament after two matches.[24] Canada were defeated 2–1 by Morocco in their final group match on December 1, finishing fourth in the group (and 31st overall in the tournament) with zero points.[25]

Following the World Cup, Herdman's team began struggling, which included a 2–0 loss to the United States in the 2023 CONCACAF Nations League Finals. The loss prompted Herdman to publicly criticize Canada Soccer for a lack of funding and resources.[26]

Toronto FC[edit]

On 28 August 2023, it was announced that Herdman would depart the Canadian national team to take charge of MLS team Toronto FC, effective October 1. At the time of the announcement, TFC sat bottom of the Eastern Conference, with 3 wins from 26 games in the 2023 season.[27]

Personal life[edit]

Herdman is originally from Consett, County Durham, England.[28] Herdman is married to his childhood sweetheart, Clare, and has two children: Lilly and Jay. The latter plays in the Vancouver Whitecaps development system, as well as the New Zealand U20 team.[28][29]

Managerial statistics[edit]

As of match played 24 April 2024[30][31]
Team From To Record
G W D L Win %
Canada women's 1 September 2011 8 January 2018 108 62 14 32 057.41
Canada men's 8 January 2018 28 August 2023 57 35 8 14 061.40
Toronto FC 10 October 2023 Present 11 5 1 5 045.45
Total 177 103 23 51 058.19

Honours[edit]

Canada women

Canada men

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Squad List: FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022: Canada (CAN)" (PDF). FIFA. 26 November 2022. p. 6. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  2. ^ Davidson, Neil. "With inspiration and motivation, John Herdman is changing the face of Canadian soccer". CBC News.
  3. ^ Ebner, Dave. "John Herdman: The brain behind the brawn of Canada's World Cup dream". The Globe & Mail. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
  4. ^ "Herdman takes over Canadian women's soccer team". CBC/Radio-Canada. 2011. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  5. ^ "Herdman finishing as Football Ferns coach". Stuff (company). 2011. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  6. ^ "John Herdman named Canada's Women's National Team Head Coach". Women's Soccer United. 2011. Archived from the original on 3 July 2012. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  7. ^ "Former NRFL player becomes national hero as Canada qualifies for World Cup". 27 March 2022.
  8. ^ "Canada's women's soccer team has plenty to prove". CBC/Radio-Canada. 2012. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  9. ^ "Canada wins gold at Guadalajara 2011". Canadian Soccer Association. 2011. Archived from the original on 28 November 2019. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  10. ^ Harper, Tyler (1 September 2011). "Canadian Soccer Association names John Herdman as head coach of women's team". Global News. The Canadian Press. Archived from the original on 15 June 2023. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
  11. ^ "Herdman Named Head Coach of Canadian Women's Soccer Team". The Sports Network. 2011. Retrieved 17 January 2012.[dead link]
  12. ^ "Team Canada hopes to go from good to great". The Vancouver Sun. 2012. Archived from the original on 19 April 2012. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  13. ^ Arthur, Bruce (9 August 2012). "Christine Sinclair's 'Captain Canada' lifts team to Olympic bronze, women's soccer to new heights". The Vancouver Sun. Archived from the original on 14 July 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2012.
  14. ^ "England ousts Canada from FIFA Women's World Cup". olympic.ca. 27 June 2015.
  15. ^ Davidson, Neil (8 January 2018). "Decorated women's coach John Herdman takes over Canadian men's soccer program". CBC Sports. The Canadian Press. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
  16. ^ "John Herdman: Canada name Englishman as men's national team head coach". BBC Sport. 9 January 2018. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  17. ^ Davidson, Neil (23 December 2021). "Canadian men earn 'Most Improved Side' honours in end-of-year FIFA rankings". CTV News. The Canadian Press. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  18. ^ Davidson, Neil (10 February 2022). "Canadian men reach all-time high at No. 33 in FIFA rankings". CBC Sports. The Canadian Press. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  19. ^ Davidson, Neil (27 March 2022). "Canadian men qualify for 1st World Cup since 1986 with shutout victory on home soil". CBC Sports. The Canadian Press. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  20. ^ Smith, Tony (2 April 2022). "How Māori wisdom helped football coach John Herdman on the road to World Cup glory". Stuff. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  21. ^ @DAZN_CA (27 March 2022). "John Herdman becomes the first manager to lead both women's and men's national teams of a nation to World Cup qualification" (Tweet). Retrieved 8 April 2022 – via Twitter.
  22. ^ "Belgium spoil Canada's World Cup return behind Thibaut Courtois masterclass". www.mlssoccer.com. 23 November 2022.
  23. ^ "Tenacious Canada blanked by Belgium in return to men's World Cup". cbc.ca. 23 November 2022.
  24. ^ Bryan Murphy (27 November 2022). "Alphonso Davies World Cup goal for Canada vs Croatia is nation's first in men's FIFA World Cup history". The Sporting News.
  25. ^ "Canada unable to grab points at World Cup, Morocco and Croatia advance". sportsnet.ca. 1 December 2022.
  26. ^ "Herdman begs Canada Soccer to 'get serious' after loss to U.S. in Nations League final". Sportsnet.ca. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  27. ^ torontofc. "Toronto FC name John Herdman as Head Coach | Toronto FC". torontofc. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  28. ^ a b Johnson, George (29 July 2012). "Sweet homecoming for women's soccer coach John Herdman". Archived from the original on 14 July 2018. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
  29. ^ Taylor, Louise (17 June 2015). "John Herdman tries to condition Canada into accepting women's football". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
  30. ^ "John Herdman profile". Canadian Soccer Association. 28 January 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
  31. ^ "John Herdman - stats and career". FotMob. Retrieved 7 April 2024.

External links[edit]

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