Niall Thompson (soccer, born 1974)
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Niall Joseph Thompson[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 16 April 1974 | ||
| Place of birth | Birmingham, England | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| 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 | |||
Niall Joseph Thompson (born 16 April 1974) is a soccer coach and former player. Born in England, he represented Canada at international level.
Club career[edit]
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[edit]
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[edit]
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] He left Vancouver after a single season.[8]
Personal life[edit]
He is the father of Lennon Thompson, who is also a soccer player.
Statistics[edit]
International goals[edit]
- Scores and results list Canada's goal tally first.
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 June 1995 | Varsity Stadium, Toronto, Ontario, Canada |  Turkey |
1–2 | 1–3 | Friendly |
| 2 | 18 May 1998 | Varsity Stadium, Toronto, Ontario, Canada |  Macedonia |
1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
References[edit]
- ^ "Niall Thompson". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
- ^ a b c d Brentford Matchday Magazine versus Bournemouth 07/03/98. Quay Design of Poole. 1998. p. 6.
- ^ CANADIAN JOINS ON TRIAL – Chairboys on the Net Archived 8 October 2006 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Niall Thompson Rejoins Vancouver – USL Fans
- ^ "Canada Soccer". canadasoccer.com. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
- ^ Record at FIFA Tournaments – FIFA
- ^ "Niall Thompson, Mark Village join Vancouver FC coaching staff". Canadian Premier League. 16 December 2022.
- ^ Jacques, John (15 February 2024). "Vancouver FC Parts Ways With Assistant Coaches Thompson And Ardalani". Northern Tribune.
External links[edit]
- Niall Thompson at the Canadian Soccer Association
- Niall Thompson at National-Football-Teams.com
- Niall Thompson at Soccerbase
 | ||
- 1974 births
- Living people
- Footballers from Birmingham, West Midlands
- English emigrants to Canada
- Naturalized citizens of Canada
- Men's association football forwards
- English men's footballers
- Canadian men's soccer players
- Canada men's youth international soccer players
- Canada men's international soccer players
- Canadian expatriate sportspeople in the United States
- English expatriate men's footballers
- British expatriates in the Netherlands
- British expatriates in Belgium
- Crystal Palace F.C. players
- Colchester United F.C. players
- Montreal Impact (1992–2011) players
- S.V. Zulte Waregem players
- Seattle Sounders (1994–2008) players
- Brentford F.C. players
- Vancouver Whitecaps (1986–2010) players
- Airdrieonians F.C. (1878) players
- San Francisco Seals (soccer) players
- Wycombe Wanderers F.C. players
- Surrey United SC players
- USL First Division players
- USISL players
- Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium
- Expatriate men's footballers in Scotland
- Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States
- Vancouver Whitecaps FC non-playing staff
- Pan American Games competitors for Canada
- Footballers at the 1991 Pan American Games
- 1993 CONCACAF Gold Cup players
- 1996 CONCACAF Gold Cup players
- Canadian expatriate men's soccer players
- Canadian expatriate sportspeople in Scotland
- Canadian expatriate sportspeople in England
- English expatriate sportspeople in the United States
- Edmonton Brick Men players
- Winnipeg Fury players
- Vancouver FC non-playing staff
- English Football League players