Julian Ward

Last updated
Julian Ward
Personal information
Date of birth(1981-06-17)17 June 1981
Place of birth Liverpool, England
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
Morecambe
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1997–2002 Morecambe
2003–2004 Hyde United
2004–2005 Kidsgrove Athletic
2005–2007 Larne 45 (2)
2007–2008 Lisburn Distillery 27 (3)
Managerial career
2008–2010 Portugal (Head of Technical Scouting)
2010–2012 Manchester City (South American Scouting Manager)
2012–2015 Liverpool (European Scouting Manager)
2015–2020 Liverpool (Loan Player Manager)
2020–2022 Liverpool (Assistant Sporting Director)
2022–2023 Liverpool (Sporting Director)
2024– Liverpool (Technical Director)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Julian Ward (born 17 June 1981) is an English football executive and former footballer who is the current technical director of Liverpool.

Contents

Early life

Ward was born on 17 June 1981 in Liverpool, England, but grew up in Cumbria, England. Eventually, he returned to Liverpool to study sports science at Liverpool John Moores University. [1]

Playing career

As a youth player, Ward joined the academy of English side Morecambe, where he started his senior career. In 2003, he signed for English side Hyde United. One year later, he signed for English side Kidsgrove Athletic. In 2005, Ward moved to Belfast and signed for Northern Irish Premier League side Larne managed by Kenny Sheils [2] , where he spent two seasons before signing for Northern Irish Premier League side Lisburn Distillery in 2007. [3]

Managerial career

In July 2008 Ward left Northern Ireland to become part of Carlos Queiroz’s technical team [4] , when he was appointed Head of Technical Scouting for the Portugal national football team. During his time with the Portugal national football team, he lived in Lisbon and learnt Portuguese. [5] After the 2010 FIFA World Cup Finals in South Africa, Ward returned to England and accepted a position within the scouting department of English Premier League side Manchester City.

In 2012, Ward left Manchester City to take the role of European scouting manager and later loan manager for English Premier League side Liverpool. By 2020, after establishing the club's loan player department, he was promoted to assistant sporting director. Upon promotion to Liverpool FC's sporting director in 2022, Ward led on the signings of a number of players, including Colombian international Luis Díaz [6] [7] , Uruguayan forward Darwin Nunez [8] , Dutch winger Cody Gakpo [9] and Argentina’s 2022 FIFA World Cup winner Alexis Mac Allister. [10]

Ward returned to Liverpool in June 2024. [11] [12]

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References

  1. ↑ "How Julian Ward used Portuguese connections to help Liverpool strike Darwin Nunez deal". liverpoolecho.co.uk. 12 June 2022.
  2. ↑ https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sunday-life/sport/kenny-shiels-delighted-that-former-larne-player-julian-ward-is-set-for-a-top-post-at-liverpool/41049911.html
  3. ↑ https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/irish-league/kirk-left-in-a-rage-over-abysmal-performance-from-whites/28060778.html
  4. ↑ https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/international/from-jordanstown-to-south-africa-my-amazing-world-cup-odyssey/28544083.html
  5. ↑ Pearce, James. "The remarkable rise of Julian Ward at Liverpool: Scouting manager to sporting director in seven years". The New York Times .
  6. ↑ https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2022/01/30/liverpool-backdoored-tottenham-win-battle-luis-diaz-outflanked/
  7. ↑ https://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/1645554/Liverpool-news-Luis-Diaz-transfer-Tottenham-Pepijn-Lijnders-Jurgen-Klopp
  8. ↑ https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11669/12648114/darwin-nunez-sadio-mane-and-mo-salah-transfer-talk-podcast-assesses-liverpools-summer-business
  9. ↑ https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/julian-ward-can-complete-private-25844022
  10. ↑ https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/65842033
  11. ↑ https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/former-irish-league-star-to-return-to-liverpool-as-technical-director/a280676629.html
  12. ↑ https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5481948/2024/05/10/julian-ward-liverpool-return/
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