Michael Hoban (born 6 April 1952) is a former professional soccer player who played as a midfielder. He began his career with Aston Villa in 1969 before moving to the North American Soccer League in 1971. He still lives in the States more than 40 years later and has worked as a football coach there since retiring. Born in England, he earned one cap with the US national team in 1973.
Born in Tipton, Staffordshire, Hoban attended St. Chad's College in Wolverhampton.[citation needed]
As a schoolboy Hoban played for Brierley Hill and Dudley Schoolboys' teams, Staffordshire Schools, and, eventually, the England Schoolboys U19 team for two seasons. He was appointed England Schoolboys Captain in his final year with the team.
In 1969, he played with English first division club Aston Villa as a youth player. In 1970, he signed as a professional with AVFC. Mick debuted in Aston Villa's first team in an international friendly against Santos (Brazil) and was fortunate enough to be presented with Pele's jersey following the match. He was in the first team squad for other international friendlies against Gornik Zabrze(Poland) and FC Bayern Munich (Germany). He was substitute for Aston Villa for games against Port Vale and Fulham FC in the former English 3rd Division. He was loaned out to the Atlanta Chiefs during the summer of 1971 and, thus, started his career in the US.
United States
In 1971, Hoban played for the Atlanta Chiefs of the North American Soccer League during that season the Chiefs reached the final of the NASL championship and Hoban received an 'honorable mention' in the All-Star selection. In 1973, the Chiefs were sold to Omni Corporation (owners of the Atlanta Hawks in the NBA and the Atlanta Flames in the NHL)who renamed them the Atlanta Apollos. During his time with the Atlanta Apollos served as team captain and 'Business Manager'. At the end of the 1973 season, Hoban moved to the expansion Denver Dynamos for the 1974 season. Similarly, in Denver Hoban worked as the Director of Community Relations and served for part of the season as the team captain. In 1975, he was the first player signed by the expansion Portland Timbers . As he had with both of his other NASL teams, Hoban served as the Timbers Director of Community Relations. In 1978, he resigned his position with the Portland Timbers to accept the opportunity to start Nike's soccer program. Consequently, he became Nike's first-ever soccer employee in his position as Soccer Promotions Manager for the Beaverton, Oregon-based company.
Hoban joined fellow Atlanta Chiefs teammate and NASL All-Star, Paul Childs on the USMNT.
Their participation drew much attention in the British press given their UK citizenship.
Team management
During his years playing in the NASL, Hoban also served in various front-office capacities in preparation for his career after soccer. He served as Business Manager with the Atlanta Apollos (NASL – 1973), Director of Community relations with the Denver Dynamos (1974) and the Portland Timbers (1976–1978).
Coaching career
Hoban obtained his 'Preliminary Coaching License' from the Football Association (England) whilst playing as a professional with Aston Villa and successfully passed his US Soccer 'A' License in 1978, following his retirement as a player.
Hoban was an assistant coach in 1978 to former Timbers public relations director Dennis O'Meara for the University of Portland men's soccer team.
During his business career in the sporting goods industry he also served as Head Coach for Lake Oswego Soccer Club (Lake Oswego, OR) and St. Giles Soccer Club (Greenville, SC).
Hoban served as a Staff Coach for the Oregon Youth Soccer Association and was instrumental, along with 3 other coaches in Oregon, in conducting the first US Soccer licensed courses in Oregon.
While with Nike, Hoban formed the 'Oregon Soccer Coaches Association – OSCA' and arranged for various Nike partner's to conduct coaching sessions for members of 'OSCA'including representatives from Manchester United.
Since his retirement as a professional player Hoban has coached an amateur soccer team in Portland, Oregon and led them to championships at every level of the amateur game – 'Open, Over-30s, Over-40s' and numerous local amateur cup competitions.
Post playing career
Soccer Industry
After retiring from playing, Hoban was hired by Blue Ribbon Sports – which eventually became Nike, Inc., as the company's first-ever employee in soccer. As BRS's 'Soccer Promotions Manager' Hoban created sports marketing programs centered on the NASL, NCAA Soccer and US Soccer youth programs. Hoban led Nike in establishing the first-ever integrated youth soccer promotions program which resulted in support programs for targeted youth soccer associations and, ultimately, the Nike 'Friendship Cup'.
Hoban became Nike International's first-ever European Soccer Promotions Manager and in this position he was responsible for co-ordinating contracts with some of Europe's leading players at the time including Glenn Hoddle, Ian Rush, Mark Hateley, Steve Nichol, Steve Archibald, Charlie Nichoas, Arnold Muhren, Dossena and Nike's first ever successful footwear contract with Aston Villa, who became champions of Europe wearing Nike footwear in 1982.
He joined Umbro USA in the late 1980s and became vice-president of Soccer Promotions for the Greenville, SC based company. In this capacity he was instrumental in signing the first-ever women's soccer endorsement with Michelle Akers of the US Women's National Team.
Following his time with Umbro he left to become a soccer sports marketing consultant and in 2000 formed Soccer Solutions with a former co-worker from Umbro, Warren Mersereau. Hoban and Mersereau were joined later that year by a 3rd partner – Juergen Klinsmann.
While with Soccer Solutions, the partners worked with leading brands such as Coca-Cola, ING, McDonald's and adidas. In connection with Klinsmann's endorsement contract Soccer Solutions worked closely with MasterCard and Hyundai.
In November 2010 Hoban left Soccer Solutions to assume his previous role as an independent contractor working in soccer sports marketing and maintains a working relationship with his former partners and clients including adidas International.
Clive Michael Charles was an English football player, coach and television announcer. He was one of five National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) coaches to win more than 400 games.
Peter Withe is an English former football manager and striker who played between 1971 and 1990. At Nottingham Forest he won the Anglo-Scottish Cup and Second Division promotion in 1976–77, First Division and the Football League Cup in 1977–78, and the 1978 FA Charity Shield. After a spell at Newcastle it was back to more success at Aston Villa with whom he won the First Division 1980–81, going on to score the only goal in the 1982 European Cup final and also win the 1982 European Super Cup. He played for England 11 times, scoring once, and was a squad member at the 1982 FIFA World Cup.
Giovanni Savarese is a Venezuelan football manager and former player. He last served as the head coach for the Portland Timbers.
Victor Herbert Crowe was a Welsh international football player and later football manager.
Phillip Abraham Woosnam was a Welsh association football inside-right and manager. A native of Caersws, Powys, Wales, Woosnam played for five clubs in England and one in the United States. He played international football for Wales. He was described as a "gifted inside-forward with a pronounced football intelligence".
John Bain is a Scottish retired soccer midfielder who currently coaches youth soccer in the United States. Bain began his professional career in England before moving to the United States in 1978. Over his twenty-year playing career, Bain played for numerous leagues and teams, both indoors and out. After retiring from playing professionally, he has coached at the professional, youth club and high school levels in the US.
Raymond George Bloomfield is an English former professional footballer who played in the Football League as a winger for Aston Villa, in the National Professional Soccer League for the Atlanta Chiefs, and in the North American Soccer League for Atlanta and the Dallas Tornado. He is the nephew of footballer and manager Jimmy Bloomfield.
William John Anderson is an English former professional footballer who played as a winger. During his career, he made over 350 appearances in the Football League.
Paul Child is an English-American former soccer player who played as a forward, spending nine seasons in the North American Soccer League. He led the league in scoring in 1974 and was a two-time first team All-Star. He also earned two caps with the United States national team in 1973. He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.
Neil Megson is a soccer coach and former player who coaches youth soccer. A midfielder, he played two seasons in the North American Soccer League, nine in Major Indoor Soccer League, one in the Continental Indoor Soccer League and six in the USL First Division and its predecessors. He served as head coach to the Seattle Sounders for five seasons, winning the 1995 A-League championship and being named the 2000 USL Coach of the Year. Born in England, he earned two caps with the U.S. national team in 1988. He is the brother of former West Bromwich Albion and Sheffield Wednesday manager Gary Megson.
Patrick McMahon is a Scottish former footballer who is best known for the time he spent with Aston Villa and Celtic.
Stephen Kenneth Hunt is an English former professional footballer who was later known as Steve Evans. A pacey and creative left-sided midfielder and winger with long-range shooting ability, he was capped twice for England in 1984.
The Portland Timbers were an American soccer team that competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1975 to 1982. The team was based in Portland, Oregon and played their home games at Civic Stadium for outdoor matches and the Memorial Coliseum for indoor games. The nickname "Soccer City, USA" to refer to Portland was coined during the team's first season. The team folded at the conclusion of the 1982 North American Soccer League season.
Stan Cummins is an English former footballer, who played as an attacking midfielder or forward.
Andrés Alexander Flores Mejía is a Salvadoran professional football manager and former player. He is the current assistant coach of Portland Timbers 2 in the MLS Next Pro.
Robert John Howe is an English former professional footballer who played as a left-back or midfielder.
The Portland Timbers are an American professional soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. The Timbers have played their home matches at Providence Park since 2011, when the team began play as an expansion team in the league.
Brian Tiler was an English footballer who played as a central defender.
Jeff Attinella is an American former professional soccer player who previously played as a goalkeeper for Major League Soccer club Portland Timbers.
Jim Rilatt is an American soccer coach who was the former head coach of the Portland Timbers U23's in the USL Premier Development League (PDL). In 2010, after an undefeated season in which the U23's won the PDL title, he was named PDL Coach of the Year.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
