Mike Sweeney (soccer)

Last updated

Mike Sweeney
Personal information
Full name Michael Sweeney
Date of birth (1959-12-25) December 25, 1959 (age 64)
Place of birth Duncan, British Columbia, Canada
Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position(s) Midfielder or defender
Youth career
Squamish United
College career
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
Simon Fraser
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1980–1982 Edmonton Drillers 86 (2)
1980–1982 Edmonton Drillers (indoor) 26 (10)
1983–1984 Vancouver Whitecaps 22 (0)
1984 Golden Bay Earthquakes 21 (2)
1984–1987 Cleveland Force (indoor) 87 (18)
1987–1988 Minnesota Strikers (indoor) 54 (21)
1988–1989 Baltimore Blast (indoor) 44 (6)
1988 Toronto Blizzard 27 (1)
1989–1992 Cleveland Crunch (indoor) 92 (29)
1988–1990 Boston Bolts
International career
1980–1993 Canada 61 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Michael Sweeney (born December 25, 1959) is a Canadian former soccer player. In 2012, as part of the Canadian Soccer Association's centennial celebration, he was named to the all-time Canada XI men's team. [1]

Contents

Early years

Sweeney spent several years with the youth club, Squamish United, and graduated from Howe Sound Secondary School. He then made the roster at Simon Fraser University as a walk-on, later working his way onto the Canadian squad for the 1978 CONCACAF Youth Tournament. [2]

Club career

NASL

In 1980, the Edmonton Drillers of the North American Soccer League signed Sweeney. He spent three seasons with the Drillers before moving to the Vancouver Whitecaps for the 1983 season. While he began the 1984 season with the Whitecaps, he was traded to the Golden Bay Earthquakes. The NASL folded at the end of the 1984 season.

MISL

Sweeney was also a long-time Cleveland Force MISL player. He then moved to the Minnesota Strikers for the 1987–1988 season. He then moved to the Baltimore Blast. In 1989, the Cleveland Crunch selected Sweeney in the Expansion Draft. On June 30, 1989, he signed with the Crunch and remained with the team through at least the 1991–1992 season.

Toronto Blizzard

In 1988, Sweeney spent time with the Toronto Blizzard of the Canadian Soccer League (CSL).

Boston Bolts

In 1988, he signed with the Boston Bolts of the American Soccer League (ASL). In 1990, the ASL merged with the Western Soccer League to form the American Professional Soccer League (APSL). The Bolts spent one season, 1990, in the APSL before folding.

The Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame inducted Sweeney in 2002.

International career

A defender or midfielder, Sweeney made his senior debut on 17 September 1980 for Canada in a 3–0 victory against New Zealand in a friendly match in Edmonton. In total, he earned 61 caps, scoring one goal. [3] He represented Canada in 24 FIFA World Cup qualification matches [4] and played two of Canada's games at the 1986 FIFA World Cup finals, the country's first appearance at a World Cup finals. Sweeney was sent off in the second game against Hungary, [5] the only Canadian player ever to be dismissed at a World Cup Finals tournament.

He also played for Canada at the 1984 Olympics and was a squad member at the 1979 FIFA World Youth Championship [6] but did not play.

His final international game was a 15 August 1993 World Cup qualification match against Australia in Sydney. [3]

International goals

Scores and results list Canada's goal tally first.
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1April 13, 1985 Royal Athletic Park, Victoria, CanadaFlag of Haiti (1964-1986).svg  Haiti 2–02–0 1986 FIFA World Cup qualification

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North American Soccer League</span> Defunct major soccer league in the United States and Canada

The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the United States. The league final was called the Soccer Bowl from 1975 to 1983 and the Soccer Bowl Series in its final year, 1984. The league was headed by Commissioner Phil Woosnam from 1969 to 1983. The NASL laid the foundations for soccer in the United States that helped lead to the country hosting the 1994 FIFA World Cup and setting up Major League Soccer (MLS) in 1996.

Bruce Alec Wilson is a former NASL and Canadian international soccer player. He played the second most games of any player in the former league, 299. He also captained the Canadian team at the 1986 FIFA World Cup finals. In 2012 as part of the Canadian Soccer Association's centennial celebration, he was named to the all-time Canada XI men's team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Lenarduzzi</span> Canadian soccer player

Robert Italo Lenarduzzi, OBC is a former North American Soccer League player, Canadian international, and coach of the Canadian national and Olympic soccer teams. He is currently club liaison for Vancouver Whitecaps FC. He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carl Valentine</span> Soccer player (born 1958)

Carl Howard Valentine is a former professional soccer player and coach who has had a long association with soccer in the Vancouver area.

The Western Soccer Alliance was a professional soccer league featuring teams from the West Coast of the United States and Western Canada. The league began in 1985 as the Western Alliance Challenge Series. In 1986, it became the Western Soccer Alliance. In 1989, it existed for a single year as the Western Soccer League before merging with the American Soccer League to form the American Professional Soccer League in 1990.

Branimir "Branko" Šegota is a Canadian former professional soccer forward, starring in the original Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL), the North American Soccer League (NASL), the Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL), the National Professional Soccer League, and the Canadian Soccer League.

Martino "Tino" Lettieri is a former NASL and MISL professional soccer goalkeeper, who represented Canada twice at the Summer Olympics: 1976 and 1984 and at the 1986 FIFA World Cup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gerry Gray (soccer)</span> Soccer player (born 1961)

Gerard "Gerry" Gray is a former soccer player. Born in Scotland, he represented and coached the Canadian national soccer team.

Ian Christopher Bridge is a soccer coach and former professional who played as a defender. A former player for the Canada national team, he has coached the Canada women's national team among other teams.

Domenic Mobilio was a Canadian professional soccer player who played as a striker.

Jan Goossens is a former Dutch soccer player and coach. He played for clubs from the Netherlands and Canada, but spend most of his career in the United States of America. Jan Goossens played 612 official matches and scored a total of 474 goals during his career.

Pasquale de Luca is a former Canadian professional soccer player. He is the head coach of the Edmonton Drillers.

Jovica "Joe" Raduka is a former Serbian-American soccer player who began his career with Red Star Belgrade before spending time with indoor and outdoor teams in the U.S., Canada and Belgium. He currently runs a youth soccer club in Cleveland, Ohio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bernie James</span>

Bernie James is a former U.S. soccer player and current youth soccer coach. James spent twenty-four years as a professional, both beginning and ending his career with different versions of the Seattle Sounders. He played in the North American Soccer League, Major Indoor Soccer League, American Professional Soccer League and A-League. He served as an assistant coach with the Sounders for seven seasons and as interim head coach for one. He was a member of the U.S. Olympic soccer team which qualified for, but did not play in, the 1980 Summer Olympics due to the United States' boycott in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. He also earned two caps with the U.S. national team in 1988.

Ross Ongaro is a retired Canadian soccer player who earned one cap each with the Canada U-20 men's national soccer team and Canadian Olympic soccer team. He played professionally in the North American Soccer League, Major Indoor Soccer League, Western Soccer Alliance and American Indoor Soccer Association. He has coached extensively at the professional level and was the head coach of the Canadian Beach Soccer and Futsal Teams until September 2011. He has been hired by the Chinese Football Association to become their National Beach Soccer Head Coach.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian Soccer League (1987–1992)</span> Former soccer league in Canada

The Canadian Soccer League was a Division 1 professional soccer league that operated for six seasons between 1987 and 1992. It was a nationwide league that had teams in six provinces over the course of its history. It was the last top-division league in Canada until the Canadian Premier League began play in 2019.

Wally is a retired U.S. soccer player and coach. He played in several outdoor and indoor leagues. In 1980, he was the American Soccer League Rookie of the Year with the Cleveland Cobras.

Ken Fogarty is a soccer coach. Fogarty was Head Coach and Technical Director of the Cayman Islands national team from 1993 to 1994 and from 1996 to 1998.

Drew Ferguson is a Canadian former soccer player. He was born in Powell River, British Columbia, Canada on November 9, 1957.

Philip Joseph Johns is a retired American soccer goalkeeper. Johns spent four seasons in the North American Soccer League, eight in the Major Indoor Soccer League, two in the National Professional Soccer League and one in the Continental Indoor Soccer League. He was also a member of the United States national futsal team which placed second at the 1992 FIFA Futsal World Championship.

References

  1. Association announces All Time Canada Men's XI Canadasoccer.com
  2. Lypka, Ben (January 7, 2011). "Catching up with soccer great Mike Sweeney". Squamish Chief. Retrieved January 30, 2011.
  3. 1 2 "Mike Sweeney". www.canadasoccer.com. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  4. Record at FIFA Tournaments - FIFA
  5. HUNGARY - CANADA - Planet World Cup
  6. Japan 1979 Teams Canada - FIFA