Rob Gier

In this Philippine name, the middle name or maternal family name is Dazoand the surname or paternal family name is Gier.

Rob Gier

Personal information
Full name	Robert James Dazo Gier
Date of birth	(1981-01-06) 6 January 1981 (age 43)
Place of birth	Ascot, England
Position(s)	Centre back
Team information
Current team	Philippines U22 (head coach)
Youth career
	Ascot United
	Wimbledon
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2000–2004	Wimbledon	71	(0)
2004–2006	Rushden & Diamonds	67	(2)
2006–2007	Cambridge United	17	(0)
2007	Woking	7	(0)
2007–2008	Aldershot Town	38	(0)
2008–2009	Grays Athletic	18	(0)
2009–2016	Ascot United
International career
2009–2015	Philippines	66	(2)
Managerial career
2016–2018	Oxford University Women's
2018–2023	Reading F.C. Women (academy manager)
2023–	Philippines U22
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Robert James Dazo Gier (born 6 January 1981) is a football coach and former player who is the head coach of the Philippines U22 team. As a player, he was mainly a centre-back.

Born in England, he progressed through the youth system of Wimbledon, making his debut in the Football League First Division in October 2000 and played until their final season. He then played for League Two club Rushden & Diamonds until their relegation in 2006. He then played in the Conference National for Cambridge United, Woking, and Aldershot Town with whom he won the 2007–08 Conference Premier title and Conference League Cup. After a brief spell with Grays Athletic, he spent the remainder of his career with his hometown club Ascot United in the Hellenic Football League.

Eligible to represent the Philippines national team through his mother, Gier made his international debut in 2009. He captained the Philippines in the 2012 and 2014 AFF Championships.

Early life

Rob Gier was born to Robert Gier and Rosario and grew up in Ascot, England. Upon coming from work, Rob's father would often bring him to football training. His mother, Rosario is a Waray from Tacloban, Leyte. ^[1]

Club career

Gier began his career at Wimbledon, who had been relegated from the Premiership in 1999–00 season. He made his debut the following season, starting a 0–0 home draw with Sheffield United on 28 October 2000.^{[ citation needed ]}

In 2004, he joined Rushden & Diamonds, ^[2] and was part of the side that was relegated from the Football League in 2005–06. He left the club following their relegation, and had spells in the Conference with Cambridge United, ^[3] and Woking during the 2006–07 season.^{[ citation needed ]}

He joined Aldershot Town at the start of the 2007–08 season, ^[4] and was part of the side that won the Conference with a record points total. He made 38 league appearances for the club, all starts, but despite this was released at the end of the campaign. ^[5]

On 22 May 2008, Grays Athletic announced they had signed Gier on a one-year contract, ^[6] however, he was transfer listed by the club in January 2009, with financial pressures and manager Wayne Burnett's plans being cited as the reason. ^[7]

Gier joined Hellenic League Premier Division club Ascot United in November 2009, after being released at the end of the previous season by Grays Athletic. ^[8] He announced his retirement in February 2016. ^[9]

International career

Gier was called up to the Philippines national team in March 2009, for the 2010 AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers in April, where they were due to face, Turkmenistan, Bhutan and the Maldives. ^[10] He made his international debut in 2010 AFC Challenge Cup qualification match against Bhutan on 14 April 2009 and also played against Maldives and Turkmenistan. ^[1]

On 10 September 2012 Gier scored his first international goal for the Philippines in a 2–1 loss to Laos, ^[11] however it was not a FIFA-sanctioned match. FIFA did not recognize the match's results after it was found out that the referees who officiated the match were not recognized by the world sporting body. ^[12]

He scored his first official international goal for the Philippines in the 2014 Philippine Peace Cup against Chinese Taipei. ^[13]

International goals

Scores and results list the Philippines' goal tally first.

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	3 September 2014	Rizal Memorial Stadium, Manila	Chinese Taipei	1–0	5–1	2014 Philippine Peace Cup [13]
2.	25 November 2014	Mỹ Đình National Stadium, Hanoi	Indonesia	4–0	4–0	2014 AFF Suzuki Cup

Retirement

On 17 February 2016 Gier announced his retirement from playing competitive football at the age of 35. ^[14] Gier is set to focus on operating Zenith Soccer Tours and spending more time with his family. ^[15]

Earlier in 2014, ^[16] Gier established Zenith Soccer Tours, a youth football program in the United Kingdom. The idea was concepted by Gier, after he met with the Philippine national youth team who had a three-week training camp in the UK in 2013. ^[17]

Coaching career

Oxford University (Women's)

In November 2016, Gier was appointed as head coach of the women's football team of the University of Oxford. ^[18] He served in this role until May 2018.

Gier obtained a UEFA A coaching licence by September 2017. While still playing for the national team and Ascot United, he began finishing a two-year course to obtain the UEFA A coaching licence. He plans to coach in the United Kingdom while working for a UEFA Pro Licence that would make him eligible to coach in the FA Premier League and UEFA competitions. He has expressed his openness to coach for the Philippine national team. ^[19]

Reading (Women's)

In 2017, Gier began working with Reading F.C. Women as its women's development coach. ^[19] He was eventually promoted as the Reading F.C. Women academy manager in July 2018. ^[20]

Philippines U22

In March 2023, the Philippine Football Federation announced that Rob Gier was appointed as the new head coach of Philippines U22. ^{[21] [22] [23]}

Honours

Club

Aldershot Town

• Conference National: 2007–08
• Conference League Cup: 2007–08

International

Philippines

• AFC Challenge Cup: Third 2012
• Philippine Peace Cup: 2013

Personal life

Gier is married and has two children. His family resides in England. ^[15]

References

1. Biantan, Jack (15 March 2015). "What really angers the Azkals captain?". London: Pinoy Football. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
2. "Rushden snap up trio". BBC Sport. 24 May 2004. Retrieved 3 June 2008.
3. "Cambridge to sign defender Hooper". BBC Sport. 18 January 2007. Retrieved 3 June 2008.
4. "Aldershot boss recruits quartet". BBC Sport. 7 August 2007. Retrieved 3 June 2008.
5. "Aldershot bid farewell to quartet". BBC Sport. 30 April 2008. Retrieved 22 May 2008.
6. "Grays Athletic add three to squad". BBC Sport. 22 May 2008. Retrieved 1 June 2008.
7. "Grays place four on transfer list". BBC Sport. 12 January 2009. Retrieved 12 January 2009.
8. "Gier coup for Ascot". Non-League Daily. 20 November 2009. Archived from the original on 26 September 2012. Retrieved 20 November 2009.
9. Former Azkals captain Rob Gier retires Archived 24 February 2016 at the Wayback Machine CNN Philippines, 17 February 2016
10. "Robert James Gier Player Profile". azkalsfootballteam.com. Archived from the original on 17 January 2013. Retrieved 12 September 2012.
11. Tupas, Cedelf P. (12 September 2012). "Azkals yield to Laotians in ill-tempered 'friendly'". Philippine Daily Inquirer. inquirer.net. Retrieved 12 September 2012.
12. Decena, Karl (12 September 2012). "FIFA: Azkals loss to Laos invalid". interaksyon.com. Archived from the original on 13 September 2012. Retrieved 12 September 2012.
13. Roy Moore (3 September 2014). "Azkals dominate Chinese Taipei in rain-delayed match to open Peace Cup". GMA Network. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
14. Del Rosario, Paolo (17 February 2016). "Former Azkals captain Rob Gier retires". CNN Philippines. Archived from the original on 24 February 2016. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
15. Terrado, Jonas (17 February 2016). "Ex-Azkals skipper quits". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
16. De Guzman, Icko (23 March 2015). "Rob Gier: Zenith Soccer Tours and What's Next for the Azkals". Football.com.ph. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
17. Reyes, Jaelle Nevin (7 February 2016). "Azkals' Gier launches football program in UK". Rappler. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
18. Tupas, Cedelf (15 November 2016). "Gier urges Azkals: Give your all". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
19. Go, Beatrice (11 September 2017). "Rob Gier to focus on UK coaching career after getting UEFA A license". Rappler. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
20. "LinkedIn Profile of Rob Gier". LinkedIn. 12 July 2018. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
21. "Former Philippines captain Rob Gier named Philippine Men's Under-22 head coach". Philippine Football Federation. 23 March 2023. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
22. "Football: Rob Gier to coach Azkals U22 squad for SEA Games". ABS-CBN News. 23 March 2023. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
23. del Carmen, Lorenzo (23 March 2023). "Rob Gier to lead Azkals U22 in 32nd SEA Games". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved 23 March 2023.

External links

• Robert Gier at Soccerbase
• Rob Gier at National-Football-Teams.com
• Rob Gier – FIFA competition record (archived)