John Catliff
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | John Catliff | ||
Date of birth | 8 January 1965 | ||
Place of birth | Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada | ||
Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||
Playing position | Striker | ||
Youth career | |||
1983–1986 | Harvard Crimson | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1987 | Calgary Kickers | ||
1988–1994 | Vancouver 86ers | 147 | (79) |
National team‡ | |||
1984–1994 | Canada | 44 | (18) |
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 25 June 2009. |
John Catliff (born 8 January 1965) is a former Canadian professional soccer player. He has the second most goals scored for the Canadian national team with 18 goals between 1984 and 1994.[1]
In 2012 as part of the Canadian Soccer Association's centennial celebration, he was named to the all-time Canada XI men's team.[2]
Club career
Catliff was selected to the All-Ivy League First team as a forward in 1983, 1984, and 1986 while playing for the Harvard Crimson. He was also named to the All-American First Team in 1986.[3]
Catliff was a Canadian Soccer League star, scoring the second most goals of anyone in the League's six-year history with 69 goals in total.[4] He was a league season scoring champion in 1988 with 22 goals [5] and in 1990 with 19 goals.[6] He began his CSL career in 1987 playing for the League's inaugural champions, the Calgary Kickers. He then spent the next six seasons with the Vancouver 86ers, who became the CSL champions in four consecutive seasons from 1988 through 1991. Ligament injuries to both knees forced him to retire from professional play in 1994 after two years on the 86ers in the American Professional Soccer League.
International career
Catliff was a member of the quarter-finalist Canadian national team at the 1984 Summer Olympics while still playing at Harvard. He made his senior debut for Canada in a July 1984 in friendly match against Chile. Throughout his career, he earned a total of 44 caps while scoring 18 goals. He represented Canada in 12 FIFA World Cup qualification matches.[7] He suffered a serious knee injury in a 1986 World Cup qualifying match away to Honduras.[8] His replacement, George Pakos, scored the only goal in a crucial 1-0 victory.[9] Recovering from injury, he was not named to Canada's roster for the 1986 World Cup, Canada's only appearance.
His final international game came in June 1994 in a friendly match against the Netherlands.
International goals
- Scores and results list Canada's goal tally first.
- Catliff scored a 19th international goal against the United States in the other 1990 North American Championship game, but this match was not considered official.
Personal life
Catliff recently worked as global Vice President of Sales with Helly Hansen outdoor apparel company but now works with Firstar Sports.[10] He lives with his wife Sarah and his three soccer loving sons, Brendan (born 1994), and Jamie (born 1998), and Andrew Catliff (born 1996) John is the team Coach of the Vancouver Football Club Under 14 boys, where his son Jamie plays.[11] Catliff is an Honoured member of The Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame.[12]
Honours
- 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991
- 1988, 1990
External links
- The OSA Soccer Hall of Fame and Museum induction page for Catliff
- Player profile – Canada Soccer
- John Catliff at National-Football-Teams.com
References
- ↑ Goalscoring for Canada National Team – RSSSF
- ↑ Association announces All Time Canada Men's XI Canadasoccer.com
- ↑ Hall of Fame Class of 2003 – Varsity Club Harvard
- ↑ http://www.canadasoccer.com/soccer-hall-of-fame-to-honour-11-greatest-players-and-builders-p147401
- ↑ The Year in American Soccer – 1988
- ↑ The Year in American Soccer, 1990
- ↑ Record at FIFA Tournaments – FIFA
- ↑ "John T. Catliff '86". www.harvardvarsityclub.org. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
- ↑ "Canada v Honduras, 25 August 1985". 11v11.com. Retrieved 2016-10-24.
- ↑ Business no sweat for ex-soccer pro Catliff – Business Edge
- ↑ Vancouver FC – Club Contacts
- ↑ This Week in Canadian Soccer