Niall Thompson

Niall Thompson
Personal information
Full name Niall Joseph Thompson
Date of birth (1974-04-16) 16 April 1974
Place of birth Birmingham, England
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Playing position Striker
Club information
Current team
 Surrey United Firefighters (head coach)
Youth career
Edmonton Brickmen
1989 Winnipeg Fury
1990–1991 PSV Eindhoven
1991-1992 Crystal Palace
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1992–1994 Crystal Palace 0 (0)
1994–1995 Colchester United 13 (5)
1995 Montreal Impact 9 (0)
1996 Seattle Sounders 15 (0)
1996–1997 Zultse VV 16 (6)
1998 Brentford 8 (0)
1998 Vancouver 86ers 23 (20)
1999–2000 Airdrieonians 25 (5)
2000 Bay Area Seals 6 (2)
2000–2001 Wycombe Wanderers 8 (0)
2001 Montreal Impact 21 (5)
2002–2003 Vancouver Whitecaps 18 (4)
2004–2009 Vancouver Firefighters
National team
1993–2000 Canada 9 (2)
Teams managed
2010– Surrey United Firefighters

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.


Niall Joseph Thompson (born 16 April 1974) is a Canadian soccer player and coach, who works currently as coach for Surrey United Firefighters.[1]

Club career

Thompson moved to Canada, aged two, and later played for the Edmonton Brickmen, Winnipeg Fury and PSV Eindhoven youth teams. He started his professional career as a trainee with Crystal Palace but after an unsuccessful spell moved to play for Colchester United, before returning to Canada for family reasons.[2] Thompson played on for Montreal Impact, Seattle Sounders and Zultse VV, before returning to Canada again to play local football, while waiting for a visa which would allow him to play in the United States.[2] Seattle Sounders expressed interest in re-signing him, but could not due to visa issues.[2] A friend contacted Micky Adams, then-manager of English Second Division side Brentford and Thompson signed for the club on non-contract terms in February 1998.[2] After leaving the Bees in September 1998, Thompson went on to play for Vancouver 86ers, Airdrieonians, Bay Area Seals, Wycombe Wanderers, Montreal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps.[3][4]

International career

He made his debut for Canada in a March 1993 friendly match against South Korea and earned a total of nine caps, scoring two goals. He has represented Canada in just one FIFA World Cup qualification match, in October 2000.[5] That game, against Panama, proved to be his final international.

International goals

Scores and results list Canada's goal tally first.
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 4 June 1995 Varsity Stadium, Toronto, Canada  Turkey 1–2 1–3 Friendly
2 18 May 1998 Varsity Stadium, Toronto, Canada  Macedonia 1–0 1–0 Friendly

Personal life

While living in Vancouver in late 1997, Thompson worked for Umbro in a bid to earn money for a flight ticket back to the UK.[2]

References

  1. ↑ VMSL TEAM'S DIRECTORY
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Brentford Matchday Magazine versus Bournemouth 07/03/98. Quay Design of Poole. 1998. p. 6.
  3. ↑ CANADIAN JOINS ON TRIAL - Chairboys on the Net Archived 8 October 2006 at the Wayback Machine.
  4. ↑ Niall Thompson Rejoins Vancouver - USL Fans
  5. ↑ Record at FIFA Tournaments - FIFA
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