USSF Division 2 Professional League
The USSF Division 2 Professional League (D2 Pro League) was a temporary professional soccer league created by the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) for the 2010 season. The twelve-team league was formed as a compromise between the feuding United Soccer Leagues (USL) and the North American Soccer League (NASL). The D2 Pro League was the second tier of the United States soccer league system below Major League Soccer. The league also included two clubs from Canada and one club from Puerto Rico. History On August 27, 2009, Nike agreed to sell their stake in the United Soccer Leagues to investment company NuRock, instead of Jeff Cooper, who had aligned with a group of USL First Division team owners. Disappointed with the sale and state of the league, the ownership group broke away after the 2009 season with the intent to form a new incarnation of the North American Soccer League. The leagues sued each other, but ultimately withdrew their lawsuits and agreed to mediate with the U ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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CONCACAF
The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football,, ; french: Confédération de football d'Amérique du Nord, d'Amérique centrale et des Caraïbes, . Dutch uses the English name. abbreviated as CONCACAF ( ; typeset for branding purposes since 2018 as Concacaf), is one of FIFA's six continental governing bodies for association football. Its 41 member associations represent countries and territories mainly in North America, including the Caribbean and Central America, and, due to geopolitical reasons, three nations from the Guianas subregion of South America— Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana (an overseas region of France). The CONCACAF's primary functions are to organize competitions for national teams and clubs, and to conduct the World Cup and Women's World Cup qualifying tournaments. The CONCACAF was founded in its current form on 18 September 1961 in Mexico City, Mexico, with the merger of the NAFC and the CCCF, which made it one of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Austin Aztex FC
Austin Aztex FC was an American professional soccer team based in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 2008, the team played in the USL First Division, and in the USL Division of the USSF D2 Pro League, the second tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. In October 2010, the Aztex were relocated to Orlando, Florida and became Orlando City after Orlando USL's rights were purchased by Phil Rawlins. The team was resurrected in 2011 by minority owner David Markley as the Austin Aztex, which began play in the USL Premier Development League in 2012 and moved to United Soccer League in 2014. The team played its home games at Nelson Field, and House Park in Austin. The team's colors were red and white. Their head coach was Englishman and former Everton midfielder Adrian Heath. History The club was owned by English-born Austin businessman Phil Rawlins. Originally from the UK, Rawlins serves on the board of English Premier League club Stoke City. Austin and Stoke had a formal p ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Colin Clarke (footballer Born 1962)
Colin John Clarke (born 30 October 1962) is a Northern Irish retired footballer who played as a forward, and a former head coach. He played for seven English clubs between 1981 and 1993 before retiring through a knee injury, and scored 13 goals in 38 matches for the Northern Ireland national football team from 1986 to 1993. A member of their squad at the 1986 FIFA World Cup, he was joint with Billy Gillespie as Northern Ireland's top scorer of all before their record was surpassed by David Healy. After retiring as a player, Clarke went into management in the United States, coaching teams including Major League Soccer franchise FC Dallas and the Puerto Rico national football team. Playing career Born in Newry, Clarke began his professional career in the Football League Fourth Division at Peterborough United in the 1981–82 season, scoring 18 goals in 84 games over the next three seasons (having a loan spell at Gillingham during his final season at London Road) before he s ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium
Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium (Spanish: ''Estadio Juan Ramón Loubriel'') is a soccer-specific stadium located in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. It is best known as the former home of the Puerto Rico Islanders of the North American Soccer League and current home of the Bayamón FC of the Liga Puerto Rico. The stadium can seat up to 12,500 people. It has easy access the metro station known as "Deportivo Station." History Built in 1973 as a baseball stadium with a capacity of 12,500, it was home to the Vaqueros de Bayamón until 2003 when the team became defunct. La Meca of Puerto Rican Football In 2003 with the Vaqueros folding, the stadium seemed doomed to be relegated to a youth stadium or to demolition, but late that same year the stadium became home of the Puerto Rico Islanders. Its "''L''" shaped stands were not suited for the sport and it originally had an awkward feel to it since the stand behind the goal angles away from the pitch. Another name that has been used for the stadium ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bayamón, Puerto Rico
Bayamón (, ) is a Bayamón barrio-pueblo, city, Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality of Puerto Rico and suburb of San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan located in the northern coastal valley, north of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico, Aguas Buenas and Comerío, Puerto Rico, Comerío; south of Toa Baja, Puerto Rico, Toa Baja and Cataño, Puerto Rico, Cataño; west of Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, Guaynabo; and east of Toa Alta, Puerto Rico, Toa Alta and Naranjito, Puerto Rico, Naranjito. Bayamón is spread over 11 Ward (country subdivision), barrios and Bayamón barrio-pueblo, Bayamón Pueblo (the downtown area and the administrative center of the city). It is part of the San Juan-Caguas-Guaynabo Metropolitan Statistical Area and the second most populous municipality in both the metropolitan area and Puerto Rico. History The Taíno people, the indigenous peoples who encountered European explorers and settlers, were the long-time settlers in this area. The Spanish colonization of the America ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Gavin Wilkinson
Gavin Wilkinson (born 5 November 1973) is a former New Zealand footballer who served as general manager and President of Soccer for the Portland Timbers from 2009 to 2022. Prior to this position, Wilkinson was manager of Portland Timbers in the United Soccer League before their promotion to Major League Soccer beginning with the 2011 season. As a player, he was known as a strong leader and defender. Playing career Club career Wilkinson played defence for with the USL Portland Timbers from 2001 to 2006, adding assistant coach duties in 2005 and 2006. Wilkinson retired as an active player and was named Head Coach and General Manager for Portland Timbers in September 2006. During the 2009 season, he directed the Timbers to the Commissioner's Cup as the regular season champion and a league record 24 game unbeaten string (14-0-10), smashing the previous record of 16. International career Wilkinson played for the New Zealand national football team, the All Whites and collecte ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Portland, Oregon
Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous county in Oregon. Portland had a population of 652,503, making it the 26th-most populated city in the United States, the sixth-most populous on the West Coast, and the second-most populous in the Pacific Northwest, after Seattle. Approximately 2.5 million people live in the Portland metropolitan statistical area (MSA), making it the 25th most populous in the United States. About half of Oregon's population resides within the Portland metropolitan area. Named after Portland, Maine, the Oregon settlement began to be populated in the 1840s, near the end of the Oregon Trail. Its water access provided convenient transportation of goods, and the timber industry was a major force in the city's early economy. At the turn of the 20th century, the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Portland Timbers (2001–10)
The Portland Timbers are an American professional men's soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The Timbers have played their home games at Providence Park since 2011, when the team began play as an expansion team in the league. The club was founded in 2009, when the city of Portland was awarded an expansion berth to Major League Soccer. The team operating rights are owned by Peregrine Sports under the majority ownership of Merritt Paulson, whose companies had acquired the then-USL Pro team in 2007 and later established the Portland Thorns women's team in 2012 (all MLS franchises are centrally owned by the league itself, which grants operating rights and privileges to the individual club "owners," who are also shareholders in MLS). The club is a phoenix club, and the fourth soccer franchise based in Portland (second top-level) to carry the legacy of the Timbers name, which or ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Manny Lagos
Manuel "Manny" Lagos (born June 11, 1971) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a midfielder. He and is the former head coach of Minnesota United FC. Club career Early career Born in St. Paul, Minnesota"Columbus sends draft pick to San Jose" ''ESPN'', January 13, 2004, retrieved December 30, 2007. Lagos played for the NCAA Division-I from 1990 to 1992, [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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National Sports Center
The National Sports Center (NSC) is a multi-sport complex located in Blaine, Minnesota. Its site includes a soccer stadium, over 50 full-sized soccer fields, a golf course, a meeting and convention facility, and an eight-sheet ice rink, the Super Rink. The National Sports Center has hosted numerous National and World Championship events in soccer, hockey, figure skating, short track speedskating, broomball, rugby, ultimate frisbee and lacrosse. The National Sports Center opened in 1990 after 1987 legislature created the Minnesota Amateur Sports Commission (MASC) and appropriated $14.7 million for the construction of the NSC. The facility has over 3.8 million visitors annually, making it the most-visited sports facility in the state of Minnesota. The Herb Brooks Foundation, the foundation created by the hockey coach's family, has partnered with the National Sports Center to develop the Herb Brooks Training Center, a dryland and ice hockey training facility that is part of the Sup ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Blaine, Minnesota
Blaine is a suburban city in Anoka and Ramsey counties in the State of Minnesota, United States. Once a rural town, Blaine's population has increased significantly in the last 60 years. For several years, Blaine led the Twin Cities metro region in new home construction. The population was 70,222 at the 2020 census. The city is located mainly in Anoka County, and is part of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. Interstate 35W, U.S. Highway 10, and Minnesota State Highway 65 are three of the main routes in the city. History Phillip Leddy, a native of Ireland, was recorded in the 1857 census as having settled in the township of Anoka until his death in 1872, on land that later became Blaine. In 1862, he moved near a lake that now bears his misspelled name, Laddie Lake. Another early settler was the Englishman George Townsend, who lived for a short time near what today is Lever St. and 103rd Ave. It was not until 1865 that Blaine's first permanent resident, Greenberry Ch ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |