Christopher Robert Barbon Greatwich (born 30 September 1983) is a

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

retired

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

. He was the assistant head coach of the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

in 2018 to 2020. He has previously played for

Morris County Colonials Jersey Blues FC was an American soccer team based in Morristown, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 2007, the team plays in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Keystone Conferenc ...

, Kaya FC, and the

Philippines national football team The Philippines national football team (Filipino/ tl, Pambansang koponan ng futbol ng Pilipinas, lit=) represents the Philippines in international football, governed by the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) and has been playing internationa ...

Football career

Professional career

Greatwich began his career at

Brighton and Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...

when he was recommended to the club by his PE Teacher aged 12. He progressed through the youth ranks and was part of their successful

FA Youth Cup The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under-18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part. It ...

side in 2002, which lost to eventual winners

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

. Following his release from the club in 2003, Greatwich pursued a soccer scholarship in the United States, playing for

Drury University Drury University, formerly Drury College and originally Springfield College, is a private university in Springfield, Missouri. The university's mission statement describes itself as "church-related". It enrolls about 1,700 undergraduate and grad ...

and

Hartwick College Hartwick College is a private liberal arts college in Oneonta, New York. The institution's origin is rooted in the founding of Hartwick Seminary in 1797 through the will of John Christopher Hartwick. In 1927, the Seminary moved to expand into a ...

. Upon graduation, Greatwich returned to UK and following an unsuccessful trial with Kilmarnock in the Scottish Premier League, he joined non-league clubs

Lewes FC Lewes Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Lewes, East Sussex, England. The men's first team are currently members of the and play at the Dripping Pan. History The club was established in a meeting at the Royal Oak pub ...

Bognor Regis Town Bognor Regis Town Football Club is an English football club based in Bognor Regis, West Sussex. Nicknamed 'The Rocks',the club is an FA Chartered Standard Community club affiliated to the Sussex County Football Association. They currently compe ...

. In January 2013, Greatwich joined

Kaya F.C. Kaya may refer to: People *Kaya (given name) *Kaya (surname) Places *Kaya, Burkina Faso, a town in Burkina Faso, capital of the department *Kaya Airport, serving the town * Kaya Department, a department or commune of Sanmatenga Province in centr ...

in the Philippines United Football League. Alongside being a player, Greatwich was brought in to oversee the club's Academy system. In November 2015, Greatwich was appointed as full-time head coach of the club. after Greatwich led the team to the UFL Cup as interim player-manager.

International career

Greatwich began his international career with the

in 2004, making his debut against Myanmar in the

Tiger Cup The ASEAN Football Federation Championship (less formally the AFF Championship or AFF Cup), currently known as the AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup for sponsorship reason, is the primary association football tournament organized by the ASEAN Football ...

. He was unable to play in 2005 in the

SEA Games The Southeast Asian Games, also known as the SEA Games, is a biennial multi-sport event involving participants from the current 11 countries of Southeast Asia. The games are under the regulation of the Southeast Asian Games Federation with supe ...

due to his

Hartwick Hawks Hartwick College is a private liberal arts college in Oneonta, New York. The institution's origin is rooted in the founding of Hartwick Seminary in 1797 through the will of John Christopher Hartwick. In 1927, the Seminary moved to expand into a ...

making the NCAA Tournament in the United States, but played the following year in

Bacolod Bacolod, officially the City of Bacolod (; hil, Dakbanwa/Syudad sang Bacolod; fil, Lungsod ng Bacolod), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the region of Western Visayas, Philippines. It is the capital of the province of Negros Occidenta ...

when they hosted the qualifiers for the Asean Championships. It was here that Greatwich scored his first international goal against

Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...

in the side's 1–2 defeat. He then scored in the 7–0 win over East Timor and played in wins against Cambodia and Brunei to see them qualify for the finals in

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

. There they lost to Malaysia and Thailand before drawing with Myanmar in their final game. In 2008 in

Iloilo Iloilo (), officially the Province of Iloilo ( hil, Kapuoran sang Iloilo; krj, Kapuoran kang Iloilo; tl, Lalawigan ng Iloilo), is a province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Its capital is the City of Iloilo, the ...

, Greatwich played in the

AFC Challenge Cup The AFC Challenge Cup was an international football competition for Asian Football Confederation (AFC) member countries that was categorized as "emerging countries" in the "Vision Asia" programme. "Vision Asia", created by former AFC president, ...

games against Brunei, Tajikistan, and Bhutan. The team would eventually be eliminated on goal difference despite not conceding a goal or losing a match. Later that year, Greatwich played in the 2008 AFF Suzuki Cup qualifiers in Cambodia where the side again would be eliminated from the tournament this time on the basis of goals scored. Despite wins against

East Timor East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-weste ...

(1–0) and

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...

(3–2, with Greatwich scoring the second) the draw against Brunei (1–1) and loss to Laos (1–2) saw Laos and Cambodia qualify for the finals. The 2009

qualifiers saw Greatwich play in all three games against Bhutan (1–0), host nation

Maldives Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipelag ...

(2–3) and

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the sout ...

(0–5) which saw them finish third in the group, behind Maldives and winners Turkmenistan, the latter advancing to the finals. Greatwich was then a last-minute addition to the

2010 AFF Suzuki Cup The 2010 AFF Championship, sponsored by Suzuki and P&G and officially known as the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup, was the 8th edition of the AFF Championship, took place on 1–29 December 2010. Indonesia and Vietnam hosted the group stage from 1 to 8 De ...

in Vietnam despite not featuring in the qualifiers in Laos. In their first group game against Singapore, Greatwich scored an

injury time Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

equaliser to produce one of the biggest shocks in

AFF Suzuki Cup The ASEAN Football Federation Championship (less formally the AFF Championship or AFF Cup), currently known as the AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup for sponsorship reason, is the primary association football tournament organized by the ASEAN Football ...

history. Greatwich and the team went one better in the following game against defending champions

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

, when Greatwich scored a goal and an assist on

Phil Younghusband Philip James Younghusband Jr. (born 4 August 1987) is a former professional footballer who played mostly as a striker and sometimes as a midfielder. Younghusband is best known for his performances with the Philippines national team, playing ...

's goal to win 2–0. Following a 0–0 draw in the final group game against Myanmar, the Philippines were matched up against

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

in the semi-finals. Both games were played in

Jakarta Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...

following the

ASEAN Football Federation The ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) is an organisation within the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and is an international governing body of association football in Southeast Asia. It consists of the federations of Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, ...

's decision that the

had no suitable venue to host the semi-finals, and lost both games 1–0. Greatwich suffered the misfortune of being sent-off in the final moments of the second leg. In 2013, Greatwich scored the game-winning goal versus Pakistan to win the Peace Cup. The

, 2014 saw the Azkals progress out of the group stage, where they faced hosts Maldives in the semi-finals. Greatwich again would come up with the crucial goal, scoring the winning goal in extra-time in a 3–2 victory. The Azkals subsequently lost the final 1–0 to Palestine, scuppering their hopes of qualifying for the Asian Cup. In March 2015 Greatwich announced that he was taking a break from the national team, specifically to spend more time with his family and his newborn son.

International goals

Managerial career

Kaya FC

On 2 November 2015 Kaya announced that they have assigned Chris Greatwich as the club's full-time head coach. Greatwich had previously served as the club's head coach in an interim capacity in numerous occasions such as in the

2015 UFL Cup The 2015 United Football League Cup is the sixth edition of the United Football League Cup which started on May 2 and ended on August 28, 2015. This edition was supposed to be held in 2014 but the kick off was moved to 2015 with the main objectiv ...

knockout stage. Following his appointment, Kaya qualified for the

AFC Cup The AFC Cup is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). Under its current rules, the competition is played primarily between clubs from nations that did not receive direct qualifying s ...

in 2016, progressing out of the group having only conceded 2 goals in 6 group games (fewest in the competition). At the time, it was the first time a Philippine club had qualified for the knock-out stages of the AFC Cup. Also led the team to a UFL Cup semi-final in 2016. In the newly formed Philippine Football League (PFL) in 2017, Greatwich led the team to a third-place regular season finish, the club's highest league position in 5 years, and narrowly lost in the play-off semi-finals to eventual PFL Champions Ceres. In 2018, the club won its second trophy in three years when Kaya won their domestic cup competition, the Paulino Alcantara trophy. In addition to this trophy, Greatwich steered the club to runner-up in the PFL League. In 2016 Greatwich was named number 12 in FourFourTwo's "Top 15 Managers" in the ASEAN/ Australian region.

Philippine National Team

In March 2018, Head Coach

Thomas Dooley Thomas Dooley (born May 12, 1961) is an American former soccer player and coach. He played as a defender and defensive midfielder and was a long-time member and former captain of the United States national team. Dooley recently served as the ...

appointed Greatwich as his Assistant Coach. The team had impending qualification games for the Asian Cup, which they ultimately qualified for via victory versus Tajikistan. Following Dooley's departure, Greatwich remained as Assistant Coach under former England manager

Sven-Göran Eriksson Sven-Göran Eriksson (; born 5 February 1948) is a Swedish football manager and former player. After an unassuming playing career as a right-back, Eriksson went on to experience major success in club management between 1977 and 2001, winning 18 ...

for the Suzuki Cup, where they led the team to the semi-finals, losing to eventual champion Vietnam. In January 2019, Eriksson and Greatwich worked together in the Philippines' first ever major tournament, the Asian Cup.

Personal life

Greatwich's brothers

Phil Phil may refer to: * Phil (given name), a shortened version of masculine and feminine names * Phill, a given name also spelled "Phil" * Phil, Kentucky, United States * ''Phil'' (film), a 2019 film * -phil-, a lexical fragment, used as a root te ...

and

Simon Simon may refer to: People * Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon * Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon * Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genus ...

also play for the Philippine national football team.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Greatwich, Chris 1983 births Living people Filipino British sportspeople Citizens of the Philippines through descent English people of Filipino descent Filipino people of English descent British Asian footballers English footballers Filipino footballers Filipino expatriate footballers Philippines international footballers Association football midfielders Expatriate soccer players in the United States Hartwick College alumni Hartwick Hawks men's soccer players Bognor Regis Town F.C. players Lewes F.C. players Ringmer F.C. players Kaya F.C. players Filipino football head coaches United Football League (Philippines) head coaches Philippines Football League head coaches Association football coaches