Daniel Keith "Danny" Earls (born 22 April 1989) is an Irish

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 ...

and artist. Earls was scouted and signed as a teenager by English

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

side

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 ...

and played youth football for the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

. He went on to have a nine-year professional career in the

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

with

Rochester Rhinos Rochester New York FC, formerly known as the Rochester Rhinos, are an American professional soccer team based in Rochester, New York, United States. Founded in 1996, as the Rochester Raging Rhinos, they changed their name to Rochester Rhinos to ...

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 1995, as part of the Anschutz Corporation, la ...

and

Pittsburgh Riverhounds Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC is an American professional soccer team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1999 and beginning play in 1999, the club plays in the Eastern Conference of the USL Championship, the second tier of the American so ...

. As of 2019, he is unattached, and focusing on becoming a professional

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

artist.

Career

Europe

Born in

Wicklow Wicklow ( ; ga, Cill Mhantáin , meaning 'church of the toothless one'; non, Víkingaló) is the county town of County Wicklow in Ireland. It is located south of Dublin on the east coast of the island. According to the 2016 census, it has ...

, Earls played for Wicklow Rovers A.F.C. and St. Josephs Boys A.F.C. in his native Ireland, before moving to English

club

in 2005. Earls never played a senior first team game for Villa, but played extensively for the reserves and captained the team until leaving in 2008.

United States

In June 2008 Earls left England for the United States when he signed with

of the

USL First Division The USL First Division (usually referred to as USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States and Canada from 2005 to 2010. During its existence, it formed the second tier of soccer in the United States soccer league system b ...

. He made his debut with the team in the Rhinos' 2–1 victory over RWB Adria in the 2008 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on 10 June 2008. On 29 July 2008, he was selected as the USL-1 Player of the Week. Earls played 53 games with the Rochester Rhinos in two seasons, before signing with

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

side

on 10 February 2010. After one season with Colorado in which he made 18 appearances and won MLS Cup, Earls was traded to

Seattle Sounders FC Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club was established on November 13, 2007, and began ...

, along with teammate

Julien Baudet Julien Baudet (born 13 January 1979 in Grenoble) is a French footballer and current manager. Club career Europe Although excelling as a skier in his youth, Baudet chose to concentrate on football, beginning his career with Toulouse FC in Fr ...

, on 22 November 2010. Earls was waived by Seattle on 1 March 2011. He subsequently resumed training with Colorado and re-signed with the Rapids on 30 March 2011. Colorado confirmed on 17 January 2012 that Earls would not return for the 2012 season after appearing in four matches for the Rapids during the 2011 season. On 3 April 2012,

announced that the club re-signed Earls to a one-year deal. Following the 2013 season, Earls was named the Rhinos' team MVP. Prior to the 2014 season, Earls signed with the

, also of the

USL Pro The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, pl ...

. In his first season with the club, Earls appeared in and started 27 matches, tallying 1 goal and 6 assists. He finished the 2015 season with 3 goals and 3 assists in 25 league appearances. On 3 June 2016 it was announced that the Riverhounds had resigned Earls for the remainder of the 2016 season. On 30 November 2017, Pittsburgh announced that Earls' contract had expired, ending his four-year spell with the club. Having returned to his home town of Wicklow in 2018, Earls focused on his artwork and was commissioned by the Football Association of Ireland to produce programme covers for

John O'Shea John Francis O'Shea (; born 30 April 1981) is an Irish professional football coach and former player. He was known for his versatility in playing several positions on either side of the pitch or the centre. Born in Waterford, O'Shea joined Man ...

's testimonial match and an international friendly between the Republic of Ireland and

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

Honours

;Colorado Rapids *

Eastern Conference Championship:

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

MLS Cup:

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Earls, Danny 1989 births Living people Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Republic of Ireland expatriate men's association footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States USL First Division players Major League Soccer players USL Championship players Association footballers from County Wicklow Aston Villa F.C. players Rochester New York FC players Colorado Rapids players Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC players Men's association football defenders