Dan Robinson (born 1 September 1982) is an English

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

coach and former goalkeeper. He currently manages the academy of Peterborough United and has previously held the role of assistant coach with the New Zealand national women's team. Robinson is a four-time winner of the

New Zealand Football Championship The New Zealand Football Championship ( mi, Te Whakataetae Whutupaoro a Aotearoa) was a men's association football league at the top of the New Zealand league system. Founded in 2004, the New Zealand Football Championship was the successor to a m ...

(NZFC) with Waitakere United and in 2014 was named as the best goalkeeper of that competition's first decade. He was also the first goalkeeper to play 100 games in the

. As a player he has been to one

FIFA Club World Cup The FIFA Club World Cup is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The competition was first contested in 200 ...

and has also coached, as either an assistant coach or goalkeeping coach, at four

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tournaments including the

2012 Olympic Games The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

and the

2015 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup was the seventh FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international soccer championship contested by the women's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament was hosted by Canada for the ...

Playing career

Early career

Robinson began his career playing for Derby County playing for the schoolboys team from the age of 11 to 16. In 1999, at the age of 17, he signed as an apprentice at

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

and played two years at youth and reserve team levels. In 2001, he signed a professional contract with Burton Albion, who were then under the management of Nigel Clough. During four seasons with the Brewers the bulk of his first team appearances would come in cup competitions. He made his one and only league appearance for Burton Albion in January 2003 in a Football Conference fixture away to Scarborough and was sent off on debut in the 4–1 defeat.

Move to New Zealand

In 2004, Robinson joined New Zealand side Gisborne City on loan and in 2005 he returned on a permanent basis, also taking the role as the club's academy director. After two seasons of winter regional football with Gisborne, Robinson signed with Waikato FC for the 2006-07

. He would return for one more winter season with Gisborne between his first two summers in the national league with Waikato. Since 2008, Robinson has played national league football in the summer for Waitakere United but he has played for various regional clubs in the winter including Hamilton Wanderers, Bay Olympic,

Lynn-Avon United Lynn-Avon United is a semi-professional association Football club based in New Lynn, Auckland, New Zealand. Their first team plays in the Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Division 1. History The club was formed in 1996 through an amalgamation of Lynndale ...

and Birkenhead United.

Waitakere United

In 2008, Robinson moved to Auckland to develop his coaching career and sign for then Oceania Champions Waitakere United, who had qualified for the

2008 FIFA Club World Cup The 2008 FIFA Club World Cup (officially known as the FIFA Club World Cup Japan 2008 presented by Toyota for sponsorship reasons) was the fifth FIFA Club World Cup, a football tournament for the champion clubs from each of FIFA's six continental c ...

. Robinson started five league games and two OFC Champions League games in his first season with Waitakere United but was on the bench for their FIFA Club World Cup playoff defeat to Adelaide United as well as the

NZFC The New Zealand Football Championship ( mi, Te Whakataetae Whutupaoro a Aotearoa) was a men's association football league at the top of the New Zealand league system. Founded in 2004, the New Zealand Football Championship was the successor to a m ...

Grand Final defeat to

Auckland City Auckland City was a territorial authority with city status covering the central isthmus of the urban area of Auckland, New Zealand. It was governed by the Auckland City Council from 1989 to 2010, and as a territory within the wider Auckland R ...

. The following season, he established himself as the first choice goalkeeper, playing all but one match for Waitakere as they claimed their second New Zealand title and finished runners-up in the 2010 OFC Champions League. Between 2009–10 and 2012–13, with Robinson as the first choice goalkeeper, Waitakere won an unprecedented four straight

titles, added two more minor premierships and one Charity Cup win. They would also make two OFC Champions League finals but lost them both. On 27 January 2013, towards the end of this period of domestic success, Robinson also became the first goalkeeper to play 100 matches in the

. The following season, as part of the marking of the first ten seasons of the franchise-based format of the national

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, Robinson was named as the league's '' Goalkeeper of the Decade'' and was also named to the '' Team of the Decade.'' The awards were chosen by a public vote and a panel of football writers. The 2013-14 season marked the start of a rebuilding phase for Waitakere and they finished fourth in the league, losing to

in the semifinals. The following season, they would again lose to

in the semifinals after finishing fourth in the regular season. Robinson was named captain for the 2014–15 season. In the 2015–16 season Robinson reduced his playing role with Waitakere to fulfill his full-time coaching duties with the New Zealand women's team.

Coaching career

Following a three-month loan to Gisborne City in 2004, former New Zealand coach Kevin Fallon enticed Robinson to return on a permanent basis in 2005 with a full-time contract that included a role as the club's academy director. He continued to balance playing and coaching roles when he signed for Waikato FC in the

, coaching the club's U-20 team in the National Youth League for one season. While playing in Gisborne and the Waikato he also held development roles with Central Football Federation and Waikato-Bay of Plenty Football. Robinson moved to Auckland move in 2008 partly to pursue more coaching opportunities. His first international role came as goalkeeper coach for the New Zealand U-20 Women for the

2010 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup The 2010 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup was the 5th edition of the tournament. It was held in Germany, who will also host the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup a year later from 13 July to 1 August 2010. Sixteen teams, comprising representatives from all ...

in Germany and he would retain the same role for the

2012 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup The 2012 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup was the 6th edition of the tournament. The tournament was played in Japan from 19 August to 8 September, with sixteen national football soccer teams and mark the first hosting of a FIFA women's football tourna ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. He was elevated to the goalkeeper coach role for the senior women's team in 2012 ahead of the London Olympics where the team lost in the quarterfinals to eventual gold medal winners,

USA 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 Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. The same year Robinson also coached Waitakere City in the premier division of the Northern Region Football League.

Northern Football Federation The Northern Football Federation (NFF) was an association football organisation, responsible for local growth and developing the game in West Auckland, North Shore and Northland, New Zealand. In 2020 it was merged with Auckland Football Federa ...

appointed Robinson as a Football Development Officer in February 2013 with a regional responsibility for clubs in the West Auckland area. In 2014, his coaching role with the

Football Ferns The New Zealand women's national football team, nicknamed the Football Ferns, is governed by New Zealand Football (NZF). The New Zealand national team qualified for the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup, held in China in September 2007, sending the t ...

became full-time with additional responsibility for overseeing the development of U-17 and U-20 women's goalkeepers. His current title with the New Zealand Women's Team is Assistant Coach specialising in goalkeeping. In September 2016, he moved back to England and returned to his first club Burton Albion to take up the role of academy manager.

Personal life

Robinson is married and has one child. He is a lifelong fan of Derby County F.C. His father, Phil, was a match official in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

and his Robinson's younger brother, Adam, is lead sports scientist at Derby County's Academy.

Honours

Player

Club

; Waitakere United *

: (4) 2009–10,

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

, 2011–12,

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

Minor Premiers: (3) 2008–09,

* OFC Champions League Runners-up: (2) 2009–10,

* ASB Charity Cup: 2012 *

Runners-up: 2008–09 ; Bay Olympic *

Northern League (New Zealand) The Northern League is a semi-professional New Zealand association football competition. It is a top-tier competition during the winter season, and sits at step two overall. The Northern League includes football clubs located in the northern pa ...

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

; Burton Albion * Unibond Premiership: 2001–02

Other individual honours

;Player * OFC Champions League Golden Glove (best goalkeeper): 2012–13 * New Zealand Football Championship Goalkeeper of the Decade (2004/05–2013/14) * New Zealand Football Championship Team of the Decade (2004/05–2013/14)

Records

* First goalkeeper to play 100 matches in the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Danny 1982 births Waitakere United players English men's footballers Expatriate men's association footballers in New Zealand Footballers from Derby Burton Albion F.C. players Derby County F.C. players Gisborne City AFC players WaiBOP United players Hamilton Wanderers AFC players Bay Olympic players Waitakere City FC players People from Belper Footballers from Derbyshire Living people Men's association football goalkeepers New Zealand Football Championship players Birkenhead United AFC players New Zealand women's national football team non-playing staff