Derek Backman (born January 6, 1966) is a retired U.S.

soccer 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 ...

midfielder who played in the

USISL United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues currently organized are the ...

. Backman played for the Arcadia Shepherds in his native South Africa before moving to the United States in 1983 to attend the

College of Boca Raton Lynn University is a private university in Boca Raton, Florida. Founded in 1962, the university awards associate, baccalaureate, master's, and doctoral degrees. It is named for the Lynn family (Christine E. and Eugene M. Lynn). It has a tot ...

. In 1987, Backman and his teammates won the NAIA national men's soccer championship. Backman was also a two time first team NAIA All American. He graduated in 1989 and was inducted into the school's Athletic Hall of Fame in 2004. In 1988, Backman signed with the Tampa Bay Rowdies as it prepared to enter the newly established American Soccer League. He moved to the

Fort Lauderdale Strikers Fort Lauderdale Strikers may refer to: *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1977–1983), member of North American Soccer League from 1977 to 1983 *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1988–1994), member of American Soccer League from 1988 to 1989 and American Profes ...

for the first part of the 1989 season before returning to the Rowdies for the end of the season. He then remained a regular with the team until sidelined in 1993 with a stress fracture in his left ankle. In 1990, the Rowdies moved to the

American Professional Soccer League The American Professional Soccer League (APSL) was a professional men's soccer league with teams from the United States and later Canada. It was formed in 1990 by the merger of the third American Soccer League with the Western Soccer League. It ...

and folded at the end of the 1993 season. Backman remained in the Tampa area, coaching youth soccer and working in his family's interior design business. He also played with the amateur St. Petersburg Kickers. In 1995, Backman gained his U.S. citizenship. That year, he played for the expansion Tampa Bay Cyclones in the USISL.Rowdie redux Series: Hillsborough SPORTS EXTRA
/ref> In February 1996, the Tampa Bay Mutiny selected Backman in the 11th round (107th overall) of the

1996 MLS Inaugural Player Draft The MLS Inaugural Player Draft, held before 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 State ...

. He played 25 games with the Mutiny in 1996, but only three in 1997. He retired in 1998. He currently plays for the amateur team Kaknballz FC, who won the state title in 2017.

References

External links

Tampa Bay Rowdies Player Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Backman, Derek 1966 births American Professional Soccer League players American Soccer League (1988–89) players American men's soccer players Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1988–1994) players St. Petersburg Kickers players South African emigrants to the United States Tampa Bay Cyclones players Tampa Bay Mutiny players Tampa Bay Rowdies (1975–1993) players USISL players Lynn Fighting Knights men's soccer players Living people Major League Soccer players South African men's soccer players South African expatriate men's soccer players South African expatriate sportspeople in the United States Men's association football midfielders