Desmond Kevin Armstrong (born November 2, 1964) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

former

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 ...

defender and

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

, who was a member of the United States national team from 1987 to 1994. He played three seasons in the Major Indoor Soccer League, part of one in the Brazilian First Division, two in 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 two in

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 ...

. He is currently technical director of FC Columbus in the

National Premier Soccer League The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) is an American men's association football, soccer league. The NPSL is a semi-professional league, comprising some teams that have paid players and some that are entirely amateur. The league is officially ...

. His son,

Ezra Ezra (; he, עֶזְרָא, '; fl. 480–440 BCE), also called Ezra the Scribe (, ') and Ezra the Priest in the Book of Ezra, was a Jewish scribe (''sofer'') and priest (''kohen''). In Greco-Latin Ezra is called Esdras ( grc-gre, Ἔσδρας ...

, formerly played for

Swope Park Rangers Sporting Kansas City II is a MLS Next Pro club affiliated with Sporting Kansas City of Major League Soccer. For the 2022 season they will play their home games at Rock Chalk Park at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas, as well as Sw ...

Player

Youth

Armstrong was born and raised in Washington, D.C. Up until age 11, basketball was his main sport and he hadn't played soccer. After an altercation with another boy on the basketball court, the boy's father, who was a youth soccer coach, invited Armstrong to come try out for his team. From that point on Armstrong moved into high school, college, and national team soccer. He attended

Howard High School Howard High School may refer to: * David T. Howard High School, a former high school in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. * Howard High School of Technology Howard High School of Technology is a vocational-technical high school in Wilmington, Delaware and is ...

in Ellicott City, Maryland. Armstrong's college career was spent at the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

, where he was first team All ACC in 1984 and 1985 and second team All ACC in 1983. He played in a total of 78 games for the university, tallying 24 goals and 18 assists. In 1986, he was part of the Fairfax Spartans club which won the

National Amateur Cup The National Amateur Cup, also known as the USASA Amateur Cup, is an American soccer competition open to all amateur teams affiliated with the United States Soccer Federation through United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA). In 1923, U.S ...

, defeating St. Louis Busch 3–0. The Spartans featured other national team players John Kerr, Bruce Murray and

John Stollmeyer John Michael Stollmeyer (born October 25, 1962 in Pittsburgh) is an American retired soccer player. He played two seasons in Major Indoor Soccer League and one each in both the American Soccer League and the American Professional Soccer Leagu ...

in addition to Armstrong.

Professional

Armstrong played two seasons for the Cleveland Force of the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) from 1986 to 1988. At the end of the 1987–1988 season, he transferred to the

Baltimore Blast The Baltimore Blast is an American professional indoor soccer team based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. The team is a part of the Major Arena Soccer League. The team has won 10 championships since it was founded in 1980. Beginning with t ...

. However, on January 14, 1989, he broke his leg midway through the season. In February 1991, he signed with Santos of the Brazilian First Division making Armstrong the first American player ever to sign a professional contract in Brazil. Upon completing the season Armstrong returned to the U.S. with the

Maryland Bays The Maryland Bays were an inaugural franchise of the third incarnation of the American Soccer League in 1988.They were based in Catonsville, Maryland, and played their games at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County. The team joined the Ameri ...

, in the

. That year, the Bays made it to the league semifinals before falling to the

Albany Capitals The Albany Capitals joined the third incarnation of the American Soccer League in 1988. The team joined the American Professional Soccer League in 1990 when the ASL merged with the Western Soccer League. The club played in Albany, New York. After ...

. In 1995, he moved to the

Washington Warthogs The Washington Warthogs were a professional indoor soccer team in the Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL) from 1994 to 1997. They played their home games in the USAir Arena in Landover, Maryland, an arena they shared with the Washington Bulle ...

of the

Continental Indoor Soccer League The Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL) was a professional indoor soccer league that played from 1993 to 1997. History In the summer of 1989 Dr Jerry Buss, the owner of the Los Angeles Lakers and California Sports, told his executive Vice Pre ...

on loan from

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 ...

as he was the fifth player signed to the new league. Armstrong decided to compete with the

Charlotte Eagles The Charlotte Eagles are an American professional soccer team based in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1991, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The team plays its home games at ...

of the United Soccer Leagues/ USISL for the 1996 season opting out of his contract with Major League Soccer and later retiring from the game at the age of 31. That year he was selected to the USISL All Pro League Team.

National team

His first appearance for the United States national team came in 1987 in a match against

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

. He was also a member of the Olympic team in the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

, South Korea. His performance with the Olympic team made him a mainstay on the national team through the early 1990s, playing in all three of the team's appearances at the

1990 FIFA World Cup The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second time (the first being Me ...

. He made a total of 81 appearances for the national team, though he never scored a goal at this level. Armstrong was the first U.S.-born

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

player to represent the nation at the World Cup.

Coach

Since his retirement from international soccer, he has remained active in coaching and community initiatives. He has spent time organizing for inner-city Christian Ministries programs such as Soccer Beats (now Heroes FA) Also now owning a team based out of Murfreesboro Tennessee Legacy Heros FC. With a new entrance into Pioneer Premier League 2, Led By Luis A. In the mid-1990s he coached the USA Hurricanes club level soccer team in Charlotte, NC. In 1999, he became the head coach of the

Montreat College Montreat College (pronounced "mon-treet") is a private, Christian college in Montreat, North Carolina. Founded in 1916, Montreat College offers associate, bachelor's, and master's degree programs for traditional and adult students. The college's m ...

Cavaliers in

Montreat, North Carolina Montreat is a town in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 723 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Asheville Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town is best known for Montreat Conference Center, Montreat College, an ...

which play in the NAIA. He remained in this position until his retirement in 2006. Armstrong also coached the youth team '85 HFC Vipers of

Asheville, North Carolina Asheville ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Buncombe County, North Carolina. Located at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, it is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the state's 11th-most populous cit ...

from 2000 to 2004. After leaving Montreat, Armstrong joined the youth club, Bethesda Roadrunners, as its head coach. He also created another section of Heroes FA, in Maryland and is currently their head coach and technical director. He is also the Director of Recruiting in Ohio for

Brad Friedel Bradley Howard Friedel (born May 18, 1971) is an American professional soccer coach and former player who played as a goalkeeper. Friedel played 84 games for the United States national team between 1992 and 2005, and represented his country at ...

's Premier Soccer Academies. He was named technical director of Rocket City United on December 11, 2009. In 2012, he created the Heroes Soccer Club in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

. , the youth soccer club has 550 players and plays in several venues in the Nashville area.

Broadcaster

Armstrong has worked for ABC Sports. During the

1994 FIFA World Cup The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States ...

, Armstrong was an

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

studio analyst. Armstrong provided commentary for all

Cleveland City Stars The Cleveland City Stars were an American professional soccer team based in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Founded in 2006, the team played in the USL First Division (USL-1), the second tier of the American Soccer Pyramid in 2009. The club fo ...

home games. The games will be aired on

SportsTime Ohio Bally Sports Great Lakes is an American regional sports network owned by Diamond Sports Group, and operates as an affiliate of Bally Sports. The channel, which is a sister network to Bally Sports Ohio, broadcasts statewide coverage of professional, ...

. The City Stars play in 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 ...

. On May 11, 2007, he was inducted into the Maryland Soccer Hall of Fame.Maryland Soccer Hall of Fame
On February 29, 2012, he was inducted to the National Soccer Hall of Fame.

References

External links

USA Soccer players.comMontreat College

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Armstrong, Desmond 1964 births Living people 1990 FIFA World Cup players 1991 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 1993 Copa América players 1993 CONCACAF Gold Cup players CONCACAF Gold Cup-winning players African-American men's soccer players American expatriate men's soccer players American expatriate sportspeople in Brazil American Professional Soccer League players American soccer coaches American men's soccer players Baltimore Blast (1980–1992) players Charlotte Eagles players Cleveland Force (original MISL) players Continental Indoor Soccer League players Expatriate men's footballers in Brazil Association football commentators Men's association football defenders Men's association football midfielders Footballers at the 1988 Summer Olympics Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players Maryland Bays players Maryland Terrapins men's soccer players National Premier Soccer League coaches Olympic soccer players for the United States Santos FC players Soccer players from Washington, D.C. USISL players USL Second Division players United States men's international soccer players University of Maryland, College Park alumni Washington Warthogs players National Soccer Hall of Fame members 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople