Flávio Ferri (born September 14, 1973) is a Brazilian retired

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 ...

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

who spent several seasons 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 ...

. He was the 1995 USISL leading scorer and MVP. He is currently the president and general manager of the

Long Island Rough Riders The Long Island Rough Riders are an American soccer team based in South Huntington, New York, United States. Founded in 1994, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The team plays its home games at Hofst ...

Youth

The son of lower division Brazilian footballer, Ferri spent his early youth in Brazil. His family moved to

Matawan, New Jersey Matawan is a borough in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. A historic community located near the Raritan Bay in the much larger Raritan Valley region, the borough is a commuter town of New York City within the New York Metropol ...

, USA, before settling in

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

. Flavio attended the

University of the Incarnate Word The University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) is a private, Catholic university with its main campus in San Antonio and Alamo Heights, Texas. Founded in 1881 by the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, the university's main campus is located o ...

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

, where he enjoyed a stellar college sporting career in which he received several accolades including three-time All Conference selection, three-time All District selection, three-time All Region honors, two-time Conference MVP and two-time All American. Flavio was a 1992 NAIA third team and 1994 NAIA first team All American soccer player.

Professional

In 1993, he began his professional career with the

San Antonio Pumas The San Antonio Pumas were an American soccer team founded in 1988 as the San Antonio Heat in the original indoor SISL league. They became the San Antonio Generals before the 1989/90 indoor season and then the San Antonio Pumas before the 1993 out ...

of the

. In 1995, he led the USISL with 29 goals in 19 games, and was voted to the All-Star team where he earned the game’s Most Valuable Player Award. In February 1996, the

Tampa Bay Mutiny Tampa Bay Mutiny was a professional soccer team based in Tampa, Florida. They were a charter member of Major League Soccer (MLS) and played from 1996 to 2001. They played their home games at Tampa Stadium and then at Raymond James Stadium. The ...

selected Ferri in the 10th round (97th overall) in 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 ...

. On March 26, 1996, the Mutiny waived Ferri before he had played a game. He began the 1996 season with the

Austin Lone Stars The Austin Lone Stars were a soccer club that competed in the SISL, USISL and United Soccer Leagues from 1987 to 2000. The club originally started in 1987/88 as the Austin Sockadillos in the original indoor SISL league. They became the Austin Lone S ...

before moving to the

. He spent the 1997 season with Long Island and reached the national semifinals each year. Flavio then spent the 1998 season with the

Staten Island Vipers The Staten Island Vipers were a soccer club that competed in the USL A-League in 1998 and 1999. The club was based on Staten Island, New York City. The team played its games at Tottenville High School and Wagner College. The team dissolved follow ...

. In 1999, he played for the New York Freedom in the

Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental association football, soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United Stat ...

. He then trained for six months with the

UNAM Pumas Club Universidad Nacional, A.C., commonly referred to as UNAM, is a professional football club based in Ciudad Universitaria of Mexico City, Mexico. The club competes in the Liga MX, the top division in the Mexican football league system. Found ...

in Mexico before retiring.

Coaching

Following his retirement from playing, Ferri moved back to New York where he became a youth coach for the Blau-Weiss Gottschee club. In 1999, he joined Globall Soccer Concepts where he helped to develop one of the premier level soccer training organizations, training more than 70 travel soccer teams on Long Island. At Globall, Ferri helped to manage a training staff of more than 30 instructors who were primarily recruited from overseas. Apart from designing curricula for intramural-based clinics to advanced travel team sessions, Ferri also trained and coached high level travel teams, including one of the best known boys’ teams in the East Meadow Soccer Club, the East Meadow Falcons. In 2006, Ferri took over the coaching and management responsibilities of the

professional men’s team that played in the 2nd division league in the United Soccer Leagues. During his professional coaching tenure with the Rough Riders, Ferri helped to restructure the men’s soccer franchise while helping players with their professional careers, including Ruben Diaz (Puerto Rico Islanders USL 1), Rob Fucci (Crystal Palace Baltimore USL 2nd Division), Christopher Megaloudis (Red Bulls, MLS) Michael Grella (Leeds United, England 2nd Division) and Paul Robson (

Crystal Palace Baltimore Crystal Palace Baltimore was an American professional soccer team based in Baltimore, Maryland, US. Founded in 2006, the club was originally named Crystal Palace USA and was affiliated with English side Crystal Palace F.C., Crystal Palace. The cl ...

, England 2nd Division). He is currently the vice president and general manager of the Rough Riders.

References

External links

Rough Riders
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferri, Flavio 1973 births Living people American men's soccer players American soccer coaches Austin Lone Stars players Long Island Rough Riders players Incarnate Word Cardinals men's soccer players New York Freedom (soccer) players San Antonio Pumas players Staten Island Vipers players USISL players Men's association football forwards