George O'Neill (born 26 July 1942 in

Port Glasgow Port Glasgow ( gd, Port Ghlaschu, ) is the second-largest town in the Inverclyde council area of Scotland. The population according to the 1991 census for Port Glasgow was 19,426 persons and in the 2001 census was 16,617 persons. The most recen ...

, Scotland) is a Scottish former-American

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 ...

player. He began his career in Scotland, playing with eight clubs over nine seasons before moving to the

Philadelphia Atoms The Philadelphia Atoms were an American soccer team based out of Philadelphia that played in the North American Soccer League (NASL). They played from 1973 to 1976, at Veterans Stadium (1973–75) and Franklin Field (1976). The club's colors wer ...

of the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

. He retired from playing professionally in 1976. In 1973, he earned two

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with the U.S. national team.

Scotland

O'Neill signed for Scottish club

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in November 1962, but never entered the first team. After two seasons, he moved to Barrow of the English

Football League Division Four The Football League Fourth Division was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season. Whilst the division disappeared in name ...

for the 1964–65 season. He played seven games with Barrow before transferring back north to

Ayr United Ayr United Football Club are a football club in Ayr, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Championship, the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League. Formed in 1910 by the merger of Ayr Parkhouse and Ayr F.C., their nickname is ...

. He finished out the 1964–65 season with Ayr, playing only four games. He then moved to

Scottish Amateur Football League The Scottish Amateur Football League (SAFL) is Scotland's oldest football league competition for amateur teams in Scotland. Although the League officially records itself as having been founded in 1909, when Scottish Football League club Queen's ...

club Dunoon Athletic for the 1965–66 season. Whether this was a loan from Ayr or a transfer remains unknown. In 1966, he joined

Partick Thistle Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional association football, football club from Glasgow, Scotland. Despite their name, the club are based at Firhill Stadium in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not played in Partick since 1908. ...

where he finally found significant playing time. Over his four seasons with the club, he played 72 games and scored five goals. He then moved to

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for a little more than a season before transferring on 16 March 1971 to

Dunfermline Athletic Dunfermline Athletic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the city of Dunfermline, Fife. Founded in 1885, the club currently play in Scottish League One after being relegated from the 2021–22 Scottish Championship. Dunfermline ...

. He saw time in twenty-five games before moving to St Mirren in 1972. He played only two games with St Mirren before leaving Scotland for the United States.

NASL

In 1973, O'Neill signed with the expansion

of the

. That year, the Atoms won the NASL championship. He remained with the team until it folded following the 1976 season.

National team

In 1973, O'Neill earned two

with the U.S. national team. The first came in a 1–0 loss to

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

on 3 November 1973. The second was another 1–0 loss to Haiti two days later.USA - Details of International Matches 1970-1979

Coaching

In 1978, O'Neill was hired to coach the Philadelphia Fever of the Major Indoor Soccer League until he was fired in 1980. He then replaced Derek Travis as the assistant coach of the

Philadelphia Fury The Philadelphia Fury was an American soccer team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that last competed in the National Independent Soccer Association (NISA). The club formerly competed in the American Soccer League and is currently owned by ...

of the NASL.
/sup> He spent several years as a coach with the Philadelphia Inter Soccer Club before becoming the interim head coach of the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

men's soccer team on 18 Aug. 1993 after Steve Baumann resigned. He led the team to a 5–10 record before being named to the head coach position. He was then hired as the team's head coach in January 1994. O'Neill was fired following the 1997 season after he amassed a 28–47–4 record over his five seasons as head coach.
/sup>

References

External links