George O'Neill (born 26 July 1942) is a former professional

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player who played as a

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. 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 ...

of the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

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

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with the U.S. national team.

Club career

Scotland

O'Neill was born in

Port Glasgow Port Glasgow (, ) 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 recent census in 2011 s ...

, Scotland. He 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. Following the creation of the Premier L ...

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 , 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 The Honest Men, fro ...

. 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) was Scotland's oldest football league competition for amateur teams in Scotland, before disbanding in 2023 when it merged with the Central Scottish Amateur League to form the Scottish Premier Amateur Le ...

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 and currently plays in the . Despite their name, the club are based at Firhill Stadium in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not ...

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

Dunfermline Athletic Dunfermline Athletic Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dunfermline, Fife. Founded in 1885, the club currently compete in the after winning the 2022–23 Scottish League One title. Dunfermline play at ...

. 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.

International career

In 1973, O'Neill earned two

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

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

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

Coaching career

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 Trevis as the assistant coach of the Philadelphia Fury 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 (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

men's soccer team on 18 August 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

*
NASL stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oneill, George Living people 1942 births American soccer coaches American men's soccer players Ayr United F.C. players Barrow A.F.C. players Celtic F.C. players Dunfermline Athletic F.C. players Scottish Football League players English Football League players Greenock Morton F.C. players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) coaches North American Soccer League (1968–1984) head coaches North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Partick Thistle F.C. players Penn Quakers men's soccer coaches Philadelphia Atoms players Scottish men's footballers St Mirren F.C. players United States men's international soccer players Scottish emigrants to the United States Men's association football wing halves Scottish expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Scottish expatriate men's footballers Footballers from Port Glasgow 20th-century American sportsmen