James Gerald "Jim" Brennan (born 8 May 1977) is a UEFA Pro License-holder Canadian

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 ...

coach, analyst and former player. During his playing career he played as a defender in Canada and England, most notably with

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

Southampton F.C. Southampton Football Club () is an English professional football club based in Southampton, Hampshire, which competes in the . Their home ground since 2001 has been St Mary's Stadium, before which they were based at The Dell. The club play in ...

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...

(where he won the

2003–04 Football League First Division The 2003–04 Football League First Division (referred to as the Nationwide First Division for sponsorship reasons) was the twelfth and final season of the league under the First Division name, and the twelfth season under its current league divi ...

) and

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BMO ...

. He also earned 49 caps for the Canadian national team, was member of the Canada side which won the

2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the fifth edition of the Gold Cup, the soccer championship of North America, Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF), and the 15th overall CONCACAF tournament. It was held in Los Angeles, Miami, and San Diego ...

, and later represented his country at the

Confederations Cup 2001 The 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup was the fifth FIFA Confederations Cup and the third to be organised by FIFA. It was also the first in which the original hosts, Saudi Arabia, did not participate (they were the nation who founded the tournament, pr ...

, the

2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the sixth edition of the Gold Cup, the soccer championship of North America, Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF). The tournament was once again held in the United States, in Miami and Pasadena. The format ...

and the

2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the eighth edition of the Gold Cup, the football championship of North America, Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF). It was contested in the United States in July 2005. The United States emerged victorious ...

. He was inducted into the

Canada Soccer Hall of Fame The Canada Soccer Hall of Fame honours people and institutions for their contributions to Canadian soccer. It was founded in 1997 by the Ontario Soccer Association and was originally located in Vaughan, Ontario. As of 2019, the Canada Soccer Hal ...

in November 2015.

Club career

Bristol City

A left-sided defender who also has played the left side of the

midfield Midfield is the part of a sports field that lies approximately in the center. In American football, association football (soccer) and field hockey, it is the area in and around the center circle, as well as the players who occupy that region. In ...

, Brennan grew up in

Newmarket, Ontario Newmarket ( 2021 population: 87,942) is a town and regional seat of the Regional Municipality of York in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is part of Greater Toronto in the Golden Horseshoe region of Southern Ontario. The name stems from the ...

, and started playing with Bristol City youth team in 1994 and made his professional debut in 1996 with

against cross town rivals Bristol Rovers in the

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...

. In 5 years Brennan had five managers including Russell Osman, Benny Lennartsson, Joe Jordan, John Ward and Tony Pulis. In 64 first-team appearances for City over five seasons, Brennan scored three goals. Brennan started his career in the Bristol City youth team and worked his way into the first team before being sold to Nottingham Forest.

Nottingham Forest

Brennan joined

for £1.5 million in October 1999 and was bought by ex-

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

captain

David Platt David Andrew Platt (born 10 June 1966) is an English former professional football coach and player, who played as a midfielder. Born in Chadderton, Lancashire, Platt began his career as an apprentice at Manchester United before moving to Crewe ...

. Brennan was the first Canadian-born player to be sold over the 1 million pound mark. In 146 games played with Forest over four seasons under David Platt and

Paul Hart Paul Anthony Hart (born 4 May 1953) is an English association football, football manager, coach, and former professional player who made 567 appearances in the English Football League, Football League as a Defender (association football), def ...

, Brennan scored just once, in a 4–0 victory against

, the team he would later go on to sign for. While he was recovering from a double hernia he had a short loan spell at

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into ...

with his old manager Joe Jordan. He also came on as a substitute in two league games while on loan to Huddersfield in 2000–01 and received a red card against

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...

and headed back to Forest.

Norwich City

Brennan joined

on a free Bosman transfer in 2003 and was managed by Nigel Worthington. During the 2003–04 season in

Division One The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

, Brennan scored twice in just nine appearances, as he battled an abductor muscle injury. His goals came against Everton in the FA Cup and Coventry City in the league. Despite his personal struggles with fitness, the season saw Norwich win the First Division title and promotion back to the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

Southampton

Brennan joined George Burley at

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

on 27 January 2006 with his contract due to expire in summer having failed to make an impact on the

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

first team after a series of injuries. However, after finishing his contract he left the club the following May and departed England to play for his hometown team Toronto FC.

Toronto FC

On 8 September 2006, Brennan signed with

MLS 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 ...

team

for the 2007 season, becoming the first player and captain in club history. Brennan remained captain under Mo Johnston, John Carver, Chris Cummins and Preki. He also became the first Canadian to score for Toronto FC, registering a goal off a free kick against the

Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew, formerly known as Columbus Crew SC, is an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The Crew competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference and began play in 1996 as one ...

on 26 May 2007. This goal subsequently became a Sierra Mist Goal of the Week. Brennan went on to play 27 games, all of them starts, for Toronto FC, the most of any player. He earned a reputation as Toronto's "Iron Man," as he managed to play many of his games despite a rib injury, and looked as though he would go on to play every match of the season. Unfortunately, a knee injury prevented Brennan from achieving this feat. Brennan retained the captaincy for the 2008 season, and nearly managed to score in his team's opening match. Brennan has since added goals in 2008 against Chivas USA in Carson, California and to open the 2009 season at Kansas City, off pass from newly acquired Canadian international teammate

Dwayne De Rosario Dwayne Anthony De Rosario OOnt (born May 15, 1978) is a Canadian former professional soccer player, who played as a forward or as an attacking midfielder. De Rosario last played for the Mississauga MetroStars of the Major Arena Soccer League ...

. Brennan also made an appearance during the 2008 MLS All-Star game in his home stadium, BMO Field. The MLS All-Stars won the game 3–2 against

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

. On 6 April 2010 Brennan retired as player to become the assistant general manager for Toronto FC.

International career

Brennan played at the

1993 FIFA U-17 World Championship The 1993 FIFA U-17 World Championship, the fifth edition of the tournament, was held in the cities of Tokyo, Hiroshima, Kyoto, Kobe, Nagoya, and Gifu City in Japan between 21 August and 4 September 1993. Players born after 1 August 1976 were allo ...

in Japan, in a team alongside

Paul Stalteri Paul Andrew Stalteri (born October 18, 1977) is a Canadian former professional soccer player who played as a defender or midfielder. He spent most of his professional career in Germany, winning the league and cup double with Werder Bremen in th ...

and

Jason Bent Jason Andrew Bent (born March 8, 1977) is a Canadian former soccer player and current assistant coach for LA Galaxy. A midfielder, he played in Major League Soccer for the Colorado Rapids, 2. Bundesliga for FSV Zwickau and the Football League ...

. He then made his senior debut for

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in an April 1999 friendly match against

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

and went on to earn a total of 49 caps, scoring 6 goals. He has represented Canada in 10

FIFA World Cup qualification The FIFA World Cup qualification is a competitive match that a national association football team takes in order to qualify for one of the available berths at the final tournament of the (men's) FIFA World Cup. Qualifying tournaments are hel ...

matches. He has played for Canada at the

and played against Brazil, Cameroon and hosts Japan as well he competed at the

. Brennan won a gold medal in the 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup defeating Colombia and bronze medal in the 2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup defeating South Korea.

International Goals

:''Scores and results list Canada's goal tally first.''

Coaching career

Toronto FC

Following Brennan's retirement, Toronto FC named him assistant general manager to

Mo Johnston Maurice John Giblin Johnston (born 13 April 1963) is a Scottish football player and coach. Johnston, who played as a forward, started his senior football career with Partick Thistle in 1981. He moved to Watford in 1983, where he scored 23 leag ...

. However following the firing of Johnston in the late 2010 season, Brennan's position remained unknown with the club until the new management team was put in place. It included

Paul Mariner Paul Mariner (22 May 1953 – 9 July 2021) was an English football player and coach. A centre forward during his playing days, Mariner began his career with Chorley. He became a professional player in 1973 with Plymouth Argyle, where he scored ...

as director of player development and

Aron Winter Aron Winter (born 1 March 1967) is a Dutch former professional football midfielder and manager for Suriname. He has played for Ajax and Sparta Rotterdam in the Netherlands, for Italian sides Lazio and Inter Milan, and for the Netherlands nationa ...

as head coach. On 1 March 2011, the club announced that the new position of Brennan within the club would be as head coach of the

Toronto FC Academy Toronto FC Academy, also known as TFC Academy, is the youth academy and development system of Canadian Major League Soccer club Toronto FC. The academy has divisions from U14 to U19 and includes over 110 young players. The senior academy team is ...

U-17 team in the Second Division of the

Canadian Soccer League The Canadian Soccer League (CSL; french: Ligue canadienne de soccer — LCS) is a semi-professional league for Canadian soccer clubs primarily located in the province of Ontario, and claims the history of the Canadian National Soccer League (C ...

; his first coaching position. Jim Brennan photo by Djuradj Vujcic

On 14 May 2012, Brennan was promoted to first-team assistant coach under

. On 28 September 2013, Brennan filled in for Toronto FC head coach

Ryan Nelsen Ryan William Nelsen (born 18 October 1977) is a former New Zealand professional football player and former head coach of Major League Soccer side Toronto FC. Nelsen commonly played as a defender, and his professional career began in 1995. He ...

who was serving a suspension. In August 2014, Brennan was fired along with Nelsen and the rest of the club's first-team staff.

Aurora FC

In March 2015, Brennan became the executive director and director of soccer operations at the Aurora Youth Soccer Club. Under his leadership the club was renamed Aurora FC and gained entry into the semi-professional

League1 Ontario League1 Ontario (L1O) is a semi-professional men's soccer league in Ontario, Canada. The league began play in 2014 and is sanctioned by the Canadian Soccer Association and the Ontario Soccer Association as a pro-am league in the Canadian so ...

. He created Aurora FC's slogan One Style, One Passion. He coached his sons' 2008 Boys team for about 4 years. He later departed the club in December 2017. He stopped coaching the 2008 boys in late December 2018.

York United

In 2018, Brennan joined

Carlo Baldassarra Carlo Baldassarra (; born 1939) is an Italian-Canadian businessman who founded homebuilder company Greenpark Group. Career and family Carlo Baldassarra was born in Italy, and immigrated to Canada in 1958 at the age of 19. Less than 10 years later ...

and Preben Ganzhorn to found the company that owns the

Canadian Premier League The Canadian Premier League (CPL or CanPL; french: Première ligue canadienne, links=no) is a professional men's Association football, soccer league in Canada. At the top of the Canadian soccer league system, it is the country's primary nationa ...

club

York9 FC York United Football Club (formerly known as York9 FC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto, Ontario. The club competes in the Canadian Premier League and plays its home games at York University's York Lions Stadium. History ...

. On 27 July 2018, York9 FC announced Brennan would serve as the club's first head coach as well as executive vice president of soccer operations. On 11 December 2020, the club rebranded as

York United FC York United Football Club (formerly known as York9 FC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto, Ontario. The club competes in the Canadian Premier League and plays its home games at York University's York Lions Stadium. History ...

. On 23 November 2021, York United announced that they had parted ways with Brennan with his contract with the club already due to expire prior to the start of the 2022 season.

Personal life

Brennan's father is from

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, while his mother is from Scotland.

Honours

Player

Bristol City *

Football League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

runners up: 1997–98 Norwich City *

champions: 2003–04 Toronto *

Canadian Championship The Canadian Championship (french: Championnat canadien) is an annual soccer tournament contested by premier Canadian professional teams. The winner is awarded the Voyageurs Cup and Canada's berth in the CONCACAF Champions League. It is contest ...

winners:

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

Canada *

CONCACAF Gold Cup The CONCACAF Gold Cup ( es, Copa de Oro de la CONCACAF, french: Coupe D'or CONCACAF) is the main association football competition of the men's national football teams governed by CONCACAF, determining the continental champion of North Ameri ...

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

CONCACAF U-20 Championship The CONCACAF Under-20 Championship is the second longest running international association football event in the North America, Central America and the Caribbean region, CONCACAF, and is the qualification tournament for the FIFA U-20 World Cup. ...

: 1996 *

Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame The Canada Soccer Hall of Fame honours people and institutions for their contributions to Canadian soccer. It was founded in 1997 by the Ontario Soccer Association and was originally located in Vaughan, Ontario. As of 2019, the Canada Soccer Ha ...

: 2014 – 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup Squad Individual *

Canadian Player of the Year The Canada Soccer Player of the Year award celebrates Canada's top male and female soccer players in recognition of their achievements with both the national teams and their respective clubs. Since 2007, voting has been conducted by Canadian coac ...

: 1999 * Confederation Cup All-Star Team: 2001 * Toronto FC Player of the Year:

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

* Red Patch Boys Player of the Year: 2007 *Toronto FC Defender of the Year: 2008 *

2008 MLS All-Star Game The 2008 Major League Soccer All-Star Game was the 13th annual MLS All-Star Game. The MLS All-Stars faced West Ham United of the English Premier League. The game was played on July 24, 2008, with the MLS winning 3–2. New England Revolution coac ...

: 2008 *Toronto FC Humanitarian of the Year: 2009 *

: 2015

References

External links

* /

MLS player profile
*

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brennan, Jim 1977 births Living people Men's association football defenders Canadian men's soccer players People from East York, Toronto Soccer players from Toronto Canadian people of Irish descent Canadian people of Scottish descent Canada Soccer Hall of Fame inductees Canadian expatriate men's soccer players Expatriate men's footballers in England Canadian expatriate sportspeople in England Bristol City F.C. players Nottingham Forest F.C. players Huddersfield Town A.F.C. players Norwich City F.C. players Southampton F.C. players Toronto FC players Canadian Soccer League (1998–present) coaches English Football League players Premier League players Major League Soccer players Major League Soccer All-Stars Canada men's international soccer players CONCACAF Gold Cup-winning players 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Major League Soccer broadcasters Canadian soccer coaches Toronto FC non-playing staff York United FC non-playing staff York United FC coaches Canadian Premier League coaches