Mark Stewart Watson (born 8 September 1970) is a Canadian former professional

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 who works as Technical Director (GM) at

Minnesota United FC Minnesota United FC is an American professional soccer club based in Saint Paul, Minnesota that plays in the Western Conference of Major League Soccer. The club began play in 2017 as the league's 22nd club, and replaced the North American Socc ...

. A former defender, Watson is the sixth most-capped player in the history of the Canada national team.

Club career

Watson spent 18 years as a professional soccer player. He spent three seasons with

Watford FC Watford Football Club is an English professional football club based in Watford, Hertfordshire. They play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club’s original foundation is 1881, aligned with that of its antecede ...

of the English Championship from 1993 to 1995 and then joined Major League Soccer for its inaugural season in 1996. He split that first MLS season between the

New England Revolution The New England Revolution is an American professional soccer club based in the Greater Boston area that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), in the Eastern Conference of the league. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having compet ...

and

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 ...

. Watson returned to MLS in 2001 with

D.C. United D.C. United is a professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. that competes in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer, the top tier of American soccer. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Supp ...

after stops with the

Seattle Sounders Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club was established on November 13, 2007, and began ...

Oxford United Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and t ...

and

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The history of Oldham Athletic ...

International career

For Canada, Watson has appeared 78 times for the 'A' national team during a 14-year span. He has played in four

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

qualifying campaigns. and on 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 ...

side that won the tournament. Watson scored the winning goal for Canada in the semi-final of the 2000 Gold Cup, a match Canada won 1–0 over Trinidad and Tobago.

Coaching career

Watson began his coaching career in 2004 with the Canadian national team system where he held assistant positions with the U-20 and senior squads. Watson served as assistant coach for Canada at the 2004 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualification Tournament and was an assistant when the team finished third in the same tournament in 2008. He also spent four seasons on the staff of his former playing club

Charleston Battery The Charleston Battery are an American professional association football, soccer club based in Charleston, South Carolina, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 1993, the Battery are one of the oldest continuously operating professiona ...

as an assistant to Mike Anhaeuser from 2006 to 2009, helping lead Charleston to the final of the 2008 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. After spending several seasons with

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional soccer team based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete as a member club of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). Originally as the San Jose Clash, the franchise ...

as an assistant to his Canadian colleague

Frank Yallop Frank Walter Yallop (born 4 April 1964) is a British-Canadian professional soccer coach. Yallop is currently the head coach and sporting director of USL Championship side Monterey Bay FC. He played 13 years in England for Ipswich, including the ...

, Watson became the club's interim head coach on 7 June 2013 following Yallop's dismissal. Watson's first win as an MLS head coach came on 15 June 2013 against the

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 1995, as part of the Anschutz Corporation, la ...

at Dick's Sporting Goods Park. Watson was 11–5–3 during his 19 league games as interim coach, nearly rallying the Earthquakes to an MLS Cup Playoff berth. His mark 1.89 points per game was tops among all coaches after he took over. In addition to his success in MLS, Watson's squad advanced to the 2013-14 CONCACAF Champions League Quarterfinals by winning Group 5. Following these successes, on 30 October 2013 the Earthquakes announced that they had signed Watson to a permanent contract, thereby removing his interim status. After a disappointing season in which the Earthquakes failed to qualify for the playoffs, Watson was dismissed in late 2014. He was hired as an assistant coach at

Orlando City Soccer Club Orlando City SC is an American professional soccer club in Orlando, Florida, that competes as a member of the Eastern Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). Orlando City SC began play in 2015 as the 21st franchise in MLS, succeeding the USL ...

for their inaugural

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 ...

season on 10 November 2014. He was fired by Orlando City in July 2016. On 18 January 2017, he was named assistant coach for Major League Soccer side

Career statistics

:''Scores and results list Canada's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Watson goal''.

Coaching record

Honours

Charleston Battery *

USL A-League The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, pl ...

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

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 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 ...

: 1997 *

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 ...

: 2008

References

External links

* / Canada Soccer Hall of Fame * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Mark 1970 births Living people Soccer players from Vancouver 1991 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 1993 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup players CONCACAF Gold Cup-winning players Canada men's international soccer players Canadian Soccer League (1987–1992) players Canadian soccer players Canada Soccer Hall of Fame inductees Canadian people of Scottish descent Charleston Battery players Columbus Crew players D.C. United players Association football defenders Hamilton Steelers (1981–1992) players Major League Soccer players Montreal Supra players New England Revolution players Allsvenskan players Östers IF players Oxford United F.C. players Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players Ottawa Intrepid players Seattle Sounders (1994–2008) players UBC Thunderbirds soccer players University of British Columbia alumni USL First Division players Vancouver Whitecaps (1986–2010) players Walsall F.C. players Watford F.C. players Canadian soccer coaches San Jose Earthquakes coaches A-League (1995–2004) players San Jose Earthquakes non-playing staff Orlando City SC non-playing staff Minnesota United FC non-playing staff Canadian expatriate soccer players Canadian expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate footballers in England Canadian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate soccer players in the United States