Paul Munster (born 9 February 1982) is a Northern Irish former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a striker. He is currently the

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of the

Brunei national football team The Brunei national football team (; recognized as Brunei Darussalam by FIFA), nicknamed ''Tebuan'' (The Wasps), is the national team of Brunei, controlled by the Football Association of Brunei Darussalam. The team was founded in 1959 and joi ...

Playing career

Munster began his career at the youth level with

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in 2001. He traveled to

Kitchener, Ontario ) , image_flag = Flag of Kitchener, Ontario.svg , image_seal = Seal of Kitchener, Canada.svg , image_shield=Coat of arms of Kitchener, Canada.svg , image_blank_emblem = Logo of Kitchener, Ontario.svg , blank_emblem_type = ...

in order to conduct a six-week sport and school exchange to coach. While conducting lessons he severely torn his knee ligament. As a result, his club released him from his contract effectively sidelining his career. He returned to Canada in 2004 in order to assist

Eddie Edgar Eddie Edgar (born 31 October 1956) is an English former professional football goalkeeper who played in the Football League First Division, Football League Fourth Division, and the National Soccer League. Career Edgar was born in Jarrow and play ...

with his coaching academy. Edgar secured him a trial with London City of the Canadian Professional Soccer League. After a successful trial he played with club's reserve squad, where he scored 12 goals in 3 matches to promote him to the first team. He made his debut on 18 June 2004 against

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, where he scored in his debut in a 2–1 defeat. What followed was a stellar season where he became an instant success by finishing as the league's top goalscorer with 25 goals in 19 appearances. The league recognized his contributions with the CPSL Rookie of the Year award. After an impressive debut season in the CPSL he was signed by

Slavia Prague Sportovní klub Slavia Praha – fotbal (Sports Club Slavia Prague – Football, ), commonly known as Slavia Praha or Slavia Prague, is a Czech professional football club in Prague. Founded in 1892, they are the second most successful club in th ...

of the

Czech First League The Czech First League, known as the Fortuna liga for sponsorship reasons, is a Czech professional league for football clubs. At the top of the Czech football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Seasons typically r ...

. He became the first Irishman to play in the league when he made his debut on 21 November 2004 against

FK Chmel Blšany FK Chmel Blšany was a Czech football club based in the village of Blšany. The club played in the Czech First League between 1998 and 2006 and was the first professional club of goalkeeper Petr Čech. The club disbanded in 2016 after resigning ...

. After one season with Slavia Prague where he appeared in 3 league matches and voted fans player of the month. In 2006, he went to Scandinavia to sign with

Örebro SK Örebro Sportklubb, more commonly known as Örebro SK, Örebro or (especially locally) ÖSK, is a Swedish professional football club based in Örebro. The club are affiliated to Örebro Läns Fotbollförbund and play their home games at Behrn A ...

of the

Superettan Superettan (; meaning the super first (division)) is an association football league and the second highest league in the league system of Swedish men's football. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Al ...

. Midway through the season he was transferred to Bunkeflo IF in the Division 1, where he assisted in promoting the club to the Superettan. He returned to the Czech Republic to play with SK Hradec Kralove in the

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. He finished as the club's top goalscorer with 10 goals. In 2008, he returned home to sign with Linfield in the

NIFL Premiership The NIFL Premiership, known as the Danske Bank Premiership for sponsorship purposes, and colloquially as the Irish League or Irish Premiership, is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the Northe ...

. In his first season with Linfield the lethal striker scored an impressive 17 goals in 20 starts. Throughout his tenure with Linfield he won the league title and

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in 2009/10 and 2010/11, and was the club's top goalscorer in the 2009/2010 season. In January 2011 Linfield rejected an offer from

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of the

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. The offer was turned down by the Belfast club, even though Munster was leaving in the summer as a free agent. After his contract expired he signed with

FC Anker Wismar FC Anker Wismar is a German association football club based in Wismar, Germany, currently playing in the Verbandsliga Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. History The club's origins date back to 1904 when ''FC Elite Wismar'' were established. The followi ...

in the

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Coaching career

In 2012, Munster retired from competitive football in order to manage

Assyriska BK Assyriska BK is a Swedish football club based in Västra Frölunda, Gothenburg. The club was formed in 1985 by Assyrian immigrants and is currently playing in Division 2 Västra Götaland which is the fourth tier of Swedish football. They play ...

in the

Swedish Football Division 2 Division 2 is the fourth level in the league system of Swedish football and comprises 84 Swedish football teams. Division 2 had status as the official second level from 1928 to 1986 but was replaced by Division 1 in 1987. It then had status a ...

. The following season he was appointed manager of

Örebro Syrianska IF Örebro Syrianska IF is a Swedish football club from Örebro. History 1977 grew the first Syriac team in the Swedish sports movement. Örebro City became the first city to get a Syriac football club and is not much known. Football interests ...

in the Division 1. In 2014, he was given managerial responsibilities at

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, and was appointed head coach of the

under-19 team. On 24 February 2019, Munster was named the head coach for the

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. Eight months later, he was offered a contract to manage Bhayangkara F.C. in the Indonesian Liga 1. Munster left Bhayangkara on 31 March 2022, after his contract wasn't renewed.

Minerva Punjab

On 8 August 2018, Munster was appointed Technical Director and Head Coach for Indian

I-League The I-League (known as Hero I-League for sponsorship ties with Hero MotoCorp) is the second-tier men's professional football competition of the Indian football league system. It is currently contested by 12 clubs across the country with the w ...

club Minerva Punjab. On 8 February 2019, he announced his resignation, citing personal reasons.

Bhayangkara FC

On 1 September 2019, Munster was appointed as the new Head Coach for

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club Bhayangkara F.C. Arriving half way through the season with the club in 13th place, Munster managed to finish the season in 4th place and as Siem Reap Super Asia Cup Champions, beating Malaysian club

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2—1 in the final in Cambodia. The 2021 Season was Munster's final season with the club, finishing in 3rd place, qualifying for the

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Brunei

On 17 August 2022, Munster was unveiled as the new technical director of the

. Under his watch, Brunei managed to qualify for the 2022 AFF Championship for the first time in 26 years.

Statistics

Honours

As player Linfield * Irish League Championship: 3 ** 2007–08, 2009–10, 2010–11 *

: 2 ** 2009–10, 2010–11 Individual * Linfield Player of the Year: 2008–09 As coach * Siem Reap Super Asia Cup 2020 * Tri Nations League 2019 * Punjab Super League 2018 * J&K Invitational Cup 2018 *

Swedish Cup U-19 Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

called " Svenska Cupen" in 2017 with Örebro Sportklubb U-19 * Best Irish Coach of abroad 2016-2017

Managerial statistics

References