The Atlanta Silverbacks FC were an American 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 ...

club based in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital city, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georgia, Fulton County, the mos ...

. Founded in 1998 as Atlanta Ruckus, the club played in many leagues over the years before folding after the 2015 season. The team played its home games at

Atlanta Silverbacks Park Atlanta Silverbacks Park is a sports complex in unincorporated DeKalb County, just outside Atlanta, United States that is currently used primarily for soccer. It was formerly the home venue of the Atlanta Silverbacks soccer club, from which the c ...

, a large soccer complex featuring a 5,000-seat

soccer-specific stadium Soccer-specific stadium is a term used mainly in the United States and Canada to refer to a sports stadium either purpose-built or fundamentally redesigned for soccer and whose primary function is to host soccer matches, as opposed to a multi- ...

in Atlanta, 15 miles northeast of downtown. The team's colors were red, black, grey, and white. The club had 2 independent supporter groups, Westside 109 and the Atlanta Ultras. The Ultras were established in 2011 & were known to support both the Silverbacks men's and women's side. The Ultras were also to be known for their fanatical support at Silverbacks Park, as well as away matches. They had a reputation for their unfriendly or challenging attitude towards fans from opposing clubs. The team had a

Women's Premier Soccer League The Women's Premier Soccer League (WPSL) is an amateur women's soccer league in the United States and Canada. It is the top amateur league for women's soccer in the United States soccer pyramid, below only National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). ...

counterpart in the

Atlanta Silverbacks Women Atlanta Silverbacks Women was an American women's soccer team that played from 2005 through 2016. The team played in the USL W-League from 2005 until the league folded after the 2015 season. For the 2016 season they played in the Women's Premier ...

from 2005 through 2016.

History

Atlanta Ruckus (1994–1998)

In July 1994, the

American Professional Soccer League The American Professional Soccer League (APSL) was a professional men's soccer league with teams from the United States and later Canada. It was formed in 1990 by the merger of the third American Soccer League with the Western Soccer League. It ...

announced it had accepted the Atlanta Magic, owned by Sam Chase, as a new franchise for the 1995 season. At the time, the Magic played in the

USISL United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues currently organized are the ...

. In October 1994, the team, still referred to as the Atlanta Magic, signed national team forward Bruce Murray. However, by November 1994, Chase had decided to enter an entirely new team, to be named the Atlanta Ruckus, in the APSL. Despite this decision, several Magic players moved to the Ruckus, including

Bill Andracki Bill Andracki is a retired American soccer goalkeeper who had an extensive professional career playing both indoor and outdoor soccer. Youth In 1988 and 1989, Andracki attended Mercer County Community College, playing on the men's soccer team. ...

Chris Hellenkamp Chris Hellenkamp is a retired American soccer midfielder who played professionally in the North American Soccer League and Major Indoor Soccer League. Hellenkamp attended Seattle Pacific University where he played on the men's soccer team in 1 ...

, Brian Moore and

Mo Suri Moises "Mo" Suri is a retired American soccer player. He played professionally in the National Professional Soccer League, A-League and USISL. In 1986, Suri, younger brother of Caleb Suri, turned professional with the Louisville Thunder of the ...

. Even after the creation of the Ruckus, the Atlanta Magic continued to play in the USISL, losing to the Baltimore Bays in the 1995–96 USISL indoor season championship. The Ruckus nearly failed even before it had played a game. Six weeks before the 1995 season, Chase experienced financial difficulties and failed to post the required $100,000 letter of credit with the league by the March 1 deadline. The league nearly revoked the franchise, but, South African businessman Johnny Imerman quickly stepped in and bought the team. The Ruckus, under former U.S. national team coach

Lothar Osiander Lothar Osiander (born November 8, 1939) is a German soccer coach who has served as head coach to the U.S. national and Olympic teams as well as the Atlanta Ruckus, Los Angeles Galaxy and San Jose Clash. Biography Osiander moved to the United ...

, began its competitive existence on May 5, 1995, when it defeated the

Vancouver Whitecaps Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Vancouver. They compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The MLS iteration of the club was established on March ...

in the first game of the newly renamed

A-League A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...

. The Ruckus experienced a mid-season loss of form, but the addition of several new players, including

Justin Fashanu Justinus Soni "Justin" Fashanu ( ; 19 February 1961 – 2 May 1998) was an English footballer who played for a variety of clubs between 1978 and 1997. He was known by his early clubs to be gay, and came out publicly later in his career, beco ...

, led to a resurgence. Atlanta made it to the championship series, only to lose to 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 ...

in three games. After losing nearly $600,000 in 1995 and continuing to lose money in 1996, Imerman arranged for the league to take over team operations in June 1996. In August 1996, Vincent Lu purchased the franchise. In June 1998, the league suspended the team after Lu refused to sign a renewed franchise agreement with the league. The A-League continued to operate the team, now known as the A-League Atlanta. At the time

Umbro Umbro is an English sports equipment manufacturer founded in 1924 in Wilmslow, Cheshire and based in Manchester. They specialise in football and rugby sportswear featuring their ''Double Diamond'' logo. Umbro products are marketed in over 1 ...

had a promotional contract with the A-League and it contacted a local Atlanta law firm,

Alston & Bird Alston & Bird LLP is an international law firm with over 800 lawyers in 13 offices throughout the United States, Europe, the UK, and Asia. The firm provides legal services to both domestic and international clients who conduct business worldwid ...

, about the possibility of litigation against the league and Lu. However, this contact resulted in Alston & Bird lawyer John Latham purchasing the team along with his friend Bobby Glustrom. In September 1998, Latham and Glustrom hired

Mike Balson Michael John Charles Balson (9 September 1947 – 30 May 2019) was an English retired professional association football defender who played professionally in England, South Africa and the United States. His career brought him to the United St ...

as general manager. Balson then hired 1996 USISL Coach of the Year

Nuno Piteira Nuno can refer to *Nuno (given name) :*Nuno Espirito Santo, football manager :*Nuno Tavares, football player *Nuño (given name) *Nuno felting, a fabric felting technique *'' Nuno'', meaning "ancestor" in Philippine languages, usually in reference ...

as head coach.

Atlanta Silverbacks FC (1998–2015)

In a September 1998 press conference at

Zoo Atlanta Zoo Atlanta (sometimes referred as Atlanta Zoo) is an Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) accredited zoological park in Atlanta, Georgia. The current president and CEO of Zoo Atlanta is Raymond B. King. History Zoo Atlanta was founded in ...

, the two partners also announced the team would be known as the Atlanta Silverbacks in honor of Willie B., a silverback gorilla who was a star attraction at the zoo. The team also moved to DeKalb Memorial Stadium for the 1999 season. From at least 1999 to at least 2001, the Silverbacks were affiliated with the

Dallas Burn Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County wi ...

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 Cana ...

. In January 2000, David Cormack joined Latham and Glustrom as owners of the Silverbacks, but left in September to become the Chief Executive of Aberdeen F.C. In 2000, Atlanta and Tennessee Rhythm began an annual competition for the Willie B. Cup. Between 2000 and 2007, when the cup was discontinued, the Silverbacks won it four times. Despite the new ownership group, coach and stadium, the Silverbacks continued to struggle on the field. From 1996 through 2001, the team went through seven coaches and missed the playoffs six consecutive seasons. In 2002, the Silverbacks, under head coach Brett Mosen, made the playoffs and went to the third round of the

Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in that country. The 2023 U.S. Op ...

. In 2003, Atlanta began another string of poor seasons, failing to make the playoffs for four seasons. Finally in 2007, for the first time since its inaugural season in 1995, Atlanta made it to the league championship, falling to the Seattle Sounders. In November 2009, the Silverbacks announced their intent to leave the USL First Division to become the co-founders of a new

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 ba ...

, which would begin play in 2010. The league, which at the time had yet to be sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation or the Canadian Soccer Association, would also comprise the

Carolina RailHawks North Carolina FC is an American professional soccer team in Cary, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh. Founded in 2006, the team plays in USL League One, the third tier of the American league system. The team has played its home games ...

Crystal Palace Baltimore Crystal Palace Baltimore was an American professional soccer team based in Baltimore, Maryland, US. Founded in 2006, the club was originally named Crystal Palace USA and was affiliated with English side Crystal Palace. The club was a member of t ...

Miami FC The Miami FC is an American professional soccer team based in Miami, Florida that competes in the USL Championship, the second tier of the American soccer pyramid. The club began play in the North American Soccer League (NASL) in the 2016 se ...

Minnesota Thunder Minnesota Thunder was an American professional soccer team based in Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1990, the team played in the USL First Division (USL-1), the second tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2009. The team played its home ...

, Montreal Impact,

FC Tampa Bay The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Championship in the second tier ...

and a brand new team led by St. Louis Soccer United. However, the NASL was not sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation and the Silverbacks did not play during the 2010 season. On November 20, 2010, the USSF sanctioned the NASL and the Atlanta Silverbacks immediately re-joined for the 2011 season. On May 22, 2012, the Atlanta Silverbacks created controversy when they became the first team to sell the rights to host a 2012 U.S. Open Cup match to the

. On July 2, 2012, the Silverbacks announced former

United States men's national soccer team The United States men's national soccer team (USMNT) represents the United States in men's international soccer competitions. The team is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and is a member of FIFA and CONCACAF. The U.S. team h ...

star

Eric Wynalda Eric Boswell Wynalda (born June 9, 1969) is an American soccer coach, television commentator, and retired player. He was formerly an analyst and color commentator for soccer coverage on Fox Sports 1 and ESPN. Previously, he served as head coach ...

would take over as the club's interim head coach and Director of Soccer, replacing

Alex Pineda Chacón Alex Mauricio Pineda Chacón (born 19 December 1969 in Santa Cruz de Yojoa) is a retired Honduran footballer. Professional career Chacón spent most of his career with Club Olimpia of Honduras, joining the side in 1988, and leading the team ...

and

Rodrigo Rios Rodrigo is a Spanish language, Spanish, Portuguese language, Portuguese and Italian language, Italian name derived from the Germanic name ''Roderick'' (Gothic name, Gothic ''*Hroþareiks'', via Latinized ''Rodericus'' or ''Rudericus''), given speci ...

respectively. Wynalda appointed Brian Haynes as the team's permanent head coach, while Wynalda remained on the Silverbacks' staff as technical director. Under the leadership of Haynes and Wynalda, the team enjoyed a remarkable turnaround and captured the 2013 NASL Spring season title, thus earning the right to host the 2013

Soccer Bowl The Soccer Bowl was the annual championship game of the North American Soccer League, which ran from 1968 to 1984. The two top teams from the playoffs faced off in the final to determine the winner of the NASL Trophy. From the league's founding ...

, which the Silverbacks lost 1–0 to the

New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to * New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada) * New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Independ ...

. Haynes posted a regular season record of 13 wins, 10 losses, and 10 draws and won the 2013 NASL Coach of the Year trophy, but team leadership ultimately decided not to retain him as head coach, citing poor results during the 2013 fall season. At the

2014 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup The 2014 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup was the 101st edition of the oldest ongoing competition in American soccer. Qualification began in November 2013 in the fifth tier. The USSF announced the tournament format on April 24, 2014. The defending cham ...

, the Silverbacks defeated MLS teams

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake, often shortened to RSL, is an American professional soccer franchise based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes as a member club of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the Western Conference. RSL began play in 20 ...

and

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, lat ...

to reach quarterfinals, where they lost to Chicago Fire. On December 2, 2014, the NASL licensed the Silverbacks name from Boris Jerkunica and Henry Hardin and continued to operate the team through the 2015 season. The league was not successful in finding new ownership, and the club ceased operations on January 11, 2016.

Legacy

The Silverbacks' reserve side in the amateur National Premier Soccer League adopted the Silverbacks name after the NASL club folded. Jerkunica maintained ownership of the name, and was part of the NPSL ownership group. In January 2019, the club announced that it had parted ways with Jerkunica, and consequently lost the right to use the Silverbacks name, choosing to be known as Atlanta SC.

Colors and badge

The Silverbacks official colors were red, black, silver, and white, and the club logo featured those four colors prominently. On January 23, 2013, a new logo was announced. The club's name was inspired by Willie B., a gorilla who was a main attraction of

until his death in February 2000. In September 2012, a poll was posted on the Silverbacks' official website relating to a potential rebrand. The options were: to retain the Silverbacks name, a rebrand to

Atlanta Chiefs The Atlanta Chiefs were an American professional soccer team based in Atlanta, Georgia. The team competed in the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) in 1967 and the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1968 to 1973 and again from 1 ...

to recall the team from the original NASL or a third write-in option. The name Atlanta FC was later added to the poll after receiving a "significant" number of the write-in votes.

Stadium

* DeKalb Memorial Stadium;

Clarkston, Georgia Clarkston is a city in DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The population was 7,554 as of the 2010 census. The city is noted for its ethnic diversity, and is often referred to as "the most diverse square mile in America" and "the Ellis Islan ...

(2003–2005) *

;

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

(2006–2015) The Silverbacks played their home games at

, a 5,000-seat

built in 2006 for use specifically by the team. Prior to the 2006 season the Silverbacks played at various municipal stadiums in the Greater Atlanta area, most notably DeKalb Memorial Stadium in Clarkston.

Notable former players

''This list of former players includes those who received international caps while playing for the team, made significant contributions to the team in terms of appearances or goals while playing for the team, or who made significant contributions to the sport either before they played for the team, or after they left.'' * Danny Barrera * Pablo Cruz *

Mark Bloom Mark Bloom (born November 25, 1987) is a retired American soccer player. Bloom played as a defender. Career Youth and amateur Born in Marietta, Georgia, Bloom played college soccer at Berry College, where he was a second-team All-Southern Sta ...

Junior Burgos Efraín Antonio Burgos Jr. (born 14 August 1988), better known as Junior Burgos, is a Salvadoran professional footballer who plays for the El Salvador national team. Career College and Amateur Burgos grew up in San Bruno, California, attende ...

* Jeff Cassar *

Nico Colaluca Nicolas "Nico" Colaluca (born May 23, 1986) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a midfielder. Career Youth and college Born in Providence, Rhode Island, he attended La Salle Academy in Providence. Colaluca played coll ...

Fabian Dawkins Fabian Dawkins (born 7 February 1981) is a Jamaican former footballer. Club career Dawkins grew up in August Town, St. Andrew and attended Jamaica College. Nicknamed 'Renaldo', the attacking midfielder started his career at Village United F.C. ...

* Antonio de la Torre * John Doyle *

* Leslie "Tiger" Fitzpatrick * Anthony Wolfe *

Liam George Liam Brendan George (born 2 February 1979) is a footballer who plays for Barton Rovers on a part-time basis, having signed for them in 2010. Born in England, he represented the Republic of Ireland in the Under 18 European Youth Championship. C ...

* David Hayes *

Macoumba Kandji Macoumba Kandji (born 2 August 1985 in Dakar) is a Senegalese professional footballer who plays for FC Lahti in the Veikkausliiga. Career Early life and college Kandji was born in Senegal, raised in The Gambia, and came to the United States i ...

* Tim Martin * Tony McManus *

Shaun McSkimming Shaun McSkimming (born 29 May 1970 in Stranraer) is a Scottish former association football, footballer who played as a left-sided attacking midfielder for Dundee F.C., Dundee, Kilmarnock F.C., Kilmarnock, Motherwell F.C., Motherwell and Peterhea ...

* Ignace Moleka * Edgar Espinoza * Bruce Murray *

Reinaldo Navia Reinaldo Marcelino Navia Amador (born 10 May 1978) is a retired Chilean footballer. Navia was a member of the Chile national squad that competed in the 2000 Summer Olympics at Sydney, making an offensive duo with the historic Chilean striker I ...

* Felipe Nogueira *

John Barry Nusum John Barry Nusum (born March 18, 1981 in Mineola, New York) is an American-born Bermudian retired football player. Career College Nusum grew up in Devonshire, Bermuda, before returning to the United States to play college soccer at Furman Uni ...

Ciaran O'Brien Ciaran Patrick O'Brien (born November 17, 1987) is an American soccer coach and former player. Early life and education O'Brien played center midfield for four years at Decatur High School in Federal Way, Washington, where he earned NSCAA Al ...

Bo Oshoniyi Adegboyega "Bo" Oshoniyi (born November 3, 1971) is a retired American soccer goalkeeper who spent eight seasons in Major League Soccer. He is now the head men's soccer coach at Dartmouth College. Career Oshoniyi's Nigerian father drowned whe ...

* Mario Pérez Zúñiga * Brian Piesner * Felipe Quintero * Rodrigo Ríos * Brent Sancho * Staale Soebye *

Lenin Steenkamp Lenin Steenkamp (born 9 September 1969 in Durban, South Africa) is a retired South African football player who spent his entire career in the United States. College In 1989, Steenkamp entered the College of Boca Raton on a soccer scholarship. ...

Danilo Turcios Danilo Elvis Turcios Funez (born 8 May 1978 in Sonaguera, Honduras) is a Honduran former professional football player and current manager of Juticalpa F.C. in the Honduran second division. He was a member of the national squad at the 2000 ...

* Velko Yotov *

Richard Menjivar Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stron ...

Deon McCaulay Deon McCaulay (born 20 September 1987) is a Belizean international footballer who plays as a forward for Atletico Atlanta of the United Premier Soccer League, the Rome Gladiators of the National Indoor Soccer League, and the Belize national te ...

Daryl Sattler Daryl Sattler (born September 5, 1980 in Miami, Florida) is an American soccer player. Career College Sattler played college soccer at Western Kentucky University where he started in the net all four years. He currently holds the WKU school rec ...

*''See also All-time Atlanta Silverbacks roster''

Head coaches

(1995) * Charlie Morgan (1996) * Angus McAlpine (1997) *

David Eristavi David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

(1997–1998) *

(1998) ''(Interim)'' *

(1999–2000) * John Dugan (2001) *

Brett Mosen Brett Mosen is an English football coach currently coaching with the Oakville Blue Devils FC in Canada. Managerial career Mosen started his professional coaching in 1995 as Head Coach of the Nashville Metros in the USL A-League, United Soccer Le ...

(2002) * Jacenir Silva (2003) * David Vaudreuil (2004–2005) * Jason Smith (2005–2008) *

José Manuel Abundis José Manuel Abundis Sandoval (born 11 June 1973) is a Mexican former professional footballer who played as a forward. Career Abundis last played for Querétaro F.C. in 2008. He made his debut for the New England Revolution in Major League S ...

(2011) *

(2012) *

(2012) ''(Interim)'' * Brian Haynes (2012–2013) *

(2014)Wynalda managed the team with the title "Technical Director" * Jason Smith (2014) * Alejandro Pombo (2014) '' (Interim)'' * Gary Smith (2014–2015) ;Notes

Achievements

** Champion (Season) (1): 2013 Spring *

**Runner-up (Playoffs) (1): 1995 *

USL First Division The USL First Division (usually referred to as USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States and Canada from 2005 to 2010. During its existence, it formed the second tier of soccer in the United States soccer league system ...

**Runner-up (Playoffs) (1): 2007 *Minor Trophies ** Southern Derby (4): 2002, 2004, 2005*, 2006 *-as co-champion

Record

Year-by-year

References

External links

* {{USSoccer S Association football clubs established in 1998 USL First Division teams North American Soccer League teams A-League (1995–2004) teams Soccer clubs in Georgia (U.S. state) Association football clubs disestablished in 2015 1998 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)