Carl Howard Valentine (born 4 July 1958) is a 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 and coach who has had a long association with soccer in the

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. ...

area. Born in England, he represented the Canada national team at international level. He was the head coach of Ottawa Fury in the

USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league syst ...

until taking the position as Vancouver Whitecaps FC club ambassador and staff coach in 2010, in the lead-up to the Whitecaps inaugural season in

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 ...

Club career

Valentine had a career from the late 1970s to the late 1990s with several clubs, notably 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 ...

of the

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 ...

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 be ...

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in Association football around the wor ...

, and the

Vancouver 86ers Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The ...

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 ...

and later

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 ...

. A striker, Valentine began his pro career in 1976 as a 17-year-old with

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third t ...

side

. Valentine signed with the

and as a rookie helped them win their only

championship in 1979. Liking life in Vancouver, Valentine became a Canadian

citizen Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...

in 1983. The lure of top division English soccer saw Valentine sign with West Midlands side West Brom in 1984. Until 2011, Valentine was the last player to have scored a winning goal for Albion against their local rivals Aston Villa, having scored the only goal of the game in a 1–0 win in 1985. After two seasons with the Baggies, in which he played 44 first-team games and scored 6 times, Valentine returned to Vancouver to play for the new franchise Vancouver 86ers, where he remained for the next 13 years. Retiring as a full-time player in 1992, Valentine was player/manager of the club until retiring in 1999. On 22 November 1985, Valentine signed with the Cleveland Force of the Major Indoor Soccer League. Valentine played three seasons with the Force which folded during the 1988 off season. He then signed with the

Baltimore Blast The Baltimore Blast is an American professional indoor soccer team based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. The team is a part of the Major Arena Soccer League. The team has won 10 championships since it was founded in 1980. Beginning with ...

. In June 1990, Valentine signed a one-year contract with the Blast only to be traded to the Kansas City Comets in exchange for Dale Mitchell on 21 August 1990. The Comets folded at the end of the season and in September 1991, Valentine signed with the Tacoma Stars.

International career

Initially hoping to be selected to play for

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 ...

at some point, Valentine passed on an offer to play for Canada at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the sec ...

. He decided in 1985 however to declare his allegiance to his new home country and made his 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 to ...

in a September 1985

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 ...

match against

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...

. Despite a bad case of influenza, Valentine famously assisted on both goals (with corner kicks) Canada scored to defeat Honduras 2–1 to advance to the World Cup Finals for the first time. He earned a total of 31 caps, scoring 1 goal. He represented Canada in 9 World Cup qualifiers and played in all three of the country's first-round games in the 1986 World Cup. His final international was a 15 August 1993 World Cup qualification match against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

, a game which also marked the end of the international careers of Dale Mitchell and

Mike Sweeney Michael John Sweeney (born July 22, 1973) is a former Major League Baseball designated hitter and first baseman. Sweeney played his first 13 seasons in the majors with the Kansas City Royals, first as a catcher, then at first base and designated ...

Personal life

Valentine has two daughters, Keelie and Shannon, and a son, Gavin. He is currently a Residency coach and Club Ambassador for Whitecaps FC. Valentine is partly of Jamaican descent.

Career statistics

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

References

External links

* /

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 H ...

North Shore Soccer Development Centre profiling Coach Valentine

{{DEFAULTSORT:Valentine, Carl 1958 births Living people Footballers from Manchester Soccer players from Vancouver English emigrants to Canada Naturalized citizens of Canada Black Canadian soccer players Association football forwards English footballers Black British sportspeople Canadian soccer players Canadian people of Jamaican descent English people of Jamaican descent Canada men's international soccer players CONCACAF Championship-winning players 1986 FIFA World Cup players 1991 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players Vancouver Whitecaps (1974–1984) players West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Cleveland Force (original MISL) players Vancouver Whitecaps (1986–2010) players Baltimore Blast (1980–1992) players Tacoma Stars players Kansas City Comets (original MISL) players Canadian expatriate soccer players Canadian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate soccer players in the United States English Football League players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players American Professional Soccer League players Canadian Soccer League (1987–1992) players Canadian soccer coaches Vancouver Whitecaps (1974–1984) coaches Canada Soccer Hall of Fame inductees Vancouver Whitecaps FC non-playing staff Canadian expatriate sportspeople in England English expatriate sportspeople in the United States English expatriate footballers English expatriate sportspeople in Canada Expatriate soccer players in Canada