Dean Edward Martin (born 31 August 1972) is an English

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

manager, coach and former player who is assistant coach of ÍA. A

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

, Martin spent much of his playing career in Iceland with KA and ÍA and he also played in England, Hong Kong and the Republic of Ireland. He moved into coaching and management whilst still a player and has held senior and youth roles with club and international teams in Iceland.

Playing career

Early years

, Martin began his career in

Sunday League football Sunday league football is a term used in Britain, Ireland and Australia to describe the amateur association football competitions which take place on Sunday rather than the more usual Saturday. The term ''pub league'' may also be used, owing to ...

, before moving to

Conference A conference is a meeting, often lasting a few days, which is organized on a particular subject, or to bring together people who have a common interest. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always d ...

club Fisher Athletic. He returned to

First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

club

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

, with whom he had spent a period as a

youth Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood (Maturity (psychological), maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as bei ...

, for a £25,000 fee in May 1991. Martin made three appearances during the second half of the 1991–92 season, which would be his only for the club. He spent the opening month of 1993 on

loan In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the deb ...

at Third Division club

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its ea ...

and was released by the Hammers to join Conference club

Kettering Town Kettering Town Football Club is a football club based in Burton Latimer, Northamptonshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Latimer Park. Kettering were the first club to wear sponsorship on their shirts in 1976, and have ...

in September 1993, where he remained until 1995.

Iceland

Martin moved to Iceland to join 1. deild karla club KA in 1995. Martin's Icelandic career stretched from 1995 to 2014 and he played in the top two divisions, principally for KA and ÍA. He won a promotion from the 1. deild karla with each club and played

European football UEFA competitions (), referred improperly by the mass media as European football, are the set of tournaments organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), generally in professional and amateur association football and futsal. T ...

for both. Martin retired at age 42, after spending the

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

Úrvalsdeild The Besta deild karla () is a professional association football league in Iceland and the highest level of the Icelandic football league system. The competition was founded in 1912 as the Icelandic Championship. Because of the harsh winters in I ...

season with ÍBV.

Football nomad

Between 1995 and 2001, Martin spent the autumn and winter months playing for clubs outside Iceland. He returned to England to play for

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

( 1995–96),

Hereford United Hereford United Football Club was an association football club based in Hereford, England. They played at Edgar Street for their entire history. They were nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites', after their predominantly white kit, or 'Th ...

( 1998–99) and

Stevenage Borough Stevenage Football Club (known as Stevenage Borough Football Club until 2010) is a professional association football club based in the town of Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England. The club competes in EFL League One, the third level of the Engli ...

during the 1999–00 and 2000–01 seasons. He also played in Hong Kong for

Eastern AA Eastern Athletic Association Football Team Limited, also known as Eastern Sports Club (), is a Hong Kong professional sports club whose association football, football section competes in the Hong Kong Premier League, the top flight of Football ...

and

Hong Kong Rangers Hong Kong Rangers Football Club (), often abbreviated to Rangers, currently known as Biu Chun Rangers due to sponsorship reasons, is a Hong Kong professional football club which currently competes in the Hong Kong Premier League. They have won ...

and in the Republic of Ireland for

Bohemians Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, originally practised by 19th–20th century European and American artists and writers. * Bohemian style, a f ...

Managerial and coaching career

Martin completed his

KSÍ The Football Association of Iceland (, , KSÍ) is the governing body of football in Iceland. It was founded on 26 March 1947, joined FIFA the same year, and UEFA in 1954. It organises the football league, Úrvalsdeild, and the Iceland men's na ...

'A' coaching badges in 2009 and has a BSc in

Sports Science Sports science is a discipline that studies how the healthy human body works during exercise, and how sports and physical activity promote health and performance from cellular to whole body perspectives. The study of sports science traditionally i ...

from

Reykjavík University Reykjavík University (RU; , , ) is the largest private university in Iceland with approximately 3,300 students. It is Charter school, chartered by the Chamber of Commerce, the Federation of Icelandic Industries, and the Confederation of Icelandi ...

. He has held management roles at KA, Breiðablik U19 and HK U19. He has worked as an assistant manager at club sides ÍA, ÍBV and HK. On 26 September 2018, Martin was appointed as manager of newly-relegated

2. deild karla 2. deild karla () is a football league in Iceland. It is the third division in the Icelandic football league system. The current champions are Afturelding from Mosfellsbær, who won their 1st title in 2018. The division was started in 1966 as th ...

club

Selfoss Selfoss may refer to: *Selfoss (town), Iceland *UMF Selfoss, a football club based in Selfoss **Selfoss men's football **Selfoss women's football *Selfoss (waterfall), Iceland *Selfoss Airport Selfoss Airport is an airport serving Selfoss, a to ...

on a two-year contract. He achieved promotion back to the 1. deild karla in

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

, but suffered relegation back to the 2. deild karla in

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

. Martin departed the club in September 2023 and immediately rejoined former club ÍA as an assistant coach. In international football, Martin has assisted and coached

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

at youth level and in January 2017 he was appointed the KSÍ's head of talent identification. He departed his roles to become assistant manager of China Women in November 2017, but he left the setup after manager

Sigurður Ragnar Eyjólfsson Sigurður "Siggi" Ragnar Eyjólfsson (born 1 December 1973) is an Icelandic football manager and former player who played as a striker. From 2007 until 2013, he served as the head coach of the Iceland women's national team, guiding them to th ...

was sacked in May 2018.

Career statistics

Honours

As a player

ÍA * 1. deild karla:

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

KA * 1. deild karla second-place promotion:

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

As a manager

second-place promotion:

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Dean 1972 births Living people Footballers from the London Borough of Islington People from Islington (district) Men's association football midfielders English men's footballers Fisher Athletic F.C. players West Ham United F.C. players Colchester United F.C. players Kettering Town F.C. players Knattspyrnufélag Akureyrar players Knattspyrnufélag Akureyrar managers Brentford F.C. players Eastern Sports Club footballers Hong Kong Rangers FC players

Dean Martin Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor, and comedian. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Cool", he is regarded as one of the most popular entertainers of ...

Bohemian F.C. players Hereford United F.C. players Stevenage F.C. players

English Football League players League of Ireland players English expatriate sportspeople in Iceland Expatriate men's footballers in Hong Kong Expatriate men's footballers in Iceland 1. deild karla players Úrvalsdeild karla (football) managers National League (English football) players Hong Kong First Division League players English expatriate sportspeople in Ireland English expatriate men's footballers English expatriate football managers English expatriates in China English football managers Player-coaches Reykjavík University alumni English expatriate sportspeople in Hong Kong