Hector Luis Marinaro Jr. (born December 6, 1964) is a former Canadian

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player and coach. As a player he was the all-time leader in points and goals in professional indoor soccer, and made 6 appearances for the Canada national team. Marinaro was inducted into the Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame in 2005.

Club career

Youth

Marinaro is the son of

Hector Marinaro, Sr. In Greek mythology, Hector (; , ) was a Trojan prince, a hero and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. He is a major character in Homer's ''Iliad'', where he leads the Trojans and their allies in the defense of Troy, killing c ...

, a native of Argentina who both played and coached extensively in Canada.

Indoor career

Marinaro returned to Cleveland because of the excellent memories he had of playing his rookie year there. On June 23, 2004, the Chicago Storm drafted Marinaro with the 16th pick in the MISL expansion draft. However, he made his intentions to retire known to the Storm and on October 11, 2004, the team traded Marinaro to the Cleveland Force in exchange for cash. The Storm did this in order to allow him to retire with the Force, the team with which he began his career.During his 19-year indoor career, Marinaro scored 1,233 goals and added 702 assists for 1,935 points in just 685 games. In the playoffs, he scored another 224 goals and added 96 assists for 320 points in 104 games. Marinaro is the all-time leading in goals (1,457) and points (2,255) in professional

indoor soccer Indoor soccer or arena soccer is a form of five-a-side football, five-a-side or six-a-side version of minifootball. It is derived from association football and adapted to be played in walled hardcourt indoor arenas. It differs from the FIFA, FIFA ...

. He scored his 1,000th point against his brother Rob, a goalkeeper for the

Chicago Power The Chicago Power were an indoor soccer team based in Chicago, Illinois, that competed in the American Indoor Soccer Association and National Professional Soccer League. After the 1995–96 season, the team was sold to Peter Pocklington, m ...

. Hector was a seven-time league MVP the most in any professional sport in the United States. In May 2005, the MISL announced that it would name its annual MVP award the Marinaro Award.

Outdoor career

In addition to his extensive indoor career, Marinaro spent several seasons playing outdoor soccer. In 1986, he played for the

Toronto Blizzard Toronto Blizzard may refer to: *Toronto Blizzard (1971–1984), the original soccer club, a franchise of the North American Soccer League *Toronto Blizzard (1986–1993), the later club and franchise of the Canadian Soccer League *Toronto Azzurri B ...

of the

National Soccer League The National Soccer League (NSL) was the top-level soccer league in Australia, run by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL, the A-League's predecessor, spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977 until its ...

while his father was an assistant coach with the team. Marinaro remained with the Blizzard for the 1987

Canadian Soccer League The Canadian Soccer League (CSL; ) 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 (CNSL). It is a non-FIFA league previously ...

season then returned to the Blizzard for the 1993

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. ...

season. He also had one season with

Rochester Raging Rhinos Rochester Rhinos, formerly known as the Rochester Raging Rhinos, was an American association football, soccer team based in Rochester, New York, United States. The club won the 1999 U.S. Open Cup, marking the only time a non-Major League Soccer ...

of the

A-League A-League Men, also known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional soccer league in Australia and New Zealand and the highest level of the Australian soccer league system. Established in 2004 as the A-League by the ...

in 1996. Marinaro scored seven goals, as the Rhinos fell to the Seattle Sounders in the championship game.

International career

Marinaro also earned six

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

with

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. Marinaro's first game with the national team was a 4–0 win over

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

on August 30, 1986, and his last was a 2–1 loss to

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

on October 11, 1995.

Coaching career

In 2002, the Cleveland Force elevated Marinaro to the position of assistant coach in addition to his playing duties. He continued in that role until retiring in 2004. On January 31, 2006,

John Carroll University John Carroll University (JCU) is a Private university, private Jesuit university in University Heights, Ohio, United States. Located in a suburb of Cleveland, it is primarily an undergraduate, liberal arts college, liberal arts institution compo ...

hired Marinaro as the head coach of the men's soccer team. Marinaro retired from coaching at John Carroll in May, 2021. He departed as JCU's all-time winningest coach in the history of the Men's Soccer program with a 185-82-30 overall record while going 98-23-13 in the

Ohio Athletic Conference The Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) is an intercollegiate athletic conference which competes in the NCAA's Division III. All member institutions are located in Ohio. Formed in 1902, it is the third oldest athletic conference in the United States ...

(OAC). The JCU Blue Streaks won five OAC Tournament Championships and captured five OAC Regular Season Championships during his tenure.

References

External links

*
archive
*

Interview with Hector Marinaro
conducted by Dan Coughlin at

Cleveland Public Library The Cleveland Public Library is a public library system in Cleveland, Ohio. Founded in 1869, it had a circulation of 3.5 million items in 2020. It operates the Main Library on Superior Avenue in downtown Cleveland, 27 branches throughout the cit ...

on September 27, 2016.
Indoor Stats

Outdoor Stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marinaro, Hector 1964 births Living people Soccer players from Toronto Canadian people of Argentine descent Men's association football forwards Canadian men's soccer players Canada men's international soccer players Canadian expatriate men's soccer players Canadian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Toronto Italia players Cleveland Force (original MISL) players Minnesota Strikers (MISL) players Toronto Blizzard (1986–1993) players Los Angeles Lazers players Rochester New York FC players Cleveland Crunch (original MISL) players Cleveland Crunch (NPSL) players Cleveland Crunch (2001–2002 MISL) players Cleveland Force (2002–2005 MISL) players Cleveland Freeze Canadian Soccer League (1987–1992) players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players American Professional Soccer League players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players Major Indoor Soccer League (2001–2008) players Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States John Carroll University Canadian National Soccer League players People from Brunswick, Ohio Sportspeople from Medina County, Ohio National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) commentators Hamilton Steelers (1981–1992) players North York Rockets players 20th-century Canadian sportsmen