Matthew Watson (born 1 January 1985) is an English 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 lea ...

who works as assistant coach for

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

side

FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The franchise be ...

Career

College

Watson grew up in England, but chose to attend the

University of Maryland, Baltimore County The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) is a Public university, public research university in Catonsville, Maryland named after Baltimore County, Maryland, Baltimore County. It had a fall 2022 enrollment of 13,991 students, 61 un ...

in the United States. He played two seasons for the UMBC Retrievers in 2004 and 2005. Following the 2005 season, Watson chose to forgo his final two seasons of collegiate eligibility to turn professional.

Professional

In 2006, Watson signed with

Richmond Kickers Richmond Kickers is an American professional soccer club based in Richmond, Virginia. The Kickers compete as a member of USL League One (USL1). The club was established in 1993, and began play that same year as a United States Interregional S ...

of the

USL Second Division The USL Second Division (commonly referred to as USL-2) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States, operated by United Soccer Leagues (USL). It was at the third tier of soccer in the United States, behind Major League Soccer ...

. That season, he played in all twenty-four Kickers games as the team took both the regular season and playoff titles. In 2007, Watson and his teammates again took the regular season title but lost in the final of the USL-2 Championship to

Harrisburg City Islanders Harrisburg City Islanders, known as Penn FC in their final season, were an American professional soccer team based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 2003, the team most recently played in the USL Pro, the second tier of the ...

. Watson was named a USL-2 first team All Star. In April 2006,

Baltimore Blast The Baltimore Blast are an American professional indoor soccer team based in Baltimore, Maryland, that competes in the Major Arena Soccer League (MASL). Including one championship victory as the original Baltimore Blast, the team has won 10 c ...

of the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) selected Watson with the third pick in the MISL Draft. During the 2006–2007 season, Watson scored ten goals in twenty-nine games as the Blast failed to qualify for the playoffs. In his second season, he broke his toe, putting him out for much of the season. However, he did win his second professional championship as the Blast won the 2007–2008 title. While playing for the Blast, teammate

Jonny Steele Jonathan Steele (born 7 February 1986) is a Northern Irish professional footballer. He has also received three caps for the Northern Ireland national team. Early life Steele was raised in a Catholic family along with three brothers in the pr ...

, a member of the 2007

Carolina RailHawks North Carolina FC is an American professional soccer team in Cary, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 2006, the team previously was named the Carolina Railhawks. On December 6, 2016, the RailH ...

convinced him to join the RailHawks. On 12 December 2007, the RailHawks signed Watson for the 2008

USL First Division The USL First Division (USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It was organized by the United Soccer League as its premier league for men from 1996 to 2010, above the USL Second ...

season. Watson rejoined Baltimore for the 2010–11 indoor season, scoring 14 points in 18 regular season games. He went scoreless in the championship game which the Blast lost. He returned to

for the 2011 season and helped the club to the NASL regular-season title. Watson signed for

Vancouver Whitecaps FC Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Vancouver. The Whitecaps compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The MLS ite ...

on 16 December 2011, reuniting with former RailHawks manager Martin Rennie. He was a starter at the beginning of the season before he suffered a leg injury. On 5 March 2014, Watson was traded to Chicago Fire in exchange for an international roster slot. After two seasons in Chicago, on 15 January 2016 Watson signed for a second stint with

. Watson signed with

United Soccer League The United Soccer League (USL) is an organizer of various professional and amateur soccer leagues in the United States league system. It currently organizes its Championship, League One, and League Two for men, its Super League and W Leag ...

side Phoenix Rising on 4 March 2017. After a season stint with Phoenix Rising, Watson signed with USL side

Indy Eleven Indy Eleven is an American professional association football, soccer team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Founded in 2013, the team made its debut in the North American Soccer League (2011–2017), North American Soccer League (NASL) in 2014, b ...

on 8 February 2018.

Coaching

On 25 October 2022, it was announced that Watson would join

FC Tulsa FC Tulsa is an American professional soccer team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma which competes in the USL Championship, the second tier of the American soccer pyramid. History The club was founded as Tulsa Roughnecks FC by Jeff and Dale Hubbard, br ...

as second assistant coach on 1 January 2023. Watson joined the coaching staff at

New Mexico United New Mexico United is an American professional soccer team based in Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U. ...

on 26 January 2024. In January 2025, he joined the coaching staff at

side

Personal

Watson earned his US green card in 2012. This status also qualifies him as a domestic player for MLS roster purposes.

References

External links

Carolina RailHawks bio

Whitecaps bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Matt 1985 births Living people Baltimore Blast (2001–2008 MISL) players Baltimore Blast (2008–2014 MISL) players Chicago Fire FC players English expatriate men's footballers English expatriate sportspeople in the United States English men's footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada Indy Eleven players Major Indoor Soccer League (2001–2008) players Major Indoor Soccer League (2008–2014) players Major League Soccer players North American Soccer League (2011–2017) players North Carolina FC players Footballers from Redditch Phoenix Rising FC players Richmond Kickers players UMBC Retrievers men's soccer players USL First Division players USL Second Division players USSF Division 2 Professional League players Vancouver Whitecaps FC players USL Championship players Men's association football midfielders English expatriate sportspeople in Canada FC Tulsa coaches 21st-century English sportsmen New Mexico United coaches