Mike Connell (soccer)
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 1 November 1956 | ||
| Place of birth | Johannesburg, South Africa | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1972–1975 |
Rangers Johannesburg | ||
| 1975–1984 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 252 | (8) |
| 1979–1984 | Tampa Bay Rowdies (indoor) | 75 | (13) |
| 1985 |
Tulsa Roughnecks | ? | (?) |
| 1985 | Tulsa Tornados | ? | (?) |
| 1985 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 1 | (0) |
| 1988 |
Ft. Lauderdale Strikers[1] (ASL) | ||
| Managerial career | |||
| 1986 | Clearwater Central Catholic High School | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Mike Connell (born 1 November 1956 in
Connell earned the nickname "Iron Mike" by starting in an NASL record 179 consecutive regular season matches and appeared in 252 games overall, which was third in league history. Connell was also a two time first-team NASL all star.
National team
Through the early 1970s, Connell was selected to the all star teams and in 1971 and 1972 was selected to the South African Schoolboy team. At the time South Africa was suspended from FIFA and no international games could be played.
Professional
Coach
In the mid-1980s, Connell became the head coach of the Clearwater Central Catholic High School boys' team.
He has a wife, Kim, and a daughter, Ashton, and a son, Michael. They currently reside in Lutz, Florida.
At halftime of a match versus the New York Cosmos on 10 August 2013 the new Tampa Bay Rowdies honoured Connell by retiring his #6 jersey.[8]
References
- ^ "ASL 1988 Season". A-leaguearchive.tripod.com. 25 January 2007. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
- The Evening Independent. 18 November 1981.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 27 April 2016. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ http://www.nasljerseys.com/images/Roughnecks/1985-05-29%20Roughnecks-Sheffield%20United%20Lineup%20(2).jpg [bare URL image file]
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 11 May 2017. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Strikers Sign Cubillas To Add Offense – tribunedigital-sunsentinel". Articles.sun-sentinel.com. 7 May 1988. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
- ^ "Tampa Bay Rowdies". Rowdiessoccer.com. Archived from the original on 4 November 2016. Retrieved 1 November 2016.