Fran O'Brien (footballer)

Fran O'Brien (born 7 April 1955) is an Irish footballer who played during the 1970s and 1980s. He was the first player to be capped for the Republic of Ireland playing in U.S., earning a total of four caps. He now coaches for the premier club, PacNW, in Seattle WA.

Fran O'Brien
Personal information
Date of birth (1955-04-07) 7 April 1955
Place of birth Dublin, Ireland
Height 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Position(s) Midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1974–1978 Bohemians 62 (1)
1978–1980 Philadelphia Fury 70 (12)
1981–1982 Montreal Manic 56 (9)
1981–1982 Montreal Manic (indoor) 8 (5)
1983–1984 Vancouver Whitecaps 49 (11)
1983–1984 Vancouver Whitecaps (indoor)
1984–1985 Dallas Sidekicks (indoor) 43 (13)
1985–1987 Tacoma Stars (indoor) 71 (12)
1988–1990 Seattle Storm
1991 Hamilton Steelers
National team
1978 Republic of Ireland 4 (0)
Teams managed
2007 Tacoma Tide
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Player

He won a league winners medal with Bohemians in 1974/75. During his career with Bohs, Fran made 62 league appearances with 1 goal and 8 appearances in European competition scoring 1 goal. In 1978, O'Brien moved along with Pat Byrne and Eddie Byrne (footballer) to the Philadelphia Fury of the North American Soccer League (NASL). When the Fury moved to Montreal after the 1980 season, O'Brien went with the team and spent the next two seasons with the renamed Montreal Manic. In 1983, he signed with the Vancouver Whitecaps and spent the next two season with them. He was selected as an NASL all-star Honorable Mention for the 1983 season[1] and was a second team selection with the Whitecaps in 1984. When the NASL folded at the end of the 1984 season, O'Brien signed with the Dallas Sidekicks of Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL). The Sidekicks released him on 10 September 1985 and he moved to the Tacoma Stars. He spent two seasons with the Stars before retiring and settling in Washington state.

Coach

He is the current head coach of Tacoma Tide of the amateur USL Premier Development League in the United States[2]

He is also a coach for premier club, PacNW, in Seattle Washington.

He is the father of Leighton O'Brien and Ciaran O'Brien, brother of Derek O'Brien and the uncle of Mark O'Brien.

Honours

References
  1. "1983 All-Stars". United Press International. 18 September 1983. Retrieved 13 January 2017 – via UPI Archives.
  2. High Tide in Tacoma: Club announces new name and head coach
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