MLS FC Dallas

Burn Names Colin Clarke Head Coach

Published on December 4, 2003 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
FC Dallas News Release


DALLAS - The Dallas Burn announced today that Colin Clarke has been named Head Coach for the team. Clarke, who becomes only the third coach in the team's eight-year history, brings a wealth of experience to the Burn from both a coaching standpoint as well as an extremely successful playing career on the international stage.

"This has been both a comprehensive as well as an accelerated search," said Burn President and General Manager Greg Elliott. "With Colin, we have found someone with a unique set of attributes. In addition to having a tremendous playing pedigree, he has enjoyed success as a professional head coach, has demonstrated the ability to nurture and grow young players, possesses a solid knowledge of Major League Soccer and its policies and is highly respected by his peers in the soccer community."

"More than 150 candidates submitted resumes and information, and we explored a multitude of coaching candidates as we owed it to our fans and ownership to be thorough and comprehensive throughout the search process. As we evaluated all the criteria that we required of a head coach, we found that we had the ideal person already in-house. With our previously stated objective to re-engineer our roster and once again position the team as a perennial playoff team and Cup contender, the experience and knowledge that Colin possesses will allow us to hit the ground running."

"I'm obviously very excited to have this opportunity," said Clarke. "After three years in the A-League and three years as an assistant with the Burn, a head coaching position in MLS was something that was an aspiration for me. This is a very exciting time for the Burn with the move back to the Cotton Bowl for 2004 and the opening of the new stadium for 2005. I'm looking forward to the challenge of getting the Dallas Burn back to the level that it belongs and challenging for the Cup."

Clarke, 41, has served as Assistant Coach for the Burn for the last three years and was the Interim Head Coach for the final six games of the 2003 season. Prior to joining the Burn, he spent the previous year as the head coach for the San Diego Flash of the A-League, guiding the team to a 16-9-3 record and a second place finish in the Pacific Division. Clarke, who holds a FA (British) coaching badge and a USSF Class "A" coaching license, also spent two very successful seasons as head coach of the A-League's Richmond Kickers. From 1998-99, he guided the Kickers to a 38-18 regular season record and playoff appearances both years.

Clarke's storied playing career includes 38 appearances with the Northern Ireland National Team, where he scored 13 goals, including a goal vs. Spain in the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. A gritty and aggressive striker, he played in the English Leagues from 1981-93 with six different teams, including Portsmouth, Southampton and Queens Park Rangers. During his 12-year career, he played in 361 English League matches and tallied 146 goals.

Check out the FC Dallas Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Major League Soccer Stories from December 4, 2003


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central