| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Stephen Joseph Morrow | ||
| Date of birth | 2 July 1970 | ||
| Place of birth | Belfast, Northern Ireland | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||
| Playing position | Defender, Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –1987 | Bangor | ||
| 1987–1988 | Arsenal | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1988–1997 | Arsenal | 62 | (1) |
| 1991 | → Reading (loan) | 10 | (0) |
| 1991 | → Watford (loan) | 8 | (0) |
| 1991 | → Reading (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| 1992 | → Barnet (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| 1997 | → QPR (loan) | 1 | (1) |
| 1997–2001 | QPR | 91 | (1) |
| 2001 | → Peterborough United (loan) | 11 | (0) |
| 2002–2003 | Dallas Burn | 41 | (3) |
| National team | |||
| 1990–1999 | Northern Ireland | 39 | (1) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 2004 | FC Dallas (assistant) | ||
| 2005–2006 | FC Dallas (assistant) | ||
| 2006–2008 | FC Dallas | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 14/2/2007. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Stephen Joseph "Steve" Morrow (born July 2, 1970 in Belfast) is a Northern Irish former football player. He is currently International Partnerships Performance Supervisor at Arsenal Football Club, where he also played for much of the 1990s.
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Morrow first played for Bangor as youth, before joining Arsenal in July 1987. A versatile utility man, who could play at full back, centre back or midfield, Morrow had loan spells at Reading, Watford and Barnet, before making his debut for Arsenal as a substitute in a First Division match on April 8, 1992 against Norwich City, in place of the injured Nigel Winterburn. In the meantime, he had already made his full international debut for Northern Ireland, in May 1990 against Uruguay; he went on to win 39 caps for his country from then until 1999.
Morrow became a semi-regular in 1992-93, as well as suffering the most notorious moment of his career. He played most of his matches in midfield, replacing the injured Paul Davis as Arsenal got to both the League Cup and FA Cup semi-finals. Morrow started the League Cup final against Sheffield Wednesday; after falling behind to a John Harkes goal, Arsenal equalised through Paul Merson, and then Merson set up Morrow to score the winner (which was also his first goal for the club). In the celebrations after the match, Arsenal skipper Tony Adams attempted to pick up Morrow and parade him on his shoulders, but Adams slipped and Morrow awkwardly hit the ground. He broke his arm and had to be rushed to hospital.
As a result, Morrow missed the rest of that season, including the FA Cup final (also against Wednesday), where Arsenal completed the Cup Double. Before the final kicked off, Morrow received his League Cup winners' medal, making him the only player ever to have picked up a medal before a Cup final, much to the delight of football trivia buffs everywhere.
Morrow was fit enough by the start of the next season but played fewer matches (only 13, as opposed to 25 the previous season). However, one of those was the scene of an Arsenal triumph, the club's 1994 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final win over Parma; in an Arsenal midfield depleted of John Jensen, David Hillier and Martin Keown, the 23-year-old Morrow partnered 20-year-old Ian Selley in central midfield, both playing the game of their lives as Arsenal beat Parma 1-0 with an Alan Smith goal.
He had nearly left the club in March 1994, following an approach from the Premier League's bottom club Swindon Town, but the transfer fell through and he signed a new contract with Arsenal, where he spent three more years.[1]
Morrow went on to play over 20 matches the following season, including a second Cup Winners' Cup final (which Arsenal lost to Real Zaragoza). He scored his second Arsenal goal in the League Cup ironically against Sheffield Wednesday again,[2] and scored his first Arsenal league goal (his third and final goal for the club) in a 3-1 defeat at Blackburn Rovers,[3] who would go on to win the Premier League that season. However, he never found favour under new Arsenal boss Bruce Rioch, who only gave the Irishman five matches in 1995-96. After the arrival of Arsène Wenger in 1996, Morrow was told he was surplus to requirements at Highbury, and he was loaned to Queens Park Rangers in March 1997; the deal was made permanent that summer. He played 85 games for Arsenal in total, scoring three goals.
At QPR, Morrow was initially a regular, but the club struggled, going from contenders for promotion to the Premiership to facing relegation to the Second Division. Injuries to his shoulder ligaments ruled Morrow out for most of the 1999-2000 season, and he lost his place in the side. Morrow later had a loan spell at Peterborough United, but it did not become permanent, and he was released on a free transfer in the summer of 2001.
Struggling to find a club in the UK, Morrow moved to the United States to play for Major League Soccer side Dallas Burn. He spent two seasons at Dallas (who renamed themselves FC Dallas in 2004), before retiring because of a persistent neck injury.
On February 3, 2004 he was named as an assistant coach to FC Dallas but was forced to resign in late May due to personal reasons. However, he returned to the club on January 27, 2005 under coach Colin Clarke. When Clarke was fired on November 7, 2006, Morrow was named interim head coach. On December 11, 2006, FC Dallas General Manager Michael Hitchcock removed the 'interim' from his title. Morrow was fired as coach on May 20, 2008.[4]
On 12 September 2008 Morrow returned to Arsenal as International Partnerships - Performance Supervisor, managing Arsenal's international partnerships, which currently include the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer in the United States, BEC Tero of Thailand and Hoang Anh Gia Lai of Vietnam, and assisting Arsenal's academies in countries such as Egypt and Ghana.[5]
He has also worked as a live match analyst for Arsenal's online webcasts.
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