Aaran Lines

Aaran Lines
Personal information
Full nameAaran Franklyn Lines
Date of birth21 December 1976
Place of birthLower Hutt, New Zealand
Height1.77 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in)
Playing positionMidfielder
Club information
Current team
Western New York Flash (Head Coach)
Youth career
Team
Werder Bremen
1993–1997Werder Bremen10(0)
1997–1998Kickers Emden14(4)
1998–1999VfL Osnabrück40(1)
1999–2001Football Kingz30(2)
2002Dresdner SC9(0)
2002–2003Ruch Chorzów22(1)
2003-2004Arka Gdynia5(0)
2005Portland Timbers23(1)
2006–2007Rochester Raging Rhinos43(2)
National team
New Zealand U1710(0)
New Zealand U208(0)
New Zealand U239(0)
1996–2004New Zealand31(4)
Teams managed
YearsTeam
2009–2010Buffalo Flash (W-League)
2011Western New York Flash (WPS)
2012Western New York Flash (WPSL Elite)
2013–Western New York Flash (NWSL)
† Appearances (Goals).

Aaran Franklyn Lines (born 21 December 1976 in Lower Hutt) is a retired New Zealand association football player and current head coach of the Western New York Flash, the 2010 W-League champions, 2011 Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) Champions, the 2012 Women's Premier Soccer League Elite Champions, and 2013 National Women's Soccer League regular season champions. He has represented New Zealand at international level.[1] He moved to Germany at age 16 to play professionally for Werder Bremen.

Professional career

Lines moved to Germany at the age of 16 to join SV Werder Bremen Youth team of the German Bundesliga, following his appearance in the U-17 World Cup in Japan. Lines played 80 games with the Werder Bremen youth team, 60 games with the reserve team eventually worked his way up to the First team. In 1997, Lines moved to Vfl Osnabruck where he appeared in over 80 matches in the first and second Bundesliga. At the start of the new century, the New Zealand native headed back home to play in the newly launched A-League for the Auckland Football Kingz (now the Wellington Phoenix). Following his stint in the A-League, Lines returned to Europe where he played for Dresdener SC of the German second Bundesliga, and Ruch Chorzow and Arka Gdynia of the Polish first division. Lines then headed to America to play for the Portland Timbers of the USL, and in 2006 made the move to Rochester, NY to play for the Rhinos. Lines appeared in over 40 matches for the Rhinos in the last two years of his career, including the 2006 USL Championship match.[2]

International

Lines played representative age group football for New Zealand, making ten New Zealand U17, eight New Zealand U20 and nine New Zealand U23 appearances before making his full New Zealand debut in a 1–0 win over Tahiti on 25 September 1998.[3]

He was included in the New Zealand side for the 1999 Confederations Cup finals tournament in Mexico where he featured in all three group games,[4] and again for the 2003 Confederations Cup finals tournament in France where he made a single appearance against Japan.[5]

Lines ended his international playing career with 31 official full international caps and four goals to his credit,[1][6] his final cap an appearance in a 2–0 win over Fiji on 6 June 2004.[3]

Coaching career

After his two seasons with the Rochester Rhinos, Lines retired and accepted a coaching position with the expansion W-League franchise Buffalo Flash.[7] Lines led the Buffalo Flash to an impressive 10–3–3 record in their inaugural season and a trip to the second round of the playoffs. In only his second year of coaching, he led the squad to an undefeated season and a W-League Championship defeating the Vancouver Whitecaps 3–1 in Santa Clarita, CA. Lines was named the Fieldturf 2010 Coach of the Year after the clubs outstanding season. The WNY Flash joined Women’s Professional Soccer as an expansion club in September 2010, directly following their decisive W-League Championship, and Lines led a squad featuring five time FIFA World Player of the Year Marta, Christine Sinclair and young superstar Alex Morgan to the 2011 WPS title.[2]In 2013 the WNY Flash were announced as one of eight franchises selected by US Soccer to compete in the NWSL. Lines lead the Flash with FIFA World Player of the Year Abby Wambach and two time olympic gold medalist Carli Lloyd to the silverware winning the regular season shield on the last day of the regular season with a record of 9-4-8. In the semi-final playoff game the Flash went on to beat Sky Blue 2-0 and again host a championship game at Sahlen's Stadium in Rochester,NY. The Flash lost 2-0 to Alex Morgans Portland Thorns in front of over 8,000 fans with former Flash star Christine Sinclair scoring the decisive second goal to secure the first NWSL Championship to the Portland Thorns.

Managerial statistics

All competitive league games (league and domestic cup) and international matches (including friendlies) are included.

As of 11 April 2015
Team Nat Year Record
GWDLWin %
Buffalo Flash (W-League) United States 2009–2010 30 22 2 6 73.33
Western New York Flash (WPS) United States 2011 19 14 3 2 73.68
Western New York Flash (WPSL Elite) United States 2012 16 11 3 2 68.75
Western New York Flash (NWSL) United States 2013– 50 19 12 19 38.00
Career Total 115 66 20 29 57.39

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "A-International Appearances - Overall". The Ultimate New Zealand Soccer Website. Retrieved 10 October 2009.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "WNY Flash Coaching Staff". womensprosoccer.com. Retrieved 7 April 2011.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "A-International Lineups". The Ultimate New Zealand Soccer Website. Retrieved 10 October 2009.
  4. ↑ "Federations Cup Mexico 1999 - New Zealand squad". FIFA. Retrieved 10 October 2009.
  5. ↑ "Federations Cup France 2003 - New Zealand squad". FIFA. Retrieved 10 October 2009.
  6. ↑ "A-International Scorers - Overall". The Ultimate New Zealand Soccer Website. Archived from the original on 16 June 2009. Retrieved 19 June 2009.
  7. ↑ "Flash named Lines head coach". womensprosoccer.com. Retrieved 7 April 2011.

External links