John Catliff

John Catliff
Personal information
Full nameJohn Catliff
Date of birth8 January 1965
Place of birthVancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Playing positionStriker
Youth career
1983–1986Harvard Crimson
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1987Calgary Kickers
1988–1994Vancouver 86ers147(79)
National team
1984–1994Canada44(18)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 25 June 2009.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 25 June 2009

John Catliff (born 8 January 1965) is a former Canadian professional soccer player. He has the second most goals scored for the Canadian national team with 18 goals between 1984 and 1994.[1]

In 2012 as part of the Canadian Soccer Association's centennial celebration, he was named to the on the all-time Canada XI men's team.[2]

Club career

Catliff was selected to the All-Ivy League First team as a forward in 1983, 1984, and 1986 while for the Crimson at Harvard University. He was also named to the All-American First Team in 1986.[3]

Catliff was a Canadian Soccer League star, scoring the second most goals of anyone in the League's six-year history with 69 goals in total.[4] He was a league season scoring champion in 1988 with 22 goals [5] and in 1990 with 19 goals.[6] He began his CSL career in 1987 playing for the League's inaugural champions, the Calgary Kickers. He then spent the next six seasons with the Vancouver 86ers, who became the CSL champions in four consecutive seasons from 1988 through 1991. Ligament injuries to both knees forced him to retire from professional play in 1994 after two years on the 86ers in the American Professional Soccer League.

International career=

Catliff was a member of the quarter-finalist Canadian national team at the 1984 Summer Olympics while still playing at Harvard. He made his senior debut for Canada in a July 1984 in friendly match against Chile. Throughout his career, he earned a total of 44 caps while scoring 18 goals. He has represented Canada in 12 FIFA World Cup qualification matches.[7] Recovering from injury, he was not named to Canada's roster for the 1986 World Cup, Canada's only appearance.

His final international game came in June 1994 in a friendly match against the Netherlands.

International goals

Scores and results list Canada's goal tally first.
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
0 9 June 1985 Gwangju, South Korea  Iraq 1–6 Presidents Cup
0 2 October 1987 Estadio Nacional, Tegucigalpa, Honduras  Honduras 1–1 Friendly match
0 26 March 1988 Lima, Peru  Peru 3–1 Friendly match
0 5 April 1988 National Stadium, Kingston, Jamaica  Jamaica 4–0 Friendly match
0 5 April 1988 National Stadium, Kingston, Jamaica  Jamaica 4–0 Friendly match
0 5 April 1988 National Stadium, Kingston, Jamaica  Jamaica 4–0 Friendly match
0 2 October 1988 Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago  Trinidad and Tobago 2–1 Friendly match
0 13 May 1990 Swangard Stadium, Burnaby, Canada  Mexico 1–1 2–1 North American Soccer Championship
0 13 May 1990 Swangard Stadium, Burnaby, Canada  Mexico 2–1 2–1 North American Soccer Championship
0 2 April 1992 Victoria, Canada  China PR 5–2 Friendly match
0 2 April 1992 Victoria, Canada  China PR 5–2 Friendly match
0 20 May 1992 Varsity Stadium, Toronto, Canada  Scotland 1–1 1–3 Friendly match
0 4 March 1993 Mission Viejo, California, USA  United States 2–1 2–2 Friendly match
0 11 March 1993 Royal Athletic Park, Victoria, Canada  South Korea 1–0 2–0 Friendly match
0 4 April 1993 Estadio Nacional, Tegucigalpa, Honduras  Honduras 1–0 2–2 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
0 11 April 1993 Swangard Stadium, Burnaby, Canada  El Salvador 2–0 2–0 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
0 18 April 1993 Swangard Stadium, Burnaby, Canada  Honduras 3–1 3–1 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
0 2 May 1993 Estadio Cuscatlán, San Salvador, El Salvador  El Salvador 1–0 2–1 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification

Personal life

Catliff recently worked as global Vice President of Sales with Helly Hansen outdoor apparel company but now works with Firstar Sports.[8] He lives with his wife Sarah and his three soccer loving sons, Brendan (* 1994), and Jamie (* 1998), and Andrew Catliff (* 1996). John is active in the Autism Canada Foundation due to his eldest son, Brendan, being a savant.[8] John is also the team Coach of the Vancouver Football Club Under 14 boys, where his son Jamie plays.[9] Catliff is an Honoured member of The Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame.[10]

Honours

1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991
1988, 1990

External links

References