Martina Franko

Martina Franko
Personal information
Full nameMartina Marie Franko
Date of birth13 January 1976
Place of birthLos Altos, California, United States
Height5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Playing positionDefender
Club information
Current team
Vancouver Whitecaps
Youth career
1994–1997Colorado College Tigers
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2002California Storm14(15)
2003–2006Surrey United28(40)
2003–2006Vancouver Whitecaps44(30)
2009Los Angeles Sol10(0)
2010–Vancouver Whitecaps9(1)
National team
2005–Canada55(5)
Teams managed
2008–Quest University Canada
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22:33, 30 September 2009 (UTC).

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 22:33, 30 September 2009 (UTC)

Martina Franko (born Martina Holan on 13 January 1976, in Los Altos, California) is a Canadian soccer defender who played for Vancouver Whitecaps.

Career

Franko performs a versatile role, and can play as either a midfielder or forward. She has been a regular on Surrey United women's premier division team playing in the British Columbia based Metro Women's Soccer League for the past two years. The MWSL plays in the winter so no major conflict with summer leagues such as W-League.[1]

In her club career, Franko has won two W-League titles with the Vancouver Whitecaps, in 2004 and 2006.[2] After one year for Los Angeles Sol in the Women's Professional Soccer League turned on 1 April 2010 back to her former club Vancouver Whitecaps.[3]

International career

Franko won her first cap for Canada in 2005, aged 29. She scored her first goal on her second cap, against Germany, in a 4–3 loss.[2] At the 2007 Pan American Games, she helped the team achieve a bronze medal in the soccer competition;[2] later that year, she played in her first major, FIFA affiliated tournament with the Canada team, the 2007 World Cup, where she played all three group stage matches, scoring one goal, before the team was knocked out.[4] She also competed for the team at the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Personal life

She moved to Squamish, British Columbia, home of her husband John, in 2003.[5]

Her parents, Dana Holanova and Jaromir Hola, were the Czechoslovakian national figure-skating champions in pairs ice dancing in the 1960s.[6]

Coaching career

In January 2008, Franko joined Quest University Canada as head coach of the varsity women's soccer team.[7]

Franko, also a Canadian National B licensed coach, served as an assistant coach for the Tigers during the 1998 season after receiving her bachelor’s degree in psychology.

References

External links