Chris Greatwich

Christopher Robert Barbon "Chris" Greatwich^[1] (born 30 September 1983) is an English–Filipino footballer who is the current playing-head coach of United Football League club Kaya FC. He has previously played for Morris County Colonials, Kaya FC, and the Philippines national football team.

Football career

Professional career

Greatwich's previous clubs include Bognor Regis Town, Lewes FC, Ringmer, Hartwick College and Drury University. In addition, he also used to play for Brighton and Hove Albion and was part of their successful FA Youth Cup side in 2002, which lost to eventual winners Aston Villa.

In January 2013, Greatwich joined Kaya F.C. and was a player for the club until November 2015 when he was appointed as full-time head coach of the club.^[2]

International career

Greatwich began his international career with the Philippines in 2004, making his debut against Myanmar in the Tiger Cup. He was unable to play in 2005 in the SEA Games due to his Hartwick Hawks making the NCAA Tournament in the United States, but played the following year in Bacolod when they hosted the qualifiers for the Asean Championships. It was here that Greatwich scored his first international goal against Laos in the sides' 1–2 defeat. He then scored in the 7–0 win over East Timor and played in wins against Cambodia and Brunei to see them qualify for the finals in Thailand. There they lost to Malaysia and Thailand before drawing with Myanmar in their final game.

In 2008 in Iloilo, Greatwich played in the AFC Challenge Cup games against Brunei, Tajikistan, and Bhutan. The team would eventually be eliminated on goal difference despite not conceding a goal or losing a match. Later that year, Greatwich played in the 2008 AFF Suzuki Cup qualifiers in Cambodia where the side again would be eliminated from the tournament this time on the basis of goals scored. Despite wins against East Timor (1–0) and Cambodia (3–2, with Greatwich scoring the second) the draw against Brunei (1–1) and loss to Laos (1–2) saw Laos and Cambodia qualify for the finals.

The 2009 AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers saw Greatwich play in all three games against Bhutan (1–0), host nation Maldives (2–3) and Turkmenistan (0–5) which saw them finish third in the group, behind Maldives and winners Turkmenistan, the latter advancing to the finals.

Greatwich was then a last minute addition to the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup in Vietnam despite not featuring in the qualifiers in Laos. In their first group game against Singapore, Greatwich scored an injury time equaliser to produce one of the biggest shocks in AFF Suzuki Cup history. Greatwich and the team went one better in the following game against defending champions Vietnam, when Greatwich scored a goal and an assist on Phil Younghusband's goal to win 2–0. Following a 0–0 draw in the final group game against Myanmar, the Philippines were matched up against Indonesia in the semi-finals. Both games were played in Jakarta following the ASEAN Football Federation's decision that the Philippines had no suitable venue to host the semi-finals, and lost both games 1–0. Greatwich suffered the misfortune of being sent-off in the final moments of the second leg.

In March 2015 Greatwich announced that he was taking a break from the national team, specifically to spend more time with his family and his newborn son.^[3]

Managerial career

Kaya FC

On 2 November 2015 Kaya announced that they have assigned Chris Greatwich as the club's full-time head coach. Greatwhich has previously served as the club's head coach in an interim capacity in numerous occasions such as in the 2015 UFL Cup knockout stage.^[2]

Personal life

Greatwich's brothers Phil and Simon also play for the Philippine national football team.

References

External links

• Chris Greatwich at National-Football-Teams.com