Carl Howard Valentine (born 4 July 1958) is a former professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player and coach who has had a long association with soccer in the

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

area. Born in England, he played for the Canada national team at international level. He was the head coach of Ottawa Fury in the

USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States, forming part of the United States soccer league system. The league will featu ...

until taking the position as Vancouver Whitecaps FC club ambassador and staff coach in 2010, in the lead-up to the Whitecaps inaugural season in

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

Club career

Valentine had a career from the late 1970s to the late 1990s with several clubs, notably the

Vancouver Whitecaps Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Vancouver. The Whitecaps compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. The MLS iteration of the club was established on March 18, ...

of the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional association football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2025–26 EFL League Two, 2025–26 season, the team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the Eng ...

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...

, and the

Vancouver 86ers Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The Met ...

of the

Canadian Soccer League The Canadian Soccer League (CSL; ) is a semi-professional league for Canadian soccer clubs primarily located in the province of Ontario, and claims the history of the Canadian National Soccer League (CNSL). It is a non-FIFA league previously ...

and later

American Professional Soccer League The American Professional Soccer League (APSL) was a professional men's soccer league with teams from the United States and later Canada. It was formed in 1990 by the merger of the third American Soccer League with the Western Soccer League. ...

. A striker, Valentine began his pro career in 1976 as a 17-year-old with

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third tier ...

side

. Valentine signed with the

and as a rookie helped them win their only

championship in 1979. Liking life in Vancouver, Valentine became a Canadian

citizen Citizenship is a membership and allegiance to a sovereign state. Though citizenship is often conflated with nationality in today's English-speaking world, international law does not usually use the term ''citizenship'' to refer to nationality ...

in 1983. The lure of top division English soccer saw Valentine sign with West Midlands side West Brom in 1984. Until 2011, Valentine was the last player to have scored a winning goal for Albion against their local rivals Aston Villa, having scored the only goal of the game in a 1–0 win in 1985. After two seasons with the Baggies, in which he played 44 first-team games and scored 6 times, Valentine returned to Vancouver to play for the new franchise Vancouver 86ers, where he remained for the next 13 years. Retiring as a full-time player in 1992, Valentine was player/manager of the club until retiring in 1999. On 22 November 1985, Valentine signed with the Cleveland Force of the Major Indoor Soccer League. Valentine played three seasons with the Force which folded during the 1988 off season. He then signed with the

Baltimore Blast The Baltimore Blast are an American professional indoor soccer team based in Baltimore, Maryland, that competes in the Major Arena Soccer League (MASL). Including one championship victory as the original Baltimore Blast, the team has won 10 c ...

. In June 1990, Valentine signed a one-year contract with the Blast only to be traded to the Kansas City Comets in exchange for Dale Mitchell on 21 August 1990. The Comets folded at the end of the season and in September 1991, Valentine signed with the

Tacoma Stars The Tacoma Stars are an American professional indoor soccer team based in Tacoma, Washington, that competes in the Major Arena Soccer League (MASL). The franchise also operates in USL League Two, a minor outdoor league. Founded in 2003, the indo ...

International career

Initially hoping to be selected to play for

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

at some point, Valentine passed on an offer to play for Canada at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

. He decided in 1985 however to declare his allegiance to his new home country and made his debut for

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

in a September 1985

FIFA World Cup qualification The FIFA World Cup qualification is a set of competitive matches that a national association football team plays in order to qualify for one of the available berths at the final tournament of the men's FIFA World Cup. Qualifying tournaments ar ...

match against

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

. Despite a bad case of influenza, Valentine famously assisted on both goals (with corner kicks) Canada scored to defeat Honduras 2–1 to advance to the World Cup Finals for the first time. He earned a total of 31 caps, scoring 1 goal. He represented Canada in 9 World Cup qualifiers and played in all three of the country's first-round games in the

1986 World Cup The 1986 FIFA World Cup was the 13th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June 1986. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-team format. Colombia had ...

. His final international was a 15 August 1993 World Cup qualification match against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, a game which also marked the end of the international careers of Dale Mitchell and Mike Sweeney.

Personal life

Valentine has two daughters, Keelie and Shannon, and a son, Gavin. He is currently a Residency coach and Club Ambassador for Whitecaps FC. Valentine is partly of Jamaican descent.

Career statistics

:''Scores and results list Canada's goal tally first.''

References

External links

* /

Canada Soccer Hall of Fame The Canada Soccer Hall of Fame honours people and institutions for their contributions to Canadian soccer. It was founded in 1997 by the Ontario Soccer Association and was originally located in Vaughan, Ontario. As of 2024, the Canada Soccer Ha ...

North Shore Soccer Development Centre profiling Coach Valentine

{{DEFAULTSORT:Valentine, Carl 1958 births Living people Footballers from Manchester Soccer players from Vancouver English emigrants to Canada Naturalized citizens of Canada Black Canadian men's soccer players Men's association football forwards English men's footballers Black British sportsmen Canadian men's soccer players Canadian sportspeople of Jamaican descent English people of Jamaican descent Sportspeople of Jamaican descent Canada men's international soccer players CONCACAF Championship–winning players 1986 FIFA World Cup players 1991 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players Vancouver Whitecaps (1974–1984) players West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Cleveland Force (original MISL) players Vancouver Whitecaps (1986–2010) players Baltimore Blast (1980–1992) players Tacoma Stars players Kansas City Comets (1979–1991) players Canadian expatriate men's soccer players Canadian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States English Football League players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players American Professional Soccer League players Canadian Soccer League (1987–1992) players Canadian soccer coaches Vancouver Whitecaps (1974–1984) coaches Vancouver Whitecaps (1986–2010) coaches Canada Soccer Hall of Fame inductees Vancouver Whitecaps FC non-playing staff Canadian expatriate sportspeople in England English expatriate sportspeople in the United States English expatriate men's footballers English expatriate sportspeople in Canada Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada 20th-century Canadian sportsmen