Alan Ronald Merrick (born 20 June 1950) is a retired professional

association footballer 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 ...

who played as a defender in England, 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 ...

and the Major Indoor Soccer League. Born in England, he earned one

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

with the United States national team in 1983, having previously represented the England U18.

Club career

Merrick was born in

Selly Oak Selly Oak is an industrial and residential area in south-west Birmingham, England. The area gives its name to Selly Oak ward and includes the neighbourhoods of: Bournbrook, Selly Park, and Ten Acres. The adjoining wards of Edgbaston and Harbor ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, but grew up in North

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

, where he attended Water Orton Junior School and Coleshill Grammar School. He joined

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 ...

in July 1966, turning professional in August 1967. He made his senior debut in September 1968 in a League Cup tie against Peterborough United and in the same year won three England youth caps. In 1975 the team loaned Merrick to second division club

Peterborough Peterborough ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in the City of Peterborough district in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The city is north of London, on the River Nene. A ...

. At the end of the season, Merrick moved to the USA where he signed with the

Minnesota Kicks The Minnesota Kicks was a professional soccer team that played at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota, from 1976 to 1981. The team was a member of the now defunct North American Soccer League (1968–84), No ...

of the

. Merrick remained with the Kicks through the 1979 season when he moved to the

Los Angeles Aztecs The Los Angeles Aztecs were an American professional soccer team based in Los Angeles, California, that existed from 1974 to 1981. The Aztecs competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1974 North American Soccer League season, 1974 ...

. Merrick moved again at the end of the season, to the

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional association football, soccer club based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Origin ...

for the 1981 season. However, after twelve games, the Earthquakes traded Merrick to the

. At the end of the 1981 season, the Kicks traded Merrick to the Toronto Blizzard for the 1982 season. In 1983, the U.S. Soccer Federation, in coordination with the NASL, entered the U.S. national team, known as Team America, into the NASL as a league franchise. The team drew on U.S. citizens playing in the NASL, Major Indoor Soccer League and American Soccer League. Merrick left the Blizzard and signed with Team America. When Team America finished the 1983 season with a 10–20 record, the worst in the NASL, USSF withdrew the team from the league.

International career

In 1968, Merrick played three times for the

England national under-18 football team England national under-18 football team, also known as England under-18s or England U18(s), represents England in association football at under-18 age level and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England ...

at the Junior World Cup Tournament in the South of France against Bulgaria, Russia and the Netherlands. On 8 April 1983, Merrick earned one

with the U.S. national team in a 2–0 victory over

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

. He started the game, but subbed out for Erhardt Kapp in the second half.

Coaching career

In 1983, Merrick retired from playing and joined the coaching ranks with the

Minnesota Strikers The Minnesota Strikers were an American soccer team that competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) for the 1984 season and in the Major Indoor Soccer League from 1984 through 1988. The team was based in Minneapolis/ St. Paul metrop ...

. At the time, the Strikers played in the NASL, but after the collapse of the league in 1984, the Strikers moved to Major Indoor Soccer League. Merrick continued to coach them through the 1987–1988 season. He is the head coach of the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

men's club team. Additionally, he continues to train coaches and young players through his Minneapolis-based academy. In April 2012, Merrick was named head coach of the Eagan High School boys soccer team.

References

External links

West Bromwich bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Merrick, Alan 1950 births Living people American soccer coaches American men's soccer players English expatriate men's footballers English expatriate sportspeople in Canada English men's footballers English emigrants to the United States Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Men's association football defenders Los Angeles Aztecs players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) coaches Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players Minnesota Kicks players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) head coaches North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Footballers from Birmingham, West Midlands Peterborough United F.C. players Pittsburgh Spirit players San Jose Earthquakes (1974–1988) players Soccer players from Minnesota Team America (NASL) players Toronto Blizzard (1971–1984) players United States men's international soccer players West Bromwich Albion F.C. players England men's youth international footballers English expatriate sportspeople in the United States English Football League players 20th-century American sportsmen