Andy Iro (born 26 November 1984) is an English former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played primarily as a defender. Iro played

college soccer College soccer, called college football in some countries, is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. While it is most widespread in the United States, it is also prominent in Japan, South Kore ...

for the

UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's soccer The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's soccer team is an NCAA Division I college soccer team composed of student-athletes attending the University of California, Santa Barbara. The Gauchos play their home matches at Harder Stadium. Like most of th ...

team, where he was named the Most Outstanding Player (Defensive) for the

2006 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship The 2006 NCAA Division I men's soccer tournament was a tournament of 48 teams from NCAA Division I who played for the NCAA Championship in soccer. The College Cup Final Four was held at Hermann Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri. All the other game ...

en route to winning the national championship. He was drafted by

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 ...

side

Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew are an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team began play in 1996 as one of the 10 cha ...

with the sixth overall pick in the

2008 MLS SuperDraft The 2008 MLS SuperDraft took place on January 18, 2008 in Baltimore, Maryland. It was the ninth annual Major League Soccer MLS SuperDraft, SuperDraft. The first selection was made by the Kansas City Wizards, after acquiring the selection from t ...

. He spent four seasons in MLS, joining

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matc ...

for part of his last season, before playing in England with

Stevenage F.C. Stevenage Football Club (known as Stevenage Borough Football Club until 2010) is a professional association football club based in the town of Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England. The club competes in EFL League One, the third level of the Engli ...

and

Barnet F.C. Barnet Football Club () is a professional association football club based in London Borough of Harrow, North West London. The team currently competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. The club was foun ...

from 2012 to 2013.

Early life and education

Iro was born on 26 November 1984 in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, England. His parents, Paul and Rose, both immigrated from Nigeria, eventually settling in the

Toxteth Toxteth is an inner-city area of Liverpool in the county of Merseyside. Toxteth is located to the south of Liverpool city centre, bordered by Aigburth, Canning, Liverpool, Canning, Dingle, Liverpool, Dingle, and Edge Hill, Merseyside, Edge Hill ...

area of Liverpool. He played youth football for Kingsley United. He attended St. Edwards, where he competed on the school's soccer, rugby, and track teams. He trialed with Everton, but ultimately proved unsuccessful. At the age of 17, Iro founded and operated a local grocery with a $1,000 initial loan from his mother, Rose. He ran the store until he was 19 years old, doing brisk business until an attempted robbery resulted in Iro getting shot in the thigh. Iro had a relative run the business while he bounced between jobs and unemployment, eventually connecting with the

University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Tracing its roots back to 1891 as an ...

for an athletic scholarship. Iro was a student-athlete for the

team and started as a freshman as the team went to the championship match of the

2004 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship The 2004 NCAA Division I men's soccer tournament was a tournament of 48 teams from NCAA Division I. This year's College Cup Final Four was held at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California. All the other games were played at the home field o ...

. Iro and UCSB were victorious in the

just two years later with Iro being named the College Cup's Most Outstanding Player (Defensive). For his career, Iro made 86 appearances, all starts, for the Gauchos and added 10 goals and 4 assists. He was a four-time All-

Big West Conference The Big West Conference (BWC) is an American collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's NCAA Division I, Division I. The conference was origina ...

First Team selection and was named as back-to-back-to-back Big West Defensive Player of the Year.

Career

Columbus Crew

Despite being thought of as the possible top pick, Iro was drafted sixth overall in the

after coach

Sigi Schmid Siegfried "Sigi" Schmid (; March 20, 1953 – December 25, 2018) was a German soccer coach. Born in Tübingen, West Germany, he moved to the United States with his family when he was a child. He played college soccer from 1972 to 1975 at the U ...

was convinced Iro would remain in the United States to play. Iro made his professional debut on 28 March 2008, coming on as an 89th-minute substitute in the Crew's first game of the

2008 Major League Soccer season The 2008 Major League Soccer season was the 13th season of Major League Soccer. It was also the 96th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States, and the 30th with a national first-division league. The San Jose Earthquakes returned ...

against

. He would score his first MLS goal on 6 September 2008 against

New England Revolution The New England Revolution are an American professional association football, soccer club based in the Greater Boston area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. It is on ...

, heading in a

Guillermo Barros Schelotto Guillermo Barros Schelotto (; born 4 May 1973) is an Argentine football manager and former player who played as a forward. He is the current manager of Vélez Sarsfield. Barros Schelotto played 16 years of his professional career in the Argent ...

free kick. Iro and the Crew would win both the 2008

Supporters' Shield The Supporters' Shield is an annual award given to the Major League Soccer team with the best regular season record, as determined by the MLS points system. The Supporters' Shield has been annually awarded at the MLS Supporters' Summit since 199 ...

and

MLS Cup 2008 MLS Cup 2008 was the 13th edition of the MLS Cup, the championship match of Major League Soccer (MLS). The soccer match took place on November 23, 2008, at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California, near Los Angeles. It was contested betwee ...

. In the

2009 Major League Soccer season The 2009 Major League Soccer season was the 14th season of Major League Soccer. It was also the 97th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States, and the 31st with a national first-division league. The Seattle Sounders FC debuted ...

, Iro and the Crew again dominated the competition, resulting in their second consecutive

. As a result of their accomplishments from the previous year, Iro also saw his first continental action in the

2009–10 CONCACAF Champions League The 2009–10 CONCACAF Champions League was the second edition of the CONCACAF Champions League.Under its current format, and overall, it was the 45th edition of the premier football club competition organized by CONCACAF, the regional governing ...

. Iro began to take more of a leadership role in the Crew's

2010 Major League Soccer season The 2010 Major League Soccer season was the 15th season of Major League Soccer. It was also the 98th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States, and the 32nd with a national first-division league. Negotiations between the league an ...

and

2011 Major League Soccer season The 2011 Major League Soccer season was the 16th season of Major League Soccer. It was also the 99th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States, and the 33rd with a national first-division league. This season marked the arrival of ...

, which saw the club compete in the

with Iro wearing the captain's armband on occasion. During his time with the club, Iro made 58 league appearances and scored five goals, but had grown disgruntled during the 2011 preseason and his contract was expiring after the season.

Toronto FC

With Iro's inexplicably falling out of favor in addition to his looming contract situation, Columbus Crew traded him along with teammate Léandre Griffit in July 2011 to

for

Tony Tchani Tony Ghislain Tchani (; born 13 April 1989) is a Cameroonian retired footballer who played as a midfielder. Youth and college soccer Tchani moved to the United States from his native Cameroon in 2004, settling in Norfolk, Virginia. He atten ...

. He made his debut on 20 July 2011 against

FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The franchise be ...

. He would appear for Toronto in 13 league games in addition to work in the

2011–12 CONCACAF Champions League The 2011–12 CONCACAF Champions League was the 4th edition of the CONCACAF Champions League under its current format, and overall the 47th edition of the premier football club competition organized by CONCACAF, the regional governing body of Nor ...

. At the end of the season, Iro and Toronto could not agree on a new contract and he left the club.

England

Following his departure from Toronto, Iro signed with

Football League One The English Football League One, known as Sky Bet League One for sponsorship reasons, or simply League One, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League One is the second-highest division of the English Football League an ...

side

in September 2012. The move meant Iro would be playing under Gary Smith, a former Major League Soccer manager for

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Founded in ...

, who he had known during his time playing in the United States. In November 2012, having failed to make a first-team appearance for Stevenage, Iro joined

Football League Two The English Football League Two, simply known as League Two and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet League Two, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League Two is the fourth division of the English Football League (EFL ...

side

on loan until January 2013. The loan at Barnet was extended until 9 February. Iro made 9 league appearances for Barnet, scoring once, before returning to Stevenage. Iro returned to Stevenage in February 2013 but did not appear in any first-team games for the club.

Personal life

Following his professional soccer career, Iro worked in operations for

Uber Uber Technologies, Inc. is an American multinational transportation company that provides Ridesharing company, ride-hailing services, courier services, food delivery, and freight transport. It is headquartered in San Francisco, California, a ...

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara (, meaning ) is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States excepting A ...

. He also trained youth soccer players in the local area and ran Next Step Academy, which placed a focus on academics. He is a fan of

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

Awards and honours

;UC Santa Barbara * NCAA Men's Division I Soccer Championship (1):

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

;Columbus Crew *

MLS Cup (1):

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

Supporter's Shield (2):

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

;Individual * 2006 First Team All-American (College Soccer News) * 2006 College Cup Most Outstanding Defensive Player * 2006

Big West The Big West Conference (BWC) is an American collegiate athletic conference whose member institutions participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The conference was originally formed on July 1, 1969, as the Pacific ...

Defensive Player of the Year * 2004

Defensive Player of the Year * 2004 Freshman All-American (Soccer America) * 2004 First Team All-American (College Soccer News) * 2004 College Cup All-Tournament * 2004

Freshman of the Year

Career statistics

''Sources:''

References

External links

*
UC Santa Barbara player profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iro, Andy Living people 1984 births English expatriate sportspeople in the United States Columbus Crew players Toronto FC players Stevenage F.C. players Barnet F.C. players English expatriates in the United States English men's footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada Men's association football defenders Columbus Crew draft picks UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's soccer players Footballers from Liverpool Major League Soccer players English Football League players English expatriate sportspeople in Canada English expatriate men's footballers 21st-century English sportsmen