Aurélien Collin (; born 8 March 1986) is a French 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 as a defender. He spent the majority of his career playing 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 ...

. He is currently an assistant coach with Major League Soccer side

Houston Dynamo Houston Dynamo Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Houston. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Established on December 15, 2005, the club was founded after their fo ...

Playing career

Europe

Collin began his career in the youth ranks of French side Sedan in 2004 and remained with the club until joining

Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; , or ) is a city and Communes of France, commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme (department), Somme Departments of France, department in the region ...

one year later. In 2007, he left for Spain joining the youth ranks of

Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, i ...

. Collin joined Scottish club Gretna from

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

club

in August 2007, receiving international clearance to play for the club on 14 August. He signed a two-year contract with the club. He made his debut for the club in a 1–1 draw with Hearts on 18 August. He scored an own goal in a 4–0 defeat against Rangers on 1 September 2007 at

Ibrox Stadium Ibrox Stadium is a football stadium on the south side of the River Clyde in the Ibrox area of Glasgow, Scotland. The home of Scottish Premiership team Rangers, Ibrox is the third-largest football stadium in Scotland, with an all-seated ca ...

. Following his release by Gretna, Collin spent a week on trial with English

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

club

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

, having also been on trial with fellow Championship clubs, Preston North End, and later,

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club ( ), commonly referred to as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league s ...

. However, none of these trials led to a permanent deal being offered. He later signed a one-year contract with Greek club

Panserraikos Panserraikos Football Club (), the ''All-Serres Football Club'', is a Greece, Greek Association football, football club based in Serres in Central Macedonia, Greece. Panserraikos is one of the most important and well-supported clubs in northern G ...

. On 5 February 2009, Collin joined

Conference A conference is a meeting, often lasting a few days, which is organized on a particular subject, or to bring together people who have a common interest. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always d ...

club

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...

on a one-year contract until the end of the season, making his debut in a 0–0 draw with Ebbsfleet United. On 5 August 2009, he joined Portuguese side Vitoria Setubal on a free transfer and a two-year deal. He scored his first goal with Vitoria on 16 January 2010 in a 2–2 draw with

Vitória Guimarães Vitoria or Vitória may refer to: People * Francisco de Vitoria (c. 1483–1546), a Spanish Renaissance theologian * Alberto Vitoria (1956–2010), Spanish footballer * Rui Vitória (born 1970), Portuguese retired footballer * Sofia Vitória (bor ...

. While with the Portuguese side, Collin appeared in 37 matches and scored five goals.

United States

On 15 April 2011, Collin signed a contract with

Sporting Kansas City Sporting Kansas City is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The ad ...

. In his first season in Kansas City, Collin established himself as a starter playing alongside

Matt Besler Matthew Scott "Matt" Besler (; born February 11, 1987) is a former professional Association football, soccer player. Primarily a left-sided Defender (association football)#Centre-back, central defender, Besler spent the majority of his career i ...

. The following season, he helped Kansas City in capturing the 2012 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. On 7 December 2013, Collin scored the game tying goal in the 2013 Major League Soccer Cup Final, rifling home a header from a Graham Zusi corner kick against

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake (RSL) is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Fou ...

. He was awarded the 2013 MLS Cup MVP as Sporting Kansas City won the match on penalties to claim the title, following his equalizer by converting the decisive spot kick in the tenth round. During the club's title run Collin appeared in 5 matches and scored three goals. On 8 December 2014, Collin was traded from Sporting Kansas City to new expansion side

Orlando City SC Orlando City Soccer Club is an American professional soccer club based in Orlando, Florida. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Owned by Zygi, Leonard, and Mark Wilf, it is the sister club of ...

for allocation money and defender Jalil Anibaba. Collin got himself sent off for a challenge made on David Villa on his debut against New York City FC. In his first season with the club, he appeared in 28 league matches scoring two goals. On 29 April 2016 Collin was acquired from Orlando by

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional association football, soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conferenc ...

. On 6 May 2016 he made his debut for the club in a 1–1 draw against his former club

. In mid May he helped his new side to consecutive shut out victories, including a 7-0 Hudson River derby victory against

New York City FC New York City Football Club (often referred to as NYCFC) is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in New York City. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern C ...

on 21 May 2016. Collin was released by the Red Bulls at the end of their 2018 season. On 22 January 2019, it was announced that Collin had joined the

Philadelphia Union The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the Union began ...

. Collin's contract with Philadelphia expired following their 2020 season. However, he re-signed for the club ahead of the 2021 season. Following the 2021 season, Collin's contract option was declined by Philadelphia. On 24 March 2022, Collin announced his retirement from football.

Coaching career

On 5 January 2023, Collin was announced as an assistant coach for Major League Soccer side

, working with head coach Ben Olsen.

Personal life

While playing for

, Collin started studying for an online degree in fashion design. "Since I was young I was into fashion and following the best designers and going to fashion shows," he explained. "I read the magazines about fashion every day. I love it. It's one of my passions. I have a lot of projects in my mind. A lot of things I began here. But I need to study first to be the best so I can really begin my projects." Collin was a fan favorite at

, giving away his game-worn jersey to a fan after every home game.

Career statistics

Honours

Sporting Kansas City *

MLS Cup MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Playoffs. The game is held in November or December and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Confere ...

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

* U.S. Open Cup:

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

New York Red Bulls *

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 ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

Philadelphia Union *Supporters' Shield:

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

Individual *

MLS Best XI The MLS Best XI is an annual acknowledgment of the best eleven players in Major League Soccer. The selection is determined by a collection of media, players, and MLS club technical staffs. Winners Appearances by player The following players ...

* MLS Cup MVP:

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Collin, Aurelien 1986 births Living people Sportspeople from Enghien-les-Bains Men's association football defenders French men's footballers French expatriate men's footballers Gretna F.C. players Panserraikos F.C. players Wrexham A.F.C. players Vitória F.C. players Sporting Kansas City players Orlando City SC players New York Red Bulls players Scottish Premier League players Super League Greece players Primeira Liga players Expatriate men's footballers in Scotland Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal French expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States French expatriate sportspeople in the United States National League (English football) players Major League Soccer players Major League Soccer All-Stars Footballers from Val-d'Oise Philadelphia Union players Houston Dynamo FC non-playing staff 21st-century French sportsmen