Robert Louis Sibbald (born 25 January 1948) is an English former

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 ...

and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

who played for

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

York City York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system, as of the 2024–25 seas ...

and

Southport Southport is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, West Lancashire coastal plain and the east coast of the Irish Sea, approximately north of ...

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 ...

Career

Born in

Hebburn Hebburn is a town in the South Tyneside borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It was formerly in County Durham until 1974 with its own urban district from 1894 until 1974. It is on the south bank of the River Tyne between Gateshead and Jarrow and ...

County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...

, Sibbald progressed through the

youth system In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team if they show en ...

. He helped the youth team win the Jr European Cup before turning professional in January 1965. He was unable to affirm a regular place in the first team due to

Paul Reaney Paul Reaney (born 22 October 1944) is an English former international footballer. He played primarily as a right-sided full-back. He made 745 first-team appearances at Leeds United from 1962 to 1978, winning seven major trophies under Don Re ...

being the first choice right back, and after making two league appearances, he joined

in February 1969. He was

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

for the 1969–70 season, but after losing his place in the team, joined

in July 1971 following an initial two-month trial. He made 45 appearances for Southport as they won the Fourth Division title in the 1972–73 season. He joined 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 ...

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 ...

in 1975, making 22 appearances and scoring three goals for them before rejoining Southport in the same year. After another two seasons at Southport, he rejoined the Aztecs in 1977 and made 116 appearances and scored four goals during his second spell with the team. He retired from playing in 1980 and became assistant coach at the Aztecs, before becoming

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

of the

Los Angeles Heat The Los Angeles Heat was an American professional Association football, soccer team. The Heat joined the Western Soccer League, Western Soccer Alliance in 1986, then the American Professional Soccer League in 1990 when the WSL merged with the Ame ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sibbald, Bobby 1948 births Living people Footballers from Hebburn English men's footballers English expatriate men's footballers Men's association football defenders Leeds United F.C. players York City F.C. players Southport F.C. players Los Angeles Aztecs players English Football League players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players English football managers English expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States