Daniel Keith "Danny" Earls (born 22 April 1989) is an Irish

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 artist. Earls was scouted and signed as a teenager by English

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

side

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

and played youth football for the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

. He went on to have a nine-year professional career in the

United States of America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguo ...

with

Rochester Rhinos Rochester Rhinos, formerly known as the Rochester Raging Rhinos, was an American soccer team based in Rochester, New York, United States. The club won the 1999 U.S. Open Cup, marking the only time a non-MLS team has won the U.S. Open Cup sinc ...

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 ...

and

Pittsburgh Riverhounds Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC is an American professional soccer team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1998 and beginning play in 1999, the club plays in the Eastern Conference of the USL Championship, the second tier of the American ...

. As of 2019, he is unattached, and focusing on becoming a professional

comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

artist.

Career

Europe

Born in

Wicklow Wicklow ( ; , meaning 'church of the toothless one'; ) is the county town of County Wicklow in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located on the east of Ireland, south of Dublin. According to the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, it had ...

, Earls played for Wicklow Rovers A.F.C. and St. Josephs Boys A.F.C. in his native Ireland, before moving to English

club

in 2005. Earls never played a senior first team game for Villa, but played extensively for the reserves and captained the team until leaving in 2008.

United States

In June 2008 Earls left England for the United States when he signed with

of the

USL First Division The USL First Division (USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It was organized by the United Soccer League as its premier league for men from 1996 to 2010, above the USL Second ...

. He made his debut with the team in the Rhinos' 2–1 victory over

RWB Adria RWB Adria (full name: ''Red White and Blue Adria'', Croatian: ''Crven, bijeli, plavi Jadran'') is an American soccer club from Chicago, Illinois. The club currently competes in the Midwest Premier League as well as the National Soccer League o ...

in the 2008 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on 10 June 2008. On 29 July 2008, he was selected as the USL-1 Player of the Week. Earls played 53 games with the Rochester Rhinos in two seasons, before signing with

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

on 10 February 2010. During his time with Colorado he made 18 appearances and won MLS Cup. As a fan favorite he earned the nickname "Earls-B," a playful homage to the widely used Oral-B teeth whitening strips popularized by Crest during the era, a nickname earned in large part due to his tireless work rate and friendly demeanor. Earls was traded to

Seattle Sounders FC Seattle Sounders FC is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The club was established on ...

, along with teammate

Julien Baudet Julien Baudet (born 13 January 1979) is a French footballer and current manager. Club career Europe Although excelling as a skier in his youth, Baudet chose to concentrate on football, beginning his career with Toulouse FC in France, where ...

, on 22 November 2010. Earls was waived by Seattle on 1 March 2011. He subsequently resumed training with Colorado and re-signed with the Rapids on 30 March 2011. Colorado confirmed on 17 January 2012 that Earls would not return for the 2012 season after appearing in four matches for the Rapids during the 2011 season. On 3 April 2012,

announced that the club re-signed Earls to a one-year deal. Following the 2013 season, Earls was named the Rhinos' team MVP. Prior to the 2014 season, Earls signed with the

, also of the

USL Pro The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) as its premier league for men above USL League One. Operating under a f ...

. In his first season with the club, Earls appeared in and started 27 matches, tallying 1 goal and 6 assists. He finished the 2015 season with 3 goals and 3 assists in 25 league appearances. On 3 June 2016 it was announced that the Riverhounds had resigned Earls for the remainder of the 2016 season. On 30 November 2017, Pittsburgh announced that Earls' contract had expired, ending his four-year spell with the club. Having returned to his home town of Wicklow in 2018, Earls focused on his artwork and was commissioned by the

Football Association of Ireland The Football Association of Ireland (FAI; ) is the governing body for association football in the Republic of Ireland. Organisation The FAI has an executive committee of five members under the president, who receive expenses, as well as a p ...

to produce programme covers for

John O'Shea John Francis O'Shea (; born 30 April 1981) is an Irish professional football coach and former player who is currently assistant manager of the Republic of Ireland men's national team. He was known for his versatility in playing several defensi ...

's testimonial match and an international friendly between the Republic of Ireland and

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

Honours

;Colorado Rapids *

Eastern Conference Championship:

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

MLS Cup:

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Earls, Danny 1989 births Living people Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Republic of Ireland expatriate men's association footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States USL First Division players Major League Soccer players USL Championship players Association footballers from County Wicklow Aston Villa F.C. players Rochester Rhinos players Colorado Rapids players Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC players Men's association football defenders 21st-century Irish sportsmen