Lewis Ryan Neal (born 14 July 1981) 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 ...

Career

Neal started his career at

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Sto ...

, making his debut in the

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Leag ...

on 6 December 2000 against Scarborough. He went on loan to Icelandic side

Íþróttabandalag Vestmannaeyja Íþróttabandalag Vestmannaeyja (ÍBV) is an Icelandic multi-sports district association from Vestmannaeyjar off the south coast of Iceland. It was founded in 1903 as Fótboltafélag Vestmannaeyja by Björgúlfur Ólafsson, military doctor for ...

before returning to Stoke. He played 70 league games and scored 2 goals for Stoke before signing for

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syst ...

in 2005 in a player swap deal for

Marlon Broomes Marlon Charles Broomes (born 28 November 1977) is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre-back from 1994 to 2012. He also played as a sweeper (leading to his nickname of "Broomes, the sweeper"), although he could pla ...

. On 31 October 2008, Neal signed a month-long loan deal with

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 25 November 1862, it is the ...

, and made his debut at home to Bury. After playing 65 league games for Preston, Neal was allowed to join

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They have played their home games at Brunton Park ...

on 30 January 2009, after agreeing to a termination package. He signed a contract to the end of the season. He made his Carlisle debut in the 1–1 home draw against

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east of Wolverhampton and from Lichfield. Walsall is t ...

, but at the end of the season manager

Greg Abbott Gregory Wayne Abbott (born November 13, 1957) is an American politician, attorney, and former jurist serving as the 48th governor of Texas since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 50th attorney general of Texas from 2002 ...

decided to release him. A day after his contract expired with Carlisle on 2 July 2009, Neal signed a two-year contract with

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Le ...

club

Shrewsbury Town Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of English football. The club plays its home games at the New Meadow, having mov ...

. On 22 January 2011, he was released by

, by mutual consent. He moved to the United States and entered training camp with Orlando City Soccer Club of the

USL Pro The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, ...

league, the third tier of US Soccer. He scored the team's first ever goal on 19 February in a friendly against

Philadelphia Union The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in Chester, Pennsylvania. The Union compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the club began playing in 2010 ...

. Lewis signed with Orlando on 21 March 2011. In early 2012, Neal was on trial with

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake, often shortened to RSL, is an American professional soccer franchise based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes as a member club of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the Western Conference. RSL began play in ...

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Cana ...

but was not offered a contract. He signed into the league with

D.C. United D.C. United is a professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. that competes in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer, the top tier of American soccer. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Su ...

on 13 March 2012. During his time with D.C., he scored the lone goal in the

2013 U.S. Open Cup The 2013 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup was the 100th edition of the History of the U.S. Open Cup, oldest ongoing competition in American soccer. Qualification began in November 2012 in the fifth tier, although the United States Soccer Federation did not ...

final against Real Salt Lake, giving D.C. their third Open Cup title. After three years with D.C., Neal returned to Florida when he was selected by new franchise

Orlando City SC Orlando City SC is an American professional soccer club in Orlando, Florida, that competes as a member of the Eastern Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). Orlando City SC began play in 2015 as the 21st franchise in MLS, succeeding the ...

in the

2014 MLS Expansion Draft The 2014 MLS Expansion Draft was a draft for the Major League Soccer expansion teams New York City FC and Orlando City SC that took place between November 19 and December 10, 2014. The first two rounds of the draft (which were known as the 2014 MLS ...

. He was released by Orlando at the end of the 2015 season. On 17 December, Orlando City confirmed that Neal had been resigned on a two-year deal giving him an extended role with the organization including an academy coaching role, a playing position on the Orlando City B team and media duties. Neal continued his professional career by signing with the Orlando SeaWolves in May 2018, ahead of their inaugural

Major Arena Soccer League The Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) is a North American professional indoor soccer league. The MASL features teams playing coast-to-coast in the United States and Mexico. MASL is the highest level of arena soccer in North America. MASL players ...

season. In March 2021, Neal rejoined former SeaWolves coach Tom Traxler by joining the coaching staff of

Central Florida Panthers SC Below is a list of all the teams that ever have ever played, or will play, in the Men's Premier Soccer League (MPSL) or National Premier Soccer League The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) is an American men's soccer league. The NPSL is a ...

of the

National Premier Soccer League The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) is an American men's soccer league. The NPSL is a semi-professional league, comprising some teams that have paid players and some that are entirely amateur. The league is officially affiliated to the U ...

In June 2023,

Anthony Pulis Anthony James Pulis (born 21 July 1984) is a Welsh football coach and former player who is currently the head coach of Miami FC in the USL Championship. A journeyman for much of his career Pulis represented Portsmouth, Stoke City, Torquay U ...

left his position as head coach of

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, p ...

side

Miami FC The Miami FC is an American professional soccer team based in Miami, Florida that competes in the USL Championship, the second tier of the American soccer pyramid. The club began play in the North American Soccer League (NASL) in the 2016 s ...

, and Neal took over as interim head coach. Neal left the club following the 2023 season.

Personal life

Neal earned his

US green card A green card, known officially as a permanent resident card, is an identity document which shows that a person has permanent residency in the United States. ("The term 'lawfully admitted for permanent residence' means the status of having been ...

in February 2013. This status qualifies him as a domestic player for MLS roster purposes.

Career statistics

:A. The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals in the

Football League play-offs The English Football League play-offs are a series of play-off matches contested by the four association football teams finishing immediately below the automatic promotion places in the second, third and fourth tiers of the English football leag ...

and

CONCACAF Champions League The CONCACAF Champions League, known officially as the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons, is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONCACAF. The tournament is contested by clubs from North Amer ...

Honours

; Orlando City *

: 2011 ;D.C. United *

Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in that country. The 2023 U.S. O ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Neal, Lewis 1981 births Living people Footballers from Leicester English men's footballers English expatriate men's footballers Stoke City F.C. players Lewis Neal Preston North End F.C. players Notts County F.C. players Carlisle United F.C. players Shrewsbury Town F.C. players Orlando City SC (2010–2014) players D.C. United players Orlando City SC players English expatriate sportspeople in Iceland English Football League players USL Championship players Major League Soccer players Expatriate men's footballers in Iceland Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States English expatriate sportspeople in the United States Orlando City B players Men's association football midfielders Orlando SeaWolves players Major Arena Soccer League players National Premier Soccer League coaches Miami FC coaches USL Championship coaches