Marco Reda (born June 22, 1977) is a Canadian former

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player who began his professional career in the

USL A-League 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 Di ...

with the

Toronto Lynx Toronto Lynx was a Canadian soccer team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1997, the team last played in the 2014 season of the Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Great Lakes D ...

where he developed his skills as a solid defender. This led to his transfer to Europe to sign with

Sogndal Sogndal is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is located on the northern shore of the Sognefjorden in the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Sogn. The village of Hermansv ...

, where he would eventually have a tenure in Scandinavia for six years. Reda would return to Toronto, this time to sign with expansion franchise

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 ...

, and would conclude his career in 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 also played at the indoor level in the National Professional Soccer League with the

Toronto ThunderHawks Toronto ThunderHawks were an indoor soccer team based in Mississauga, Ontario that competed in the defunct NPSL. The team began play in the 2000–2001 season, with home games at the Hershey Centre. The team was owned by businessman Neil Jami ...

in 2000–2001. After his retirement from competitive soccer he briefly served as an assistant coach in the

Canadian Soccer League The Canadian Soccer League (CSL; ) is a semi-professional league for Canadian soccer clubs primarily located in the province of Ontario, and claims the history of the Canadian National Soccer League (CNSL). It is a non-FIFA league previously ...

with

SC Toronto SC Toronto is a Canadian soccer team, founded in 1994. The team was a member of the Canadian Soccer League, and played its final home games at Lamport Stadium in the city of Toronto, Ontario. The club found success early on since its incepti ...

in 2012, and later became a teacher for

Hudson College Hudson College is a co-educational, non-denominational private school for students from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 12. It is situated on a 4.5-acre campus in the former Earlscourt Junior Public School in central Toronto, Ontario. History Hu ...

Club career

Reda began his career at the college level with

Winthrop University Winthrop University is a public university in Rock Hill, South Carolina. It was founded in 1886 by David Bancroft Johnson, who served as the superintendent of Columbia, South Carolina schools. He received a grant from Robert Charles Winthrop, a ...

from 1996 to 1997. He went professional in 1998, after

Peter Pinizzotto Peter Pinizzotto is an Italian born Canadian soccer coach who serves as the head coach for Woodbridge Strikers in League1 Ontario. Pinizzotto is known for managing the Toronto Lynx, and is the longest-serving manager in the history of Toronto L ...

head coach of the

signed him to a contract. In 1999, he was named the team captain for the club, and won the team's best defensive player award. In 2000, the captain assisted his franchise in qualifying for the postseason for the second time in the club's history. Toronto would finish third in the Northeast Division. In the playoffs the Lynx faced

Richmond Kickers Richmond Kickers is an American professional soccer club based in Richmond, Virginia. The Kickers compete as a member of USL League One (USL1). The club was established in 1993, and began play that same year as a United States Interregional S ...

in the first round, and advanced to the next round by a 3-1 goals on aggregate. In the next round Toronto would face the

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 ...

, but would be eliminated from the playoffs by a score of 2–1 on goals on aggregate. Reda had a stint in the National Professional Soccer League with the short lived expansion franchise the

during the 2000-2001 winter indoor season. He helped the ThunderHawks reach the postseason by finishing second in the National Conference, and reached the Conference finals where they were defeated by the

Milwaukee Wave The Milwaukee Wave are an American professional indoor soccer team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that competes in the Major Arena Soccer League (MASL). Founded in 1984, they have been the oldest continuously operating professional indoor footbal ...

. His next notable season with Toronto was in the 2002 season where he would continue in his capacity as club captain. On June 13, 2002, he was named for the first time in his career to the A-League Team of the Week. Early on in the season he was invited to a trial in Norway with

Sogndal Fotball Sogndal Fotball is the football department of Norwegian sports club Sogndal IL from Sogndal in Vestland. The club was founded in 1926. The men's team currently plays in second tier 1. divisjon of the Norwegian football league system. The club's ...

. His trial was a success and was offered a contract by the

First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

club. In his debut season with Sogndal he was named the club's player of the year, and played a total of 70 matches and scored six goals. In 2006. after Sogndal were relegated to

Norwegian First Division The Norwegian First Division, also called 1. divisjon () and OBOS-ligaen (due to sponsoring ties with :no:OBOS, OBOS), is the second-highest level of the Norwegian football league system. Each year, the top finishing teams in the 1. divisjon ...

he signed a contract with

Aalborg BK Aalborg Boldspilklub is a Danish sports club based in the city of Aalborg. The club is also known as AaB for short (cf. logo) or Aalborg BK. Through time the club has had branches in cricket, tennis, ice hockey, handball, and basketball, but curr ...

of the

Danish Superliga The Danish Superliga (, ) is a professional association football league in Denmark and the highest level of the Danish football league system. The league is currently contested by 12 teams each year, with 2 teams relegated. It is the current ...

. Reda played for Aalborg for a year and a half before being released. In 2006, he re-signed with his old team Sogndal to help them win back promotion to the top flight. On February 22, 2007, the newly formed

of the

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 ...

signed Reda to a contract. At Toronto he, along with

Chris Pozniak Krzysztof "Chris" Pozniak (born 10 January 1981) is a Canadian retired soccer player. Club career Pozniak emigrated from Poland with his parents Tadeusz and Elżbieta, and sister Kinga, to Canada in 1990. He is able to speak Polish. He began h ...

Adam Braz Adam Braz (born June 7, 1981) is a Canadian former professional soccer player who last served as Technical Director of the Montreal Impact of Major League Soccer. Braz played on the Canada national team and in stints with Toronto FC in the Majo ...

and

Jim Brennan James Gerald Brennan (born 8 May 1977) is a Canadian soccer coach, analyst and former player. During his playing career, he played as a defender in Canada and England, most notably with Bristol City, Nottingham Forest, Southampton, Norwich C ...

were touted to form a 'Canadian Shield' of Canadian defenders for the MLS team's inaugural season, but a combination of injuries and inconsistent play led to only Brennan remaining with the team for its second year. Reda was released by Toronto in November 2007. On March 4, 2008, he signed with the

Charleston Battery The Charleston Battery are an American professional association football, soccer club based in Charleston, South Carolina, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 1993, the Battery are the oldest continuously operating professional socc ...

of the

. With Charleston he was named the team captain, and helped the Battery reach the

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. It is the country's oldest ongoing national soccer competition. The competition was first held duri ...

final, where the organization lost to a score of 2–1 to

D.C. United D.C. United is an American professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Supp ...

. On February 11, 2009, he signed with the

Vancouver Whitecaps Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Vancouver. The Whitecaps compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. The MLS iteration of the club was established on March 18, ...

, During his tenure with Vancouver he helped the Whitecaps reach the USL playoff finals, but were defeated by the Montreal Impact. He was released by the Whitecaps at the end of the 2009 season.

Coaching career

Since 2010 Marco has been coaching with the Power Soccer School of Excellence in Toronto, Ontario. On May 1, 2012, he was appointed assistant coach to

in the

. He helped Toronto finish third in the first division which clinched a postseason berth for the club. The senior team would be eliminated in the quarterfinal round by the

Serbian White Eagles Serbian White Eagles Football Club (/''Fudbalski klub Srpski beli orlovi'') is a Canadian semi-professional Association football, soccer team. The team is a member of the Canadian Soccer League, a Non-FIFA international football, non-FIFA sanct ...

. He also served as the head coach for SC Toronto's reserve squad in the league's second division. Reda led the reserve side to the championship final where Toronto defeated Brampton City United II for the title. He is currently the technical director for Woodbridge Soccer Club.

International career

Reda made his debut for

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

in a February 2005 friendly match against

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 ...

and has earned a total of 7 caps, scoring 1 goal. He has a non-playing squad member at the

2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the ninth edition of the Gold Cup, the soccer championship of North America, Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF), and was won by the United States over Mexico. It was contested in the United States from J ...

. His final international was a January 2008 friendly match against

Martinique Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...

. He also played with the

Canada men's national under-23 soccer team The Canada U-23 men's national soccer team (also known as Canada Olympic soccer team) represents Canada in international soccer at this age level. They are overseen by the Canadian Soccer Association, the governing body for soccer in Canada. U ...

where he was selected for the

1999 Pan American Games The 1999 Pan American Games, officially the XIII Pan American Games () or the 13th Pan American Games and commonly known as Winnipeg 1999, were a major international multi-sport event that was held from July 23 to August 8, 1999, in Winnipeg, Ma ...

Hudson College

Since 2014, Marco Reda has taught

physical education Physical education is an academic subject taught in schools worldwide, encompassing Primary education, primary, Secondary education, secondary, and sometimes tertiary education. It is often referred to as Phys. Ed. or PE, and in the United Stat ...

at and been the overall gym teacher of the Toronto private school,

International goals

:''Scores and results list Canada's goal tally first.''

Footnotes

References

External links

AaB profileToronto FC profilePlayer profile
- CanadaSoccer *
Player profile
- Charleston Battery {{DEFAULTSORT:Reda, Marco 1977 births Living people Sportspeople from Vaughan Soccer people from Ontario Canadian sportspeople of Italian descent Men's association football defenders Canadian men's soccer players Canada men's international soccer players Canada men's under-23 international soccer players 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Canadian expatriate sportspeople in Norway Canadian expatriate sportspeople in Denmark Canadian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Toronto Lynx players Sogndal Fotball players AaB Fodbold players Toronto FC players Charleston Battery players USL First Division players Eliteserien players Danish Superliga players Major League Soccer players Expatriate men's footballers in Norway Expatriate men's footballers in Denmark Vancouver Whitecaps (1986–2010) players Winthrop Eagles men's soccer players Winthrop University alumni Canadian soccer coaches Toronto ThunderHawks players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players Canadian Soccer League (1998–present) coaches SC Toronto coaches