Richard Chinapoo (born 18 January 1957) is a former footballer from Trinidad who had an extensive career, primarily in the United States. Chinapoo spent two seasons in 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 ...

, eight in the National Professional Soccer League and at least eight in the Major Indoor Soccer League. He also played with the Trinidad and Tobago national team.

College

Chinapoo first attended college at

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

in Trinidad. In 1978, he entered

Long Island University Long Island University (LIU) is a private university in Brooklyn and Brookville, New York, United States. The university enrolls over 16,000 students and offers over 500 academic programs at its main campuses, LIU Brooklyn and LIU Post on Long I ...

in the United States. In addition to his studies, he played on the men’s soccer team from 1978 to 1981, earning second team

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

n recognition in 1978, 1979 and 1980. In 1981, he was selected as a first team All-American. He finished his four seasons with the Blackbirds with fifty-five career goals and was inducted into the Long Island, University Athletic Hall of Fame in 2001.

Professional

On 16 March 1982 Chinapoo signed a one-year contract with the

New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to * New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada) * New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Indepen ...

of the

. He ultimately spent two seasons with New York. Some sources show Chinapoo as playing for two Trinidad clubs, Malvern and San Juan Jabloteh, but the dates are unknown. At some point, he joined the

Baltimore Blast The Baltimore Blast are an American professional indoor soccer team based in Baltimore, Maryland, that competes in the Major Arena Soccer League (MASL). Including one championship victory as the original Baltimore Blast, the team has won 10 c ...

of Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL). On 8 September 1988, Chinapoo signed as a free agent with the Dallas Sidekicks. He spent two seasons with the Sidekicks before returning to Baltimore on 6 August 1990. On 15 October 1991, Chinapoo signed as a free agent with the Sidekicks. This time, he played only a year. In 1992, MISL collapsed and several teams and most of the players jumped to the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL). Chinapoo left Dallas and signed with the Harrisburg Heat of NPSL. He would remain in Harrisburg for the remainder of his professional career, retiring from playing in 2000. He was inducted into the Heat Hall of Fame on 3 November 2001.

National team

Chinapoo played numerous games with the Trinidad and Tobago national team, but the numbers and dates are unknown. His name first appears on current records during a 17 August 1980 World Cup qualification victory over

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

. He played with the national team until at least 11 June 1989 when he played another World Cup qualification game, this time a 0–1 loss to

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

Coach

In 1998, Chinapoo became a player-coach with the Harrisburg Heat. After he retired from playing in 2001, Chinapoo became a full-time head coach. In 2001, he was named the NPSL Coach of the Year.MISL Coach of the Year
/ref> On August 11, 2002, after posting a 10-34 record during the 2001-2002 season, the Heat management released Chinapoo. He is currently the Technical Director of the Capital Area Soccer Association in

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Harrisburg ( ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,099 as of 2020, Harrisburg is the ninth-most populous city in Pennsylvania. It is the larger of the two pr ...

. In the summer of 2012, Richard was named the head coach of the new

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

team, the Harrisburg Heat. He retired from coaching and moved to Florida after the 2013–14 Harrisburg Heat season.

References

Richard Chinapoo, "I took pride in punishing a goalkeeper" https://www.hail-caribbean-sport.com/richard-chinapoo-trinidad-football

External links

Dallas Sidekicks profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chinapoo, Richard 1957 births Living people All-American college men's soccer players Baltimore Blast (1980–1992) players Dallas Sidekicks (original MISL) players Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Harrisburg Heat players LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds men's soccer players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) coaches National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players New York Cosmos (1970–1985) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Major Arena Soccer League coaches San Juan Jabloteh F.C. players Trinidad and Tobago football managers Trinidad and Tobago men's footballers Trinidad and Tobago expatriate men's footballers Trinidad and Tobago men's international footballers Trinidad and Tobago expatriate sportspeople in the United States Men's association football defenders