John Limniatis
 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 24 June 1967 | ||
| Place of birth | Athens, Attica, Greece | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1987–1988 | Ottawa Pioneers/Intrepid | 28 | (0) |
| 1988–1992 | Aris Thessaloniki | 94 | (1) |
| 1992–1993 | Panetolikos | 20 | (0) |
| 1993–1998 | Montreal Impact | 126 | (2) |
| 1999 | Charleston Battery | 25 | (0) |
| 2000–2001 | Montreal Impact | 24 | (0) |
| National team | |||
| 1987–1997 | Canada | 44 | (1) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 2008–2009 | Montreal Impact | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only | |||
Ioannis "John" Limniatis (Greek: Ιωάννης "Τζον" Λημνιάτης; born 24 June 1967 in Athens, Greece) is a Canadian retired professional soccer player. He played 44 times and scored one goal for the Canadian national team, also captaining and later becoming the head coach of the Montreal Impact.
Club career[]
Before migrating to Canada with his family, Limniatis in 1977, used to train with the players of Greek Third Division side Ilisiakos in the 1970s, taking shots at legendary Greek goalkeeper Nikos Sarganis.[1]
After beginning his pro career in 1987 with the Ottawa Pioneers of the Canadian Soccer League, he became the 1st ever Canadian to be sold to a European 1st division team. He was transferred for a fee of $50.000. Limniatis played professionally in Greece with First Division side Aris Thessaloniki F.C. from 1988 to 1992 and Panetolikos in the Second Division from '92 to '93. He then joined the Montreal Impact in the summer of 1993 and remained with the club until 1998. After a brief spell in the United States on loan with Charleston Battery, Limniatis returned to the Impact playing 24 more games in the 2000–2001 season. Liminatis played both outdoors in the A-League and indoors in the National Professional Soccer League both with the Impact and the Kansas City Attack in 1995–96.
Limniatis was named 1994 A-League Rookie of the Year and 1996 and '97 Defender of the Year.
He's a member of both the Canadian & the Quebec Soccer Hall of Fame, inducted in 2009.
He is also the 1st and only soccer person so far to be inducted in the Quebec Sports Hall of Fame (Pantheon des sports du Quebec), inducted in 2012.
International career[]
A defender or midfielder, Limniatis made his debut for Canada in a September 1987 friendly match against El Salvador, He earned a total of 44 caps, scoring 1 goal. He has represented Canada in 8 FIFA World Cup qualification matches[2] in three unsuccessful World Cup qualifying campaigns.
His final international game was a March 1997 World Cup qualification match against the United States.
International goals[]
- Scores and results list Canada's goal tally first.
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 July 1991 | Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, United States |  Jamaica |
3-1 | 3-2 | 1991 CONCACAF Gold Cup |
Managerial career[]
He spent his last years with the Impact as their assistant coach, indoor head coach, and later director of operations. He was coach for the Montreal Impact until Marc Dos Santos was named as interim head coach following Limniatis' termination by the Impact board.[3]
Personal life[]
 | This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. (August 2011) |
Limniatis's hometown is Laval, Quebec, Limniatis has two daughters, Alexia and Nikki. His cousin, Giorgos Limniatis, is a former professional basketball player who played in Greece.
References[]
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 24 March 2016. Retrieved 1 October 2015.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- ^ John Limniatis – FIFA competition record (archived)
- ^ Impact fire Limniatis, name Marc Dos Santos interim head coach. He was the seventh head coach in Impact history.
External links[]
- Player profile - Charleston Battery at the Wayback Machine (archived 2007-09-27)
- Player profile - Canada Soccer at the Wayback Machine (archived 2011-06-05)
- www.impactmontreal.com at the Wayback Machine (archived 2006-08-29)
- John Limniatis at National-Football-Teams.com
Canada squads | |||||||||||||
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- 1967 births
- Living people
- Sportspeople from Athens
- Sportspeople from Laval, Quebec
- Greek emigrants to Canada
- Naturalized citizens of Canada
- Soccer people from Quebec
- Association football defenders
- Association football midfielders
- Association football utility players
- Canadian soccer coaches
- Canadian soccer players
- Canada men's international soccer players
- Canadian expatriate soccer players
- Canadian expatriate sportspeople in the United States
- Greek footballers
- Greek expatriate footballers
- Greek expatriate sportspeople in the United States
- Ottawa Intrepid players
- Aris Thessaloniki F.C. players
- Panetolikos F.C. players
- Montreal Impact (1992–2011) coaches
- Montreal Impact (1992–2011) players
- Charleston Battery players
- Kansas City Attack (NPSL) players
- Canadian Soccer League (1987–1992) players
- American Professional Soccer League players
- A-League (American soccer) players
- National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players
- USISL players
- USISL A-League players
- USL A-League players
- Expatriate soccer players in the United States
- 1991 CONCACAF Gold Cup players
- 1993 CONCACAF Gold Cup players
- 1996 CONCACAF Gold Cup players