Steve Darby
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Stephen David Darby | ||
Date of birth | 15 January 1955 | ||
Place of birth | Liverpool, Merseyside, England | ||
Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
Teams managed | |||
Years | Team | ||
1978–1994 | Bahrain | ||
1995–1998 | Sydney Olympic | ||
1998–2000 | Johor | ||
2001–2002 | Vietnam Women | ||
2002–2005 | Home United | ||
2005–2008 | Perak | ||
2008 | |||
2009 | Thailand U23 | ||
2011 | Mohun Bagan | ||
2014 | Kelantan | ||
2014 | Mumbai City FC | ||
2015–2016 | Laos National Coach |
Stephen David Darby (born 15 January 1955) is an English football coach and former player. He is well known throughout Asia as a pundit for ESPN Star Sports.[1]
Playing career[]
Darby started out as a goalkeeper for Liverpool Schools and FA Youth Team but never made it professionally and subsequently ended up at Tranmere Rovers before playing for teams in the US and Australia. He has been quoted as saying his career was halted by a severe....lack of ability!
Coaching career[]
Darby obtained his UEFA A Licence in 1979. He became an official FIFA Instructor for the Oceania region in 1981 and AFC Instructor 1998 and was Technical Director for the Australian Soccer Federation between 1990–1995.
He then moved on to coach Sydney Olympic, but left in 1998 to coach Johor FA, where he enjoyed a successful spell, winning Malaysia FA Cup and league title. He left the club in 2001 to take charge of the Vietnam women's team, whom he led to a gold medal in the 2001 SEA Games. The first ever Gold medal for Vietnam in Football.
After that, he was appointed youth team coach for Sheffield Wednesday FC under Terry Yorath, but remained there only for a season before taking over the reins at Singapore'sHome United. In his four-year tenure as Home United boss, Darby led them to a league and cup double in 2003 and also a semi-final spot in the 2004 AFC Cup. Also winning the Singapore Cup in 2005.
At the end of his Home United contract, Darby was heavily linked to the vacant India manager's post. However, he did not take up that job, choosing instead to join Perak despite having offers from two other Malaysian clubs and a Vietnamese club.
He led Perak to the Super Cup in 2005, a second spot in the league 2006–07 season and to the Malaysia Cup final in 2006 and an AFC quarterfinal. It was the furthest a Malaysian club had gone in Asian Competitions at that time.
In October 2008, he was appointed as Thailand coach and worked together with Peter Reid who was appointed Thailand Manager in August. He would stay on as coach to the newly appointed Bryan Robson and as the U-23 Team Coach, after previous coach Peter Reid left to become Coach at Stoke City. In 2012, he spent a year as a coaching consultant in Asia for EPL club Everton and as a football advisor to the Manipur government in India.
In September 2013, Darby was appointed as Coach for Kelantan FC in the Malaysian Super league (MSL) He was familiar with Malaysian football as he previously coached Johor and Perak. He was assistant coach of Mumbi City in 2014 in the inaugural Indian Super League (ISL) including players such as Nikolas Anelka, Freddie Ljungberg and Manuel Friedriche.[2]
In 2015, he was appointed as Technical Director of the Laos Football Federation and later as National Coach preparing for the 2018 World Cup Qualifiers. In this time Laos obtained its first World Cup points and its highest ever FIFA ranking. he has coached in 70 International fixtures and is considered one of the most successful English Football Coaches who worked abroad.
Personal life[]
Darby holds a Bachelor (Hons) in Physical Education from the University of Leeds and Post Graduate qualifications in Sports Administration from the University of Canberra. He also holds a TEFL Certificate from Cambridge. He speaks Arabic, French and a little Malay. His daughter, Quinn Elsa Darby, born in 2005, she is a talented Basketball and Lacrosse player. he returned to England in 2018 and is now a Football and media consultant producing many articles for Asian outlets and featuring on numerous podcasts. His biography by Antony Sutton "The Itinerate Coach" was published in October 2021 by Fairplay publishing.
References[]
- ^ "Darby: I never set targets!". 247Sports.com. Archived from the original on 9 November 2013. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
- ^ Murray, Trevor (17 August 2015). "Interview with ex-Mumbai City coach Steve Darby: Nicolas Anelka gives 100 percent every time". www.sportskeeda.com. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
External links[]
- Interview in Mohun Bagan Official Website[permanent dead link]
- http://mohunbaganac.com/SEPT08/news_details.php?newsid=903[permanent dead link]
- https://web.archive.org/web/20071110023009/http://www.yob4ever.com/v2/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=21
- https://web.archive.org/web/20070927040830/http://www.espnstar.com/studio/studio_coldetail_1464322.html
- https://web.archive.org/web/20110810181522/http://www.kolkatafootball.com/indiafootball_news_2011/july21stpart_2011.html#bagan_coach
- 1955 births
- Living people
- Footballers from Liverpool
- English footballers
- Association football goalkeepers
- Tranmere Rovers F.C. players
- English expatriate footballers
- English expatriate sportspeople in the United States
- English expatriate sportspeople in Australia
- Expatriate soccer players in the United States
- Expatriate soccer players in Australia
- English football managers
- Bahrain national football team managers
- East Riffa Club managers
- Australia women's national soccer team managers
- Sydney Olympic FC managers
- Home United FC head coaches
- Perak F.C. managers
- Thailand national football team managers
- Mohun Bagan AC managers
- Kelantan FA managers
- Laos national football team managers
- Singapore Premier League head coaches
- I-League managers
- Women's national association football team managers
- English expatriate football managers
- English expatriate sportspeople in Bahrain
- English expatriate sportspeople in Malaysia
- English expatriate sportspeople in Singapore
- English expatriate sportspeople in India
- English expatriate sportspeople in Laos
- Expatriate football managers in Bahrain
- Expatriate soccer managers in Australia
- Expatriate football managers in Malaysia
- Expatriate football managers in Singapore
- Expatriate football managers in India
- Expatriate football managers in Laos
- Alumni of the University of Leeds