Brian Bliss

Football manager infobox
playername = Brian Bliss


fullname = Brian Bliss
height = height|ft=5|in=8
nickname =
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1965|9|28
cityofbirth = Webster, New York
countryofbirth = United States
dateofdeath =
cityofdeath =
countryofdeath =
currentclub = Kansas City Wizards
clubnumber =
position = Coach
youthyears = 1983-1986
youthclubs = Southern Connecticut State University
years = 1987-1988
1989
1990
1990-1991
1991
1992-1996
1996-1997
1997
1998
clubs = Cleveland Force "(indoor)"
Albany Capitals
Boston Bolts
Energie Cottbus
Chemnitzer FC
FC Carl Zeiss Jena
Columbus Crew
MetroStars
Kansas City Wizards
caps(goals) = 51 (4)
05 (0)
13 (1)
12 (0)
83 (1)
31 (2)
16 (0)
03 (0)
nationalyears = 1984-1995
nationalteam = United States
nationalcaps(goals) = 44 (2)
manageryears = 1999
2006-2007
managerclubs = Connecticut Wolves
Kansas City Wizards "(interim)"

Brian Bliss (born September 28, 1965 in Webster, New York) is a retired U.S. soccer defender and former coach of the Kansas City Wizards of Major League Soccer.

Early career

Bliss attended HW Schroeder High School in Webster, New York. After high school, he attended Southern Connecticut State University from 1983 to 1986. On December 2, 1984 Bliss earned his first cap in a 2-2 tie with Ecuador. He would not play again until 1987 when he would play two of the three U.S. games. That year, the Cleveland Force of the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) drafted Bliss with the top pick. He would play a single season with the Force in 1987-1988. In 1988, he played in the Summer Olympics. In 1989, Bliss played five games with the Albany Capitals of the American Soccer League. However, by that time he was a regular with the national team, playing nearly every game in the team's qualification campaign for the 1990 FIFA World Cup. He played only one of the team's three games in that cup, as a substitute in the loss to Italy. In 1990, he was on the roster of the Boston Bolts of the American Professional Soccer League. ^{[http://a-leaguearchive.tripod.com/1990/statsasl90.htm]}

European career

After the World Cup, Bliss went to Germany to play with Energie Cottbus of the 2. Bundesliga. He later went on to play for Chemnitzer FC and then FC Carl Zeiss Jena. Bliss was cut from the final 1994 FIFA World Cup roster when he tore cartilage in his knee [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9905EFDC113BF931A35755C0A962958260 U.S. Roster Selected For the World Cup] (June 2, 1994). "New York Times"] .

Major League Soccer

As Major League Soccer prepared for its first season, it began a process of equitably distributing known players to each of the league's teams. As part of this process, Bliss was allocated to the Columbus Crew. He played a season and a half for Columbus, being traded 12 games into the 1997 season to the MetroStars for A.J. Wood. Bliss finished the 1997 season with the MetroStars, but was traded by the team to the Kansas City Wizards for a first round college draft pick during the 1998 off-season. He retired after playing only 3 games of the 1998 season.

Personal life

Bliss now lives in Colombus and serves as the Technical Director for the Columbus Crew. He and his wife have a beautiful daughter who is 2 years old. Summer of 2008 Brian's wife had a baby boy.

Coaching

After retirement, he went on to coach the Connecticut Wolves of the A-League in 1999. The next year, Gansler selected him again, this time to be the assistant coach for the Wizards. On July 19, 2006, Gansler stepped down as head coach, allowing Bliss to become interim head coach for Kansas City. In March 2007, Curt Onalfo replaced Bliss as the Wizards head coach, and Bliss joined Kansas Youth Soccer as State Director of Coaching.

Coaching Positions

* Connecticut Wolves (1999)
* Kansas City Wizards (2006)
* Kansas Youth Soccer (2007)
* Olathe Northwest High School JV Coach (2007)
* Columbus Crew Technical Director (2008-present)

Note

External links

* [http://kc.wizards.mlsnet.com/MLS/players/bio.jsp?team=kcw&player=bliss_b Biography at Kansas City Wizards' Official Site]
* [http://ussoccerplayers.com/players/alumni/index.html?player_id=11 USSoccerPlayers.com bio]
* [http://www.kansasyouthsoccer.org/KYS_boardandstaff.php Kansas Youth Soccer Staff]