Atlanta Silverbacks
| Atlanta Silverbacks | |||
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| Full name | Atlanta Silverbacks Football Club | ||
| place | Atlanta , Georgia , USA | ||
| Founded | 1994 (as Atlanta Ruckus) | ||
| Dissolved | 2016 | ||
| Club colors | |||
| Stadion | Atlanta Silverbacks Park | ||
| Top league | North American Soccer League | ||
| successes | |||
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The Atlanta Silverbacks (officially Atlanta Silverbacks Football Club ; German: the silverback ) were an American football franchise of the North American Soccer League from Atlanta , Georgia .
The franchise was founded in 1998 and has been playing in the North American Soccer League , the second highest division in North American football , since the 2011 season . On January 11, 2016, the franchise was dissolved by the North American Soccer League.
With the Atlanta Silverbacks Reserves you have a development team that plays in the National Premier Soccer League . The women's soccer team Atlanta Silverbacks Women plays in the USL W-League .
history
Atlanta Ruckus (1994-1998)
In July 1994, the American Professional Soccer League announced that the Atlanta Magic soccer team, which had played in the USISL until then , would be franchised for the 1995 season. In November 1994, the club's management decided to change the name to Atlanta Ruckus and thus create a new franchise to play in the APSL. Magic continued to play in the USISL. Many players then migrated from Magic to the Ruckus. Among them is the former US international Bruce Murray . Before the start of the 1995 season, the franchise ran into financial difficulties. The owner at the time, Sam Chase, was unable to raise the necessary amount to start the season. Then the franchise was taken over by the South African Johnny Imerman. So the team could play in the APSL.
Under their first coach, the German-American and former US national coach Lothar Osiander, the Ruckus started the season on May 5, 1995. The league was now called A-League. The team scored 13 wins in 24 games in the regular season, securing second place at the end of the season. In the play-offs they reached the final, which was lost to the Seattle Sounders .
After losing $ 600,000 in the 1995 and 1996 seasons, Vincent Lu took over the franchise. In the 1998 season, the team was temporarily suspended from the game that Lu did not want to sign a new contract with the A-League. The Ruckus were taken over by the league and henceforth called A-League Atlanta. Then the lawyers John Latham and Bobby Glustrom took over the franchise.
Atlanta Silverbacks
In September 1998, the former English soccer player Mike Balson was hired as general manager. Nuno Piteira became the coach. The new team name, Atlanta Silverbacks, was announced at a press conference at the Atlanta Zoo. This was to honor the gorilla Willie B. With Dallas Burn, the Silverbacks were able to win a team from Major League Soccer as a partner.
In terms of sport, the Silverbacks finished their first season (1999) under new names with 5th place in the Atlantic Division. You couldn't qualify for the play-offs. Otherwise, the team could only excel in terms of sport. Overall, you could only reach the play-offs once from 1996 to 2001. In 2002 they reached the play-offs again and even the third round in the US Open Cup . However, a year later they did not reach the play-offs again. You could not qualify in the coming seasons either.
In 2007, the team now played in the USL First Division , they reached the final of the play-offs after a fourth place in the regular season, which however was lost to the Seattle Sounders. The team was coached by Jason Smith at the time.
In November 2009 the Silverbacks announced that they wanted to leave the USL-1 and founded the North American Soccer League with several teams. After the league was not approved by the United States Soccer Federation , the game had to be stopped for the 2010 season.
Change to the NASL
In 2011 the NASL became official and the Silverbacks could play again. In this first season, the team could only achieve four wins and ended up in 8th and last place.
On July 2, 2012, the former US international Eric Wynalda took over the team as interim coach and sports director. Wynalda put Brian Haynes on as the new coach. Under the former national player of Trinidad and Tobago, the team reached first place in the spring season 2013 of the NASL (first round). In the fall season 2013 the franchise was 7. In the play-offs it made it to the final, the Soccer Bowl. There they lost to New York Cosmos 1-0. Haynes was named NASL Coach of the Year. However, he was fired at the end of the season. Since then, Eric Wynalda has been coach of the team again.
At the end of 2012, fans of the Atlanta Silverbacks were able to vote for a new logo. In the run-up there was a competition in which everyone could submit suggestions. The winner's logo, which was determined through a vote on the association's Facebook page , was available for selection alongside three suggestions made by the association with the help of graphic designers .
With the beginning of the 2014 season, Jason Smith took over the position of coach. Smith was the coach of the Silverbacks from 2005 to 2008. Under him, the team reached eighth place in the 2014 spring season. After another poor performance in the Fall 2014 season, Smith was fired. In the US Open Cup, the team was more successful, the first time the Silverbacks could reach the quarter-finals. In the previous two rounds, Real Salt Lake and the Colorado Rapids, two major league soccer teams, were defeated. In the quarter-finals that followed, the team met Chicago Fire. Fire won 3-1.
Stadion
- DeKalb Memorial Stadium ; Clarkston, Georgia (2003-2005)
- Atlanta Silverbacks Park ; Atlanta (since 2006)
Since 2006, the home games of the Silverbacks have been played in the Atlanta Silverbacks Park. The stadium can accommodate 5,000 spectators. Furthermore, there are various training grounds on the site, which are used by high school, lacrosse and rugby teams.
organization
owner
The Silverbacks belong to a group of investors led by Boris Jerkunica, John Latham and the brothers Henry and John Hardin.
Players and staff
Current squad
As of July 28, 2015
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Coaching staff
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Gary Smith - trainer -
Steve Guppy - assistant coach
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Tony Annan - assistant coach -
Rob Di Figlio - assistant coach
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Gaucho Pinho - goalkeeping coach -
Dan Dawson - goalkeeping coach
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Ricky Clarke - Scouting
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Eric Wynalda - Technical Director
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Sydney Wolfe - athletics coach
Former trainers
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Lothar Osiander (1995) -
Charlie Morgan (1996)
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Angus McAlpine (1997)
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David Eristavi (1997-1998)
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Chris Hellenkamp (1998) (Interim)
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Nuno Piteira (1999-2000)
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John Dugan (2001)
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Brett Mosen (2002)
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Jacenir Silva (2003)
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David Vaudreuil (2004-2005)
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Jason Smith (2005-2008)
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José Manuel Abundis (2011) -
Alex Pineda Chacón (2012) -
Eric Wynalda (2012) (Interim)
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Brian Haynes (2012-2013) -
Eric Wynalda (2014)
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Jason Smith (2014-2014)
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Alejandro Pombo (2014) (Interim)
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Gary Smith (2014–)
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successes
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North American Soccer League
- Winner (Season) (1): 2013 Spring
- Final (Play-offs) (1): 2013
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A-League
- Finals (Playoffs) (1): 1995
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USL First Division
- Finals (Playoffs) (1): 2007
statistics
Seasonal balance
| season | step | league | Regular season | Play-offs |
Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup |
CONCACAF Champions League |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 2 | A-League | 4th Place | final | 2nd round | not qualified |
| 1996 | 2 | A-League | 7th place | not qualified | not qualified | not qualified |
| 1997 | 2 | USISL A-League | 7th place, Central | not qualified | not qualified | not qualified |
| 1998 | 2 | USISL A-League | 6th place, Atlantic | not qualified | not qualified | not qualified |
| 1999 | 2 | A-League | 5th place, Atlantic | not qualified | not qualified | not qualified |
| 2000 | 2 | A-League | 6th place, Atlantic | not qualified | not qualified | not qualified |
| 2001 | 2 | A-League | 5th place, Central | not qualified | not qualified | not qualified |
| 2002 | 2 | A-League | 3rd place, Southeast | 1 round | 3rd round | not qualified |
| 2003 | 2 | A-League | 5th place, Southeast | not qualified | 3rd round | not qualified |
| 2004 | 2 | A-League | 5th place, Eastern | not qualified | 4th round | not qualified |
| 2005 | 2 | USL First Division | 8th place | not qualified | 3rd round | not qualified |
| 2006 | 2 | USL First Division | 8th place | not qualified | 3rd round | not qualified |
| 2007 | 2 | USL First Division | 4th Place | final | 3rd round | not qualified |
| 2008 | 2 | USL First Division | 10th place | not qualified | 2nd round | not qualified |
| 2009 | not participated | |||||
| 2010 | ||||||
| 2011 | 2 | North American Soccer League | 8th place | not qualified | not qualified | not qualified |
| 2012 | 2 | North American Soccer League | 7th place | not qualified | 3rd round | not qualified |
| 2013 | 2 | North American Soccer League | 1st place, Spring 7th place, Fall |
final | 3rd round | not qualified |
| 2014 | 2 | North American Soccer League | 8th place, Spring 10th place, Fall |
not qualified | Quarter finals | not qualified |
- ↑ Since 2008 the competition has started in the autumn of the previous year. Previously under the name CONCACAF Champions' Cup .
Women's soccer
Since 2005, the Atlanta Silverbacks Women have been playing in the USL W-League , the second division in the US and Canadian football systems. In 2011 they won the W-League. The team plays in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference.
The home games are played at Atlanta Silverbacks Park .
Known players:
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Melissa Tancredi (2005-2006)
Successes:
- USL W-League winner 2011
- USL W-League Atlantic Division winner 2011
- USL W-League Atlantic Division Winner 2010
- USL W-League Atlantic Division winner 2009
- USL W-League Atlantic Division winner 2008
- USL W-League Atlantic Division winner 2007
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Silverbacks Release Four Logo Finalists ( English ) NASL. December 12, 2012. Retrieved December 22, 2012.
- ↑ Atlanta Silverbacks Roster ( English ) Archived from the original on August 10, 2015. Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
