Aaran Lines

Aaran Franklyn Lines (born 21 December 1976) is a retired New Zealand association football player and former head coach of the Western New York Flash. He has represented New Zealand at international level.[1]

Aaran Lines
Personal information
Full name Aaran Franklyn Lines
Date of birth (1976-12-21) 21 December 1976
Place of birth Lower Hutt, New Zealand
Height 1.67 m (5 ft 5 1⁄2 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
Team
Werder Bremen
1993–1997 Werder Bremen
1997–1998 Kickers Emden 14 (4)
1998–1999 VfL Osnabrück 40 (1)
1999–2001 Football Kingz 30 (2)
2002 Dresdner SC 9 (0)
2002–2003 Ruch Chorzów 22 (1)
2003–2004 Arka Gdynia 5 (0)
2005 Portland Timbers 23 (1)
2006–2007 Rochester Raging Rhinos 43 (2)
National team
New Zealand U17 10 (0)
New Zealand U20 8 (0)
New Zealand U23 9 (0)
1996–2004 New Zealand 31 (4)
Teams managed
Years Team
2009–2010 Buffalo Flash (W-League)
2011 Western New York Flash (WPS)
2012 Western New York Flash (WPSL Elite)
2013–2015 Western New York Flash (NWSL)

Professional career

Born in Lower Hutt, New Zealand, Lines moved to Germany at the age of 16 to join SV Werder Bremen's youth team of the German Bundesliga, following his appearance in the U-17 World Cup in Japan. Lines played 80 games with the Werder Bremen youth team and 60 games with the reserve team.

In 1997, Lines moved to VfL Osnabrück where he appeared in over 80 matches in the first and second Bundesliga. At the start of the new century, the New Zealand native headed back home to play in the newly launched A-League for the Auckland Football Kingz (now the Wellington Phoenix). Following his stint in the A-League, Lines returned to Europe where he played for Dresdner SC of the 2. Bundesliga, and Ruch Chorzów and Arka Gdynia of the Polish first division.

Lines then headed to America to play for the Portland Timbers of the USL, and in 2006 made the move to Rochester, NY to play for the Rochester Rhinos. Lines appeared in over 40 matches for the Rhinos in the last two years of his career, including the 2006 USL Championship match.[2]

International career

Lines played representative age group football for New Zealand, making ten New Zealand U17, eight New Zealand U20 and nine New Zealand U23 appearances before making his full New Zealand debut in a 1–0 win over Tahiti on 25 September 1998.[3]

He was included in the New Zealand side for the 1999 Confederations Cup finals tournament in Mexico where he featured in all three group games,[4] and again for the 2003 Confederations Cup finals tournament in France where he made a single appearance against Japan.[5]

Lines ended his international playing career with 31 official full international caps and four goals to his credit,[1][6] his final cap an appearance in a 2–0 win over Fiji on 6 June 2004.[3]

Coaching career

After his two seasons with the Rochester Rhinos, Lines retired and accepted a coaching position with the semi-professional expansion W-League franchise Buffalo Flash.[7] Lines led the Buffalo Flash to an impressive 10–3–3 record in their inaugural season and a trip to the second round of the playoffs. In only his second year of coaching, he led the squad to an undefeated season and a W-League Championship defeating the Vancouver Whitecaps 3–1 in Santa Clarita, CA. Lines was named the Fieldturf 2010 Coach of the Year.

The WNY Flash joined Women's Professional Soccer as an expansion club in September 2010. Lines led a squad featuring five-time FIFA World Player of the Year Marta, Christine Sinclair and Alex Morgan to the 2011 WPS title.[2] In 2013 the WNY Flash was announced as one of eight franchises selected by US Soccer to compete in the NWSL. Lines led the Flash, with a roster including Abby Wambach and Carli Lloyd to the regular-season title with a record of 9-4-8. In the semi-final playoff game, the Flash beat Sky Blue 2–0 at Sahlen's Stadium in Rochester, NY. The Flash lost the championship 2–0 to the Portland Thorns in front of over 8,000 fans. At the conclusion of the 2015 NWSL season and after a tumultuous public spat with former player Carli Lloyd, Lines was forced to resign and eventually retire as head coach at the professional level due to many on- and off-field issues with former players, former employees and the National Women's Soccer League.[8] Lines has been out of soccer since and now focuses on the development of the WNY Flash Youth Academy. He continues to manage Sahlen's Sports Park indoor facility and oversee the direction of the Euros and Champions Soccer series based in Elma, NY.

Career statistics

International goals
As of 7 October 2015[9][10][11][12]
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.6 June 2001North Harbour Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand Tahiti5–0Win2002 World Cup qualification
2.13 June 2001North Harbour Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand Vanuatu7–0Win2002 World Cup qualification
3.12 October 2002A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn, Estonia Estonia3–2LossFriendly
4.31 May 2004North Harbour Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand Solomon Islands3–0Win2004 OFC Nations Cup

Managerial statistics

All competitive league games (league and domestic cup) and international matches (including friendlies) are included.

As of 11 April 2015
Team Nat Year Record
GWDLWin %
Buffalo Flash (W-League) 2009–2010 30 22 2 6 073.33
Western New York Flash (WPS) 2011 19 14 3 2 073.68
Western New York Flash (WPSL Elite) 2012 16 11 3 2 068.75
Western New York Flash (NWSL) 2013–2015 64 20 13 31 031.25
Career Total 129 67 21 41 051.94

References
  1. "A-International Appearances - Overall". The Ultimate New Zealand Soccer Website. Archived from the original on 7 October 2008. Retrieved 10 October 2009.
  2. "WNY Flash Coaching Staff". womensprosoccer.com. Archived from the original on 22 May 2011. Retrieved 7 April 2011.
  3. "A-International Lineups". The Ultimate New Zealand Soccer Website. Retrieved 10 October 2009.
  4. "Federations Cup Mexico 1999 - New Zealand squad". FIFA. Archived from the original on 8 May 2009. Retrieved 10 October 2009.
  5. "Federations Cup France 2003 - New Zealand squad". FIFA. Archived from the original on 24 April 2009. Retrieved 10 October 2009.
  6. "A-International Scorers - Overall". The Ultimate New Zealand Soccer Website. Archived from the original on 16 June 2009. Retrieved 19 June 2009.
  7. "Flash named Lines head coach". womensprosoccer.com. Archived from the original on 13 October 2012. Retrieved 7 April 2011.
  8. "Flash named Lines head coach". SBNation.com. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
  9. 2002 MATCHES INTERCONTINENTAL (July - December)
  10. 1997 MATCHES INTERCONTINENTAL
  11. 2001 MATCHES OCEANIA
  12. 2004 MATCHES OCEANIA
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