John Catliff

John Terrence Catliff[1] (born 8 January 1965) is a Canadian former professional soccer player, who played as a striker. He is the second highest goalscorer of all time of the Canadian national team, with 19 goals between 1984 and 1994.[2]

John Catliff
Personal information
Full name John Terrence Catliff
Date of birth (1965-01-08) 8 January 1965
Place of birth Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
Kerrisdale
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1983–1986 Harvard Crimson (34)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1987 Calgary Kickers
1988–1994 Vancouver 86ers 147 (79)
Total 147 (79)
National team‡
1984–1987 Canada U23 5 (0)
1984–1994 Canada 46 (19)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 25 June 2009
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 25 June 2009

In 2012 as part of the Canadian Soccer Association's centennial celebration, he was named to the all-time Canada XI men's team.[3]

Club career

Catliff was selected to the All-Ivy League First team as a forward in 1983, 1984, and 1986 while playing for the Harvard Crimson. He was also named to the All-American First Team in 1986.[4] Catliff ended his college career with the Crimson with a total of 34 goals and 15 assists.[5]

Catliff was a Canadian Soccer League star, scoring the second most goals of anyone in the League's six-year history with 69 goals in total.[6] He was a league season scoring champion in 1988 with 22 goals [7] and in 1990 with 19 goals.[8] He began his CSL career in 1987 playing for the League's inaugural champions, the Calgary Kickers. He then spent the next six seasons with the Vancouver 86ers, who became the CSL champions in four consecutive seasons from 1988 through 1991. Ligament injuries to both knees forced him to retire from professional play in 1994 after two years on the 86ers in the American Professional Soccer League.

International career

Catliff was a member of the quarter-finalist Canadian national team at the 1984 Summer Olympics while still playing at Harvard. He made his senior debut for Canada in a July 1984 friendly match against Chile in Edmonton. Throughout his career, he earned a total of 46 caps while scoring 19 goals.[9] He represented Canada in 12 FIFA World Cup qualification matches.[10] He suffered a serious knee injury in a 1986 World Cup qualifying match away to Honduras.[11] His replacement, George Pakos, scored the only goal in a crucial 1–0 victory.[12] Recovering from injury, he was not named to Canada's roster for the 1986 World Cup, Canada's only appearance.

His final international game came in June 1994 in a friendly match against the Netherlands.[9]

International goals
Scores and results list Canada's goal tally first.
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
19 June 1985Gwangju Mudeung Stadium, Gwangju, South Korea Iraq1–01–6President's Cup
22 October 1987Estadio Nacional, Tegucigalpa, Honduras Honduras1–01–1Friendly match
326 March 1988Lima, Peru Peru3–13–1Friendly match
45 April 1988National Stadium, Kingston, Jamaica Jamaica1–04–0Friendly match
55 April 1988National Stadium, Kingston, Jamaica Jamaica2–04–0Friendly match
65 April 1988National Stadium, Kingston, Jamaica Jamaica3–04–0Friendly match
714 April 1988Swangard Stadium, Burnaby, Canada Mexico1–01–1Friendly match
82 October 1988Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago1–12–1Friendly match
913 May 1990Swangard Stadium, Burnaby, Canada Mexico1–12–1North American Soccer Championship
1013 May 1990Swangard Stadium, Burnaby, Canada Mexico2–12–1North American Soccer Championship
112 April 1992Royal Athletic Park, Victoria, Canada China PR1–05–2Friendly match
122 April 1992Royal Athletic Park, Victoria, Canada China PR2–05–2Friendly match
1320 May 1992Varsity Stadium, Toronto, Canada Scotland1–11–3Friendly match
144 March 1993LeBard Stadium, Costa Mesa, USA United States2–12–2Friendly match
1511 March 1993Royal Athletic Park, Victoria, Canada South Korea1–02–0Friendly match
164 April 1993Estadio Nacional, Tegucigalpa, Honduras Honduras1–02–21994 FIFA World Cup qualification
1711 April 1993Swangard Stadium, Burnaby, Canada El Salvador2–02–01994 FIFA World Cup qualification
1818 April 1993Swangard Stadium, Burnaby, Canada Honduras3–13–11994 FIFA World Cup qualification
192 May 1993Estadio Cuscatlán, San Salvador, El Salvador El Salvador1–02–11994 FIFA World Cup qualification
  • Catliff scored a 20th international goal against the United States in the other 1990 North American Championship game, but this match was not considered official.

Personal life

Catliff recently worked as global Vice President of Sales with Helly Hansen outdoor apparel company but now works with Firstar Sports.[13] He lives with his wife Sarah and his three soccer loving sons, Brendan (born 1994), and Jamie (born 1998), and Andrew Catliff (born 1996) John is the team Coach of the Vancouver Football Club Under 14 boys, where his son Jamie plays.[14] Catliff is an Honoured member of The Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame.[15]

Honours
1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991
1988, 1990

References
  1. "Canada Soccer - John Catliff". Canada Soccer. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  2. Goalscoring for Canada National Team – RSSSF
  3. Association announces All Time Canada Men's XI Canadasoccer.com
  4. Hall of Fame Class of 2003 Archived 25 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine – Varsity Club Harvard
  5. "Catliff Named All-America". www.thecrimson.com.
  6. http://www.canadasoccer.com/soccer-hall-of-fame-to-honour-11-greatest-players-and-builders-p147401
  7. "The Year in American Soccer – 1988". Archived from the original on 10 April 2009. Retrieved 25 June 2009.
  8. "The Year in American Soccer, 1990". Archived from the original on 8 January 2009. Retrieved 25 June 2009.
  9. "John Catliff". www.canadasoccer.com. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  10. Record at FIFA Tournaments – FIFA
  11. "John T. Catliff '86". www.harvardvarsityclub.org. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  12. "Canada v Honduras, 25 August 1985". 11v11.com. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  13. Business no sweat for ex-soccer pro Catliff – Business Edge
  14. Vancouver FC – Club Contacts
  15. This Week in Canadian Soccer
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