Paul Peschisolido

Paolo Pasquale Peschisolido (born 25 May 1971), commonly known as Paul Peschisolido, is a Canadian soccer manager and former player, and husband of Karren, Baroness Brady. Peschisolido was manager of English League Two club Burton Albion from May 2009 until March 2012, when he was dismissed following a poor run of games which left his side 17th in the league.

Paul Peschisolido
Peschisolido in 2011
Personal information
Full name Paolo Pasquale Peschisolido
Date of birth (1971-05-25) 25 May 1971
Place of birth Scarborough, Ontario, Canada
Height 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Position(s) Striker
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1990–1992 Toronto Blizzard
1990–1991 Kansas City Comets (indoor)
1992–1994 Birmingham City 43 (16)
1994–1996 Stoke City 66 (19)
1996 Birmingham City 9 (1)
1996–1997 West Bromwich Albion 45 (18)
1997–2001 Fulham 95 (24)
2000 → Queens Park Rangers (loan) 5 (1)
2001 → Sheffield United (loan) 5 (2)
2001 → Norwich City (loan) 5 (0)
2001–2004 Sheffield United 79 (17)
2004–2007 Derby County[A] 91 (20)
2007–2008 Luton Town 4 (0)
2009 St Patrick's Athletic 0 (0)
Total 447 (118)
National team
1986–1987 Canada U-17 7 (0)
1988 Canada U-20 6 (2)
1990–1992 Canada U-23 12 (5)
1992–2004 Canada 53 (10)
Teams managed
2009–2012 Burton Albion
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

A forward, Peschisolido began his career in the Canadian Soccer League with the Toronto Blizzard and played in the Major Indoor Soccer League with the Kansas City Comets before moving to England.

Over 16 seasons he scored 118 goals from 447 appearances in the Football League, playing for nine different clubs: Birmingham City, Stoke City, West Bromwich Albion, Fulham, Queens Park Rangers, Sheffield United, Norwich City, Derby County and Luton Town.

Peschisolido represented his country from U-16 level upwards to the senior level spanning from 1986 to 2004, making his senior debut for the Canadian national team in 1992. He went on to play 53 times for Canada, scoring 10 goals, in a 12-year senior international career.[1][2] On 1 June 2013, he was inducted into the Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame.

Club career

Early years

Born in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada, Peschisolido began his professional playing career when still a high-schooler with Archbishop Denis O'Connor Catholic High School in Ajax. He led the team to OFSAA finals in his last year then moved on as a trainee with the Toronto Blizzard of the Canadian Soccer League, where he was named the "Rookie of the Year" in 1989.[3] He also played the 1990–91 Major Indoor Soccer League season with the Kansas City Comets, being named the league's 'Newcomer of the Year'.[4]

Birmingham City

After spending a year with the Juventus academy, returning homesick saw him offered the opportunity from his former national youth team coach Tony Taylor to join Birmingham City for £25,000 in November 1992.[5] He was joint top scorer in each of his two seasons with the club.[6]

Stoke City

In August 1994, he moved on to Stoke City in a £400,000 plus player exchange deal involving Dave Regis.[5][7] He was top scorer with 15 goals for the 1994–95 season,[8] and remained at Stoke until March 1996, when he returned to Birmingham until the end of the 1995–96 season, scoring once in nine appearances.[9]

West Bromwich Albion

Peschisolido signed for West Bromwich Albion in a £600,000 deal in July 1996.[10] He made his first appearance for the club in the 3–1 home League Cup defeat to Colchester United on 3 September 1996. Four days later, Peschisolido scored just nine minutes into his Albion league debut, as the Midlands side ran out 2–0 winners at Queens Park Rangers.[5] He was joint top League scorer that season for the club.[11]

Fulham

After 51 appearances and 21 goals for West Brom, he dropped down a division to join Fulham in October 1997, for a £1.1 million transfer fee.[12][13] He appeared 37 times for 'the Cottagers' in the 1997–98 season, scoring 13 goals and helping the team win promotion as Division Two champions.[5] In the next two seasons, he produced 10 goals from 40 appearances and 7 from 36 appearances in all competitions.[14][15]

After appearing in two League Cup matches for Fulham in the 2000–01 season, Peschisolido was loaned to Queens Park Rangers in November 2000.[16] He scored on his QPR debut, playing alongside the much taller Peter Crouch in a 1–1 draw against Portsmouth.[17][18] In January 2001, he went on loan again, this time to Sheffield United,[19] also scoring on his debut for "the Blades", before spending a further loan period at Norwich City.[20]

Sheffield United

He later re-joined Sheffield United in a permanent deal for £250,000, after agreeing to a wage cut.[21] He was a key player in the 2002–03 season, helping the club reach the semi-finals of the 2003 FA Cup and League Cup and the Division One play-off final.[5] In the play-off semi-final against Nottingham Forest, Sheffield United came back from a two-goal deficit to take the game into extra time. Peschisolido came off the substitutes' bench at the midpoint of added time to score the goal that took the lead, which is remembered not just for its impact on the game but also for the player's frantic celebrations afterwards.[22][23] In the 2003 FA Cup semi-final against Arsenal, he was denied an equalising goal by goalkeeper David Seaman, who made a one-handed "claw-back" save from Peschisolido's header which three-time Best European Goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel later described as "the best stop I’ve ever seen in the flesh".[24][25]

Derby County

In March 2004, Peschisolido joined Derby County in a swap deal, with Izale McLeod moving to United on loan for the rest of the season.[26] Once again he scored on debut, contributing four goals in his first three appearances, including two against local rivals Nottingham Forest, one of which was gifted to him by goalkeeper Barry Roche, who sliced an attempted clearance after the ball deflected off a plastic coffee cup on the pitch.[27][28] After Derby avoided relegation in 2004, Peschisolido's "knack for scoring vital goals from the substitutes' bench"[29] helped them reach the playoffs in 2005 and 2007, though he started in the playoff final against West Bromwich Albion at Wembley Stadium, which Derby won 1–0 to earn promotion to the Premier League.[30] Peschisolido was released by the club at the end of that season.[31]

Luton Town

On 16 July 2007 Peschisolido signed for Luton Town on a one-year deal.[32] He played just four league matches and one cup match for Luton, scoring once in the Football League Trophy against Northampton Town,[33] before an ankle problem kept him out of action from September onwards. After the injury failed to respond to injections it was confirmed in December that he would require an operation, ruling him out for the rest of the season.[34] Luton released Peschisolido at the end of the 2007–08 season, following their relegation to League Two.[35] Failing to fully recover from injury, he would subsequently retire and not seek a new club. By this time, he had accumulated 447 Football League appearances and 118 goals over 16 years, predominantly in the second tier of English professional football. He also made 76 cup appearances, scoring 22 goals.[9][36]

International career

Peschisolido played in all of Canada's three games at the 1987 FIFA U-16 World Championship which were held in Canada. He earned 7 caps at the U-17 level, 6 caps at the U-20 level scoring 2 goals, and 12 caps at the U-23 level scoring 5 goals.

He made his senior national team debut for Canada on 13 June 1992 in a match against Hong Kong at Varsity Stadium where he scored his first international goal. Peschisolido formed effective striker partnerships for Canada with Alex Bunbury and Carlo Corazzin over their years with the national team. Peschisolido scored the majority of his international goals between 1995 and 1996 at Commonwealth Stadium that included a number of World Cup qualification matches which led to the venue becoming lovingly nicknamed St. Paul's Cathedral amongst the Canadian fans and press.[37][38] He scored his last international goal on his 50th cap on 13 June 2004 in a World Cup qualification match against Belize, exactly 12 years to the day from his first international goal and first cap. He earned a total of 53 caps from 1992 to 2004, and scored 10 goals making him tied 9th with Tomasz Radzinski in all-time scoring for Canada.[39] He represented Canada in four FIFA World Cup qualification campaigns (1994, 1998, 2002, and 2006) in 26 FIFA World Cup qualification matches[40] He played in the Canadian squad that won the 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup and played in all of Canada's three games at the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup. His final international cap was on 4 September 2004 at Commonwealth Stadium in a World Cup qualification match against Honduras.

Managerial career

On 15 January 2009, he was appointed as Jeff Kenna's assistant manager at League of Ireland club St Patrick's Athletic.[41] Both Kenna and Peschisolido registered as players for the 2009 season in case of emergency.[42] On 15 May 2009, he resigned from this post for "personal reasons" with immediate effect.[43]

Three days later, on 18 May 2009, he was appointed manager of Burton Albion taking over from caretaker manager Roy McFarland, who had taken the club to promotion to League Two after the departure of Nigel Clough.[44] Peschisolido was in charge of Burton for almost 3 years but was relieved of his duties on 17 March 2012, following a winless run of 14 games.[45]

Personal life

In 1995, Peschisolido married Karren Brady, who was at the time managing director of Birmingham City F.C. The couple have two children, daughter Sophia and son Paolo.[46] Peschisolido is a cousin of former National Hockey League (NHL) player Mike Ricci.[47]

Career statistics

Club

Source:[48]

Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Birmingham City 1992–93 First Division 19710002[lower-alpha 1]0227
1993–94 First Division 2490021002610
Total 43161021204817
Stoke City 1994–95 First Division 401320324[lower-alpha 1]04915
1995–96 First Division 26610312[lower-alpha 1]2329
Total 66193063628124
Birmingham City 1995–96 First Division 9100000091
West Bromwich Albion 1996–97 First Division 37151010003915
1997–98 First Division 83004300126
Total 45181053005121
Fulham 1997–98 Second Division 321330002[lower-alpha 2]03713
1998–99 Second Division 3375221004010
1999–2000 First Division 304204300367
2000–01 First Division 0000200020
Total 9524102842011530
Queens Park Rangers (loan) 2000–01 First Division 5100000051
Sheffield United (loan) 2000–01 First Division 5200000052
Norwich City (loan) 2000–01 First Division 5000000050
Sheffield United 2001–02 First Division 296002000316
2002–03 First Division 23341522[lower-alpha 3]1347
2003–04 First Division 278411000329
Total 79178282219722
Derby County 2003–04 First Division 114000000114
2004–05 Championship 32811102[lower-alpha 4]0369
2005–06 Championship 345221000377
2006–07 Championship 143212010194
Total 912054403010324
Luton Town 2007–08 League One 4000001[lower-alpha 5]151
Career Total 4471182883313164524143
  1. Appearances in Anglo-Italian Cup
  2. Appearances in Second Division play-offs
  3. Appearances in First Division play-offs
  4. Appearances in Championship play-offs
  5. Appearances in Football League Trophy

International

Source:[49]

National teamYearAppsGoals
Canada 199241
199370
199564
199653
199750
199910
2000121
200150
200330
200451
Total5310

International goals
Scores and results list Canada's goal tally first.[50]
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
113 June 1992Varsity Stadium, Toronto, Canada Hong Kong1–03–1Columbus 500 Cup
222 May 1995Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton, Canada Northern Ireland1–02–0Canada Cup
322 May 1995Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton, Canada Northern Ireland2–02–0Canada Cup
428 May 1995Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton, Canada Chile1–01–2Canada Cup
53 August 1995Varsity Stadium, Toronto, Canada Trinidad and Tobago3–03–1Caribana Cup
630 August 1996Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton, Canada Panama2–03–11998 FIFA World Cup qualification
710 October 1996Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton, Canada Cuba2–02–01998 FIFA World Cup qualification
813 October 1996Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton, Canada Cuba1–02–01998 FIFA World Cup qualification
930 May 2000Winnipeg Soccer Complex, Winnipeg, Canada Honduras1–02–1Friendly
1013 June 2004Richardson Memorial Stadium, Kingston, Canada Belize1–04–02006 FIFA World Cup Qualification

Managerial statistics
Team Nat From To Record
GWDLWin %
Burton Albion  England 18 May 2009 17 March 2012 141 44 36 61 031.21
As of 17 March 2012.[51]

Honours

Club

Fulham

Derby County

International

Canada

Individual

Notes
A. ^ Soccerbase's stats for the match between Derby County and Birmingham City on 9 March 2007 fail to include appearances by substitutes for either side, one of whom was Peschisolido.[55][56] Therefore, until and unless they correct it, he should have one more appearance for Derby than given on his Soccerbase page.

References
  1. "Profile: Paul Peschisolido". Canadian Soccer Association. Retrieved 1 October 2010.
  2. "Canadian Men's World Cup Team Goalscoring Leaders" (PDF). Canadian Men's World Cup Team Media Notes. Canadian Soccer Association. 22 January 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 June 2006.
  3. Grossman, David (5 October 1989). "Soccer star dreams of pro career in Italy" (reprint). Toronto Star. NewsBank. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
  4. Barnas, Jo-Ann (23 April 1991). "Rookie wins MSL award: Peschisolido chosen Newcomer of Year" (reprint). Kansas City Star. NewsBank. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
  5. Matthews, Tony (2005). The Who's Who of West Bromwich Albion. Breedon Books. pp. 177–178. ISBN 1-85983-474-4.
  6. Matthews, Tony (1995). Birmingham City: A Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books. pp. 228–29. ISBN 978-1-85983-010-9.
  7. "Sporting Digest: Football". The Independent. 2 August 1994. Retrieved 31 January 2012.
  8. "The Teams". This Is Staffordshire. 11 June 2011. Retrieved 31 January 2012.
  9. "Paul Peschisolido All time playing career". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 October 2010.
  10. Riley, Catherine (23 July 1996). "United give Yugoslav trial period". The Independent. Independent Print Limited. Retrieved 31 March 2012.
  11. "West Brom 1996/1997 player appearances". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 October 2010.
  12. Irwin, Mark (24 October 1997). "Pesch is the man for Kev" (reprint). Daily Mirror. The Free Library. Retrieved 31 March 2012.
  13. "Peschi for Premier!" (reprint). Daily Mirror. The Free Library. 25 October 1997. Retrieved 31 March 2012.
  14. "Fulham 1998/1999 player appearances". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 October 2010.
  15. "Fulham 1999/2000 player appearances". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 October 2010.
  16. "Peschisolido makes Hoops move". BBC Sport. 3 November 2000. Retrieved 3 May 2007.
  17. Warwick, Graham (5 November 2000). "Peschisolido is a power Ranger" (reprint). Sunday Mirror. The Free Library (Farlex). Retrieved 14 October 2010.
  18. "QPR 1–1 Portsmouth". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 4 November 2000. Retrieved 31 March 2012.
  19. "Peschisolido joins Blades on loan". BBC Sport. 18 January 2001. Retrieved 3 May 2007.
  20. "Games played by Paul Peschisolido in 2000/2001". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 October 2010.
  21. "Blades cut Peschisolido deal". BBC Sport. 6 July 2001. Retrieved 3 May 2007.
  22. Fordyce, Tom (19 May 2003). "And the winner is..." BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
  23. "Blades win play-off thriller". Yorkshire Post. 15 May 2003. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
  24. Winter, Henry (14 April 2003). "Warnock fury as Arsenal set up double Double". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
  25. Schmeichel, Peter (18 January 2004). "The best save I ever saw". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
  26. "Peschisolido in swap deal". BBC Sport. 12 March 2004. Retrieved 3 May 2007.
  27. Edwards, Ian (21 March 2004). "Derby 4 Nottingham Forest 2: Forest hit by Peschisolido". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
  28. "The Coffee Horror show". BBC Derby. 22 March 2004. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
  29. "First Team: Paul Peschisolido". Luton Town F.C./FL Interactive. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
  30. Fletcher, Paul (28 May 2007). "Derby 1–0 West Brom". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
  31. "Experienced pair to leave Derby". BBC Sport. 1 June 2007. Retrieved 1 June 2007.
  32. "Peschisolido completes Luton move". BBC Sport. 16 July 2007. Retrieved 23 January 2008.
  33. "Games played by Paul Peschisolido in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
  34. "Pesch ruled out for season". Luton Town F.C. 29 December 2007. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
  35. "Relegated Luton start clear-out". BBC Sport. 1 May 2008. Retrieved 17 May 2008.
  36. Hugman, Barry J, ed. (2007). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2007–08. Edinburgh: Mainstream. p. 141. ISBN 978-1-84596-246-3.
  37. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 13 June 2015. Retrieved 11 June 2015.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  38. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 14 June 2015. Retrieved 11 June 2015.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  39. Canada – Record International Players – RSSSF
  40. Record at FIFA Tournaments – FIFA
  41. O'Malley, Carl (15 January 2009). "Peschisolido to assist Kenna at Pat's". The Irish Times. Retrieved 15 January 2009.
  42. "Kenna and Peschisolido register for Pat's". RTÉ Sport. 4 March 2009. Retrieved 13 August 2009.
  43. "Peschisolido departs". St Patrick's Athletic F.C. 15 May 2009. Retrieved 18 May 2009.
  44. "Peschisolido named Burton manager". BBC Sport. 18 May 2009. Retrieved 18 May 2009.
  45. "Burton Albion sack manager Paul Peschisolido". BBC Sport. 17 March 2012. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
  46. Tucker, Ian (14 May 2008). "Karren Brady: In a league of her own". The Observer. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
  47. Rivett, Al (6 June 2010). "Pesch ponders his next move". Durham Region Media. Metroland. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
  48. Paul Peschisolido at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
  49. Peschisolido, Paul at National-Football-Teams.com
  50. "Paul Peschisolido". Canadian Soccer. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
  51. "Paul Peschisolido's managerial career". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
  52. "Derby 1–0 West Brom". BBC Sport. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  53. "Canadian Players of the Year / Joueurs canadiens de l'année". Canadian Soccer Association. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
  54. "DeVos, Peschisolido elected to Hall". Retrieved 21 April 2013.
  55. "Football League Championship 09-03-2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 March 2010.
  56. "Birmingham 1–0 Derby". BBC Sport. 9 March 2007. Retrieved 21 March 2010.
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