| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Brian Boyer Bliss | ||
| Date of birth | (1965-09-28)September 28, 1965 (age 60) | ||
| Place of birth | Webster, New York, U.S. | ||
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) | ||
| Position | Defender | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Sporting Kansas City (Director of Player Personnel) | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1983–1986 | Southern Connecticut Owls | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1987–1988 | Cleveland Force | 51 | (4) |
| 1989 | Albany Capitals | 5 | (0) |
| 1990 | Boston Bolts | ? | (?) |
| 1990–1991 | Energie Cottbus | 13 | (1) |
| 1991 | Chemnitzer FC | 12 | (0) |
| 1992–1996 | FC Carl Zeiss Jena | 83 | (1) |
| 1996–1997 | Columbus Crew | 31 | (2) |
| 1997 | MetroStars | 16 | (0) |
| 1998 | Kansas City Wizards | 3 | (0) |
| 1999 | Connecticut Wolves | 22 | (0) |
| Total | 236 | (8) | |
| International career | |||
| 1984–1995 | United States | 33 | (2) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1999 | Connecticut Wolves | ||
| 2000–2006 | Kansas City Wizards (assistant) | ||
| 2006 | Kansas City Wizards (interim) | ||
| 2012–2013 | United States U20 (assistant) | ||
| 2013 | Columbus Crew (interim) | ||
| 2015 | Chicago Fire (interim) | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Brian Boyer Bliss (born September 28, 1965) is an American retiredsoccer defender and front office executive. He also serves as an assistant coach for theUnited States U-20 national team.
Bliss played professionally in Europe and the United States, including the originalMajor Indoor Soccer League,American Soccer League, andAmerican Professional Soccer League. He earned forty-fourcaps, scoring two goals, with theU.S. national soccer team and was part of1990 FIFA World Cup squad.
Bliss attendedWebster Schroeder High School in Webster, New York. After high school, he attendedSouthern Connecticut State University from 1983 to 1986. On December 2, 1984, Bliss earned his firstcap in a 2–2 tie withEcuador. He would not play again until 1987 when he would play two of the three U.S. games. That year, theCleveland Force of theMajor Indoor Soccer League drafted Bliss with the top pick. He would play a single season with the Force in 1987–1988. In 1988, he played in theSummer Olympics. In 1989, Bliss played five games with theAlbany Capitals of theAmerican 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 the1990 FIFA World Cup. He played only one of the team's three games in that cup, as a substitute in the loss toAustria. In 1990, he was on the roster of theBoston Bolts of theAmerican Professional Soccer League.[1]
After the World Cup, Bliss went to Germany to play withEnergie Cottbus of the1990–91 NOFV-Oberliga. He later went on to play forChemnitzer FC and thenFC Carl Zeiss Jena. Bliss was one of the last cuts from the final1994 FIFA World Cup roster when he tore cartilage in his knee.[2]
AsMajor 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 wasallocated to theColumbus Crew. He played a season and a half for Columbus, being traded 12 games into the 1997 season to theMetroStars forA.J. Wood. Bliss finished the 1997 season with the MetroStars, but was traded by the team to theKansas City Wizards for a first round college draft pick during the 1998 off-season. He played only three games of the 1998 season. In 1999, he finished his career with theConnecticut Wolves.
After retirement, he went on to coach theConnecticut Wolves of theA-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. He also coached the JV squad at Olathe Northwest Highschool where he coached Andy Cockrum who went on to play for La Masia, which is FC Barcelona's academy team.
Bliss served as the technical director of the Columbus Crew for six seasons, helping the Crew earn twoSupporters' Shield and oneMLS Cup. He served as interim head coach for part of the 2013 season following the dismissal ofRobert Warzycha, but he was not retained as head coach and departed for Chicago following the hiring ofGregg Berhalter.[3]
On September 20, 2015, Bliss was named interim coach of the Chicago Fire, while retaining his technical director duties at the club.[4]
He joinedSporting Kansas City as Director of Player Personnel in January 2016.[5]
United States squads | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||
