| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Desmond Kevin Armstrong | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1964-11-02)November 2, 1964 (age 61) | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Washington, D.C., U.S. | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | |||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1982–1985 | Maryland Terrapins | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 1986–1988 | Cleveland Force(indoor) | 93 | (14) | ||||||||||||||
| 1988–1989 | Baltimore Blast(indoor) | 19 | (5) | ||||||||||||||
| 1991 | Santos | ||||||||||||||||
| 1991 | Maryland Bays | 4 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 1995 | Washington Warthogs(indoor) | 1 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 1996 | Charlotte Eagles | ||||||||||||||||
| Total | 117 | (19) | |||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1987–1994 | United States | 81 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1999–2006 | Montreat College | ||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||
Desmond Kevin Armstrong (born November 2, 1964) is anAmerican[1] formersoccerdefender andmidfielder, who was a member of theUnited States national team from 1987 to 1994. He played three seasons in theMajor Indoor Soccer League, part of one in theBrazilian First Division, two in theAmerican Professional Soccer League and two inUSISL.
He is currently technical director of FC Columbus in theNational Premier Soccer League.[2] His sons,Ezra andDida, are also professional soccer players.
Armstrong was born and raised in Washington, D.C. Up until age 11, basketball was his main sport and he hadn't played soccer. After an altercation with another boy on the basketball court, the boy's father, who was a youth soccer coach, invited Armstrong to come try out for his team.[3] From that point on Armstrong moved into high school, college, and national team soccer. He attendedHoward High School in Ellicott City, Maryland. Armstrong's college career was spent at theUniversity of Maryland, where he was first team All ACC in 1984 and 1985 and second team All ACC in 1983. He played in a total of 78 games for the university, tallying 24 goals and 18 assists. In 1986, he was part of the Fairfax Spartans club which won theNational Amateur Cup, defeating St. Louis Busch 3–0. The Spartans featured other national team playersJohn Kerr,Bruce Murray andJohn Stollmeyer in addition to Armstrong.
Armstrong played two seasons for theCleveland Force of theMajor Indoor Soccer League (MISL) from 1986 to 1988. At the end of the 1987–1988 season, he transferred to theBaltimore Blast. However, on January 14, 1989, he broke his leg midway through the season. In February 1991, he signed withSantos of theBrazilian First Division making Armstrong the first American player ever to sign a professional contract in Brazil. Upon completing the season Armstrong returned to the U.S. with theMaryland Bays, in theAmerican Professional Soccer League. That year, the Bays made it to the league semifinals before falling to theAlbany Capitals. In 1995, he moved to theWashington Warthogs of theContinental Indoor Soccer League on loan fromMajor League Soccer as he was the fifth player signed to the new league. Armstrong decided to compete with theCharlotte Eagles of theUnited States Interregional Soccer League (USISL) for the 1996 season opting out of his contract with Major League Soccer and later retiring from the game at the age of 31. That year he was selected to the USISL All Pro League Team.[4]
His first appearance for theUnited States national team came in 1987 in a match againstEgypt. He was also a member of the Olympic team in the1988 Summer Olympics inSeoul, South Korea. His performance with the Olympic team made him a mainstay on the national team through the early 1990s, playing in all three of the team's appearances at the1990 FIFA World Cup. He made a total of 81 appearances for the national team, though he never scored a goal at this level.
Armstrong was the first U.S.-bornAfrican American player to represent the nation at the World Cup.[5]
Since his retirement from international soccer, he has remained active in coaching and community initiatives. He has spent time organizing for inner-city Christian Ministries programs such as Soccer Beats (now Heroes FA) Also now owning a team based out of Murfreesboro Tennessee Legacy Heroes FC. With a new entrance into Pioneer Premier League 2, Led By Luis A. In the mid-1990s he coached the USA Hurricanes club level soccer team in Charlotte, NC. In 1999, he became the head coach of theMontreat College Cavaliers inMontreat, North Carolina which play in theNAIA. He remained in this position until his retirement in 2006. Armstrong also coached the youth team '85 HFC Vipers ofAsheville, North Carolina from 2000 to 2004. After leaving Montreat, Armstrong joined the youth club, Bethesda Roadrunners, as its head coach. He also created another section of Heroes FA, in Maryland and is currently their head coach and technical director. He is also the Director of Recruiting in Ohio forBrad Friedel's Premier Soccer Academies. He was named technical director ofRocket City United on December 11, 2009.[6]
In 2012, he created the Heroes Soccer Club inNashville, Tennessee.[7] As of 2022[update], the youth soccer club has 550 players and plays in several venues in the Nashville area.[5]
Armstrong has worked for ABC Sports. During the1994 FIFA World Cup, Armstrong was anESPN studio analyst. Armstrong provided commentary for allCleveland City Stars home games onSportsTime Ohio.
On May 11, 2007, he was inducted into the Maryland Soccer Hall of Fame.[8]
On February 29, 2012, he was inducted to theNational Soccer Hall of Fame.
United States squads | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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