| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1982-08-26)26 August 1982 (age 42) | ||
| Place of birth | Kilkenny, Ireland | ||
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Castle Villa | |||
| Colaiste Lorcain | |||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2003–2006 | UC Santa Barbara Gauchos | 77 | (11) |
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2002–2003 | Kildare County | 7 | (0) |
| 2006 | San Fernando Valley Quakes | 4 | (2) |
| 2007 | New England Revolution | 1 | (0) |
| 2008–2009 | Ventura County Fusion | 22 | (1) |
| Total | 34 | (3) | |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Bryan Byrne (born 26 August 1982) is an Irish former professionalfootballer who played as amidfielder in Europe and the United States.
Byrne was born on 26 August 1982, inKilkenny, Ireland, and was raised inCastledermot.[2][3] He started his career at local clubCastle Villa A.F.C., where he played from U-10's through U-18's.[4][5]
Byrne was signed byDermot Keely to play senior-level soccer forKildare County F.C. for the 2002–03 season.[3] Byrne's stay was short, as Keely's son,Alan Keely, was returning from playingcollege soccer in Santa Barbara and Dermot recommended Byrne as a player to target.[6] He appeared 7 total times for the club.[7]
Byrne moved to the US and enrolled at theUniversity of California, Santa Barbara, where he was a student-athlete for theUC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's soccer team. He appeared in 77 games for UCSB throughout his four-year career, scoring 11 goals and assisting on 19 others.[8][9][10][11] Byrne and UCSB won the2006 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship and he was selected to the all-College Cup team.[12]
While enrolled at UCSB, Byrne also played withSan Fernando Valley Quakes of theUSL Premier Development League, scoring two goals in four appearances.[13]
Byrne was drafted in the third round (38th overall) of the2007 MLS SuperDraft by theNew England Revolution and managerSteve Nicol, a formerLiverpool player.[14] There had been talk before the draft that Byrne would be drafted and sign withLos Angeles Galaxy, but a disagreement over his playing position and the signing ofDavid Beckham resulted in the team passing on him.[6][15]
Byrne signed a contract with the Revolution in April 2007, after the Revolution cleared roster space by waiving former UCSB teammateTony Lochhead.[16] He would mainly feature for the New England Reserves team, but made his MLS debut againstReal Salt Lake on 2 June 2007.[17]
Byrne left New England Revolution at the end of the year and subsequently signed forVentura County Fusion. Byrne played two seasons with Fusion, helping them to theUSL Premier Development League championship in 2009. He was released by Fusion at the end of 2009 due to the PDL's age restrictions.[18][19]
Byrne has appeared for a number of amateur teams includingHollywood United F.C., Los Angeles Celtic, andDoxa Italia.[6][20][21] Byrne was Doxa Italia's first ever goal scorer in theLamar Hunt Open Cup.[22]
Byrne owns and runs a website where he talks about soccer cleats, SoccerCleats101.[6]
Ventura County Fusion
UC Santa Barbara
