ALL-IRELAND-WINNING manager with Donegal Jim McGuinness has taken another step away from GAA and further into association football after taking the head coach role with Charlotte Independence.
The North Carolina club play in the United Soccer League, the tier below Major League Soccer.
The Irish Times, with whom McGuinness writes a column on GAA, were the first to report this morning that the Donegal man had signed a three-year contract with the American club.
Since departing Gaelic Games, McGuinness has taken up coaching roles with Glasgow Celtic and then in the Chinese Super League as assistant to Roger Schmidt at Beijing Guoan.
McGuinness expressed his delight at the move in a press release that was subsequently issued.
“I am very excited about the prospect of taking up the head coach role at the Charlotte Independence and am both proud and grateful to the club for having put its faith in me. I knew from early on in our discussions that the club and I shared a vision for what we want to achieve and now it’s about everybody involved working hard to make that happen.
“I have learned a great deal already about the USL and firmly believe we can be really competitive in the USL Championship in 2019. It’s an exciting time for the game in the United States which is growing all the time and I believe the Charlotte Independence will have a major influence in the years to come.”
Charlotte Independence club president Jim McPhilliamy welcomed McGuinness to the club.
“Jim has a proven track record as both a coach who gets the best out of players and also as a winner. That is a very appealing combination and once we knew there was a possibility of bringing him to the Charlotte Independence we were very excited about the prospect and are delighted to have him on board.
“With Jim as Head Coach and our experienced management team, we believe we are now ideally positioned to compete strongly in the USL Championship in 2019 and beyond.”
- Originally published at 09.08
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Best of luck Jim
Best of luck Soccer Coach McGuiness
@800yearsofoppresion: brilliant
Good luck Jim an inspirational man, i have a feeling he would be more Jose than Pep in style. Wish him the very best of luck.
It’s not Glasgow Celtic it is just Celtic same with Rangers, Glasgow has never been part of their names. Other teams that came later do, Queens park, Belfast etc but these two clubs do not use place names.
@samstheman: You follow rugby Im sure you are aware there are VVA Saracens, Sao Paolo Saracens, Toa Saracens, Seattle Saracens, Tbilisi’s Lelo Saracens, Timisoara Saracens, Impala Saracens, KL Saracens, and Abu Dhabi Saracens. Should we refer to Saracens as London Saracens from now on?
@Kingshu: other teams that come later? QPR 1886, Glasgow Celtic 1888
@Michael McLoughlin: Really? They weren’t called Queens park Celtic to be before Celtic. Rangers FC 1872 QPR 1886.
Belfast Celtic 1891, Donegal Celtic 1970 Lurgan Celtic 1903, Castlebar Celtic 1924, Tuam Celtic 1974, Bloemfontein Celtic 1969 (Celtic name since 1984). There is no Glasgow Celtic its just Celtic the later clubs have place names. There are 17 Arsenals worldwide but you don’t call Arsenal, London Arsenal do you?
He’ll be a real hit in the locker room
Hard to believe he was the last manager to beat Dublin in the championship
@Andy mc Laughlin: Dublin’s home record is very impressive
@Rochelle: Did an alarm go off in your house when someone posted a comment about the Dubs?
@Rochelle: the away one is decent too
They will be a very boring soccer team
@John O Reilly: almost as boring as you
I hope he is not as defensive as Donegal . And definitely no hand passing .
Must be a slow news day.
@David: you must be having a slow day David to be reading and commenting on articles that don’t interest you
@The Second Last Word: gteat comeback really did you think of that all on your own. Well done
@David: Dave – the home of witty banter.
@David: you may want to check the definition of comeback
Saw Jim speak at a conference. Very passionate guy. Wish him the best! Might see it on Netflix documentary soon ;-)
will tap up the loi players no doubt
Great move. USL is a very interesting and competitive league!
@damian: and shite you forgot shite
No one is going know what his on about