Atlanta Silverbacks

Atlanta Silverbacks

Full name	Atlanta Silverbacks
Nickname(s)	Silverbacks
Founded	1995
Stadium	Atlanta Silverbacks Park Chamblee, Georgia (Capacity: 5,000)
Owners	Boris Jerkunica John Latham
Head Coach	Alex Pineda Chacón
League	North American Soccer League
2011 (NASL)	Regular Season: 8th, Playoffs: DNQ
Website	Club home page
Home colors Away colors
Current season

Atlanta Silverbacks is an American professional soccer team based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1995, the team plays in the North American Soccer League (NASL), the second tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, having previously sat out the 2009 and 2010 seasons while the ownership "assessed the soccer landscape" eventually announcing their intention to return to professional competition in 2010.

The team plays its home games at Atlanta Silverbacks Park, a soccer-specific stadium in Chamblee, Georgia, 15 miles northeast of downtown Atlanta. The team's colors are red and black. The team's head coach is Alex Pineda Chacón, a former player and assistant coach under José Manuel Abundis.

The team has a development team, Atlanta Silverbacks Reserves, which plays in the National Premier Soccer League, and a sister organization, the Atlanta Silverbacks Women, which plays in the women's USL W-League. They also used to have a USL PDL affiliate, Atlanta Silverbacks U23's, which ceased operations at the same time as the old USL-1 club.

History

The franchise began as the Atlanta Ruckus in 1995 and played in the A-League. The club was re-named the Silverbacks in 1998, after a change in ownership.

In November 2009 the Silverbacks announced their intent to leave the USL First Division to become the co-founders of a new North American Soccer League, which would begin play in 2010. The league, which has yet to be sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation or the Canadian Soccer Association, would also comprise the Carolina RailHawks, Crystal Palace Baltimore, Miami FC, Minnesota Thunder, Montreal Impact, FC Tampa Bay, Vancouver Whitecaps and a brand new team led by St. Louis Soccer United. However the NASL was not sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation and the Silverbacks did not play during 2010.

On November 20, 2010, USSF sanctioned the NASL and the Atlanta Silverbacks immediately re-joined for the 2011 season.

Colors and badge

The Silverbacks official colors are red, black and white, and the club logo features three colors prominently, along with a stylized depiction of a silverback gorilla heading a soccer ball beneath the corporate wordmark. The club's name was inspired Willie B., a gorilla who was a main attraction of Zoo Atlanta until his death in February 2000.

Stadium

• DeKalb Memorial Stadium; Clarkston, Georgia (2003-2005)
• Atlanta Silverbacks Park; Chamblee, Georgia (2006-present)

The Silverbacks play their home games at Atlanta Silverbacks Park, a 5,000-seater soccer specific stadium built in 2006 for use specifically by the team. In addition to the main stadium, the complex features several international size practice fields, a club house, pool and fitness center. Over the years the stadium has gone by a variety of sponsorship names, including ReMax Greater Atlanta Stadium.

Prior to the 2006 season the Silverbacks played at various municipal stadiums in the Greater Atlanta area, most notably DeKalb Memorial Stadium in Clarkston.

Club culture

Westside 109, ATL Dirty Squad, and Eastside 309 are the unofficial supporters groups for the Silverbacks. They reside in sections 109 and 309 at Silverbacks Park.

Players and staff

Current roster

As of December 2, 2011

No.	Position	Player	Nation
1	Goalkeeper	Illyés, DánielDániel Illyés	Hungary
2	Defender	Ruthven, TylerTyler Ruthven	United States
3	Midfielder	Moroney, ShaneShane Moroney	United States
4	Defender	Robertson, PatrickPatrick Robertson	United States
5	Midfielder	O'Brien, CiaranCiaran O'Brien	United States
9	Forward	Ademolu, StephenStephen Ademolu	Canada
10	Forward	Paulini, LucasLucas Paulini	Argentina
11	Forward	Navia, ReinaldoReinaldo Navia	Chile
12	Midfielder	Gonzalez, FernandoFernando Gonzalez	Puerto Rico
13	Defender	Hunt, WillieWillie Hunt	United States
15	Defender	Matsushita, KoheiKohei Matsushita	Japan
18	Forward	Horth, MattMatt Horth	United States
21	Midfielder	Cox, RaphaelRaphael Cox	United States
27	Defender	Lancaster, MartynMartyn Lancaster	England
44	Defender	Rilla, Rilla	Brazil

Staff

• Boris Jerkunica - Chairman
• John Latham - Vice-Chairman
• Michael Oki - President
• Rodrigo Rios - Director of Soccer
• Alex Pineda Chacón - Head Coach
• TBA - Assistant Coach
• José Pinho - Goalkeeper Coach
• Juan Castellanos - Fitness Coach

Notable former players

This list of former players includes those who received international caps while playing for the team, made significant contributions to the team in terms of appearances or goals while playing for the team, or who made significant contributions to the sport either before they played for the team, or after they left. It is clearly not yet complete and all inclusive, and additions and refinements will continue to be made over time.

• Jeff Cassar
• Alex Pineda Chacón
• John Doyle
• Justin Fashanu
• Liam George
• Macoumba Kandji
• Tim Martin
• Shaun McSkimming
• Bruce Murray

• John Barry Nusum
• Bo Oshoniyi
• Rodrigo Ríos
• Brent Sancho
• Staale Soebye
• Lenin Steenkamp
• Antonio de la Torre
• Velko Yotov

• See also All-time Atlanta Silverbacks roster

Head coaches

• Lothar Osiander (1995)
• Charlie Morgan (1996)
• Angus McAlpine (1997)
• David Eristavi (1997–1998)
• Chris Hellenkamp (1998) (Interim)
• Nuno Piteira (1999)
• David Vaudreuil (2003–2004)
• Jason Smith (2005–2008)
• José Manuel Abundis (2011)
• Alex Pineda Chacón (2011-present)

Achievements

• A-League
  • Runner-up (Playoffs) (1): 1995

• USL First Division
  • Runner-up (Playoffs) (1): 2007

• Minor Trophies
  • Southern Derby (4): 2002, 2004, 2005*, 2006

*-as co-champion

Record

Year-by-year

Year	Division	League	Reg. Season	Playoffs	Open Cup	Avg. Attendance
1995	2	A-League	4th	Finalist	2nd Round	2,632
1996	2	A-League	7th	Did not qualify	Did not qualify	4,315
1997	2	USISL A-League	7th, Central	Did not qualify	Did not qualify	2,406
1998	2	USISL A-League	6th, Atlantic	Did not qualify	Did not qualify	923
1999	2	USL A-League	5th, Atlantic	Did not qualify	Did not qualify	2,703
2000	2	USL A-League	6th, Atlantic	Did not qualify	Did not qualify	3,327
2001	2	USL A-League	5th, Central	Did not qualify	Did not qualify	1,094
2002	2	USL A-League	3rd, Southeast	1st Round	3rd Round	1,006
2003	2	USL A-League	5th, Southeast	Did not qualify	3rd Round	1,200
2004	2	USL A-League	5th, Eastern	Did not qualify	4th Round	1,662
2005	2	USL First Division	8th	Did not qualify	3rd Round	1,724
2006	2	USL First Division	8th	Did not qualify	3rd Round	2,298
2007	2	USL First Division	4th	Runner-up	3rd Round	2,372
2008	2	USL First Division	9th	Did not qualify	2nd Round	2,281
2009	On Hiatus
2010	On Hiatus
2011	2	NASL	8th	Did not qualify	Denied entry	2,866

External links

• Official website
• Westside 109 Website (Silverback Supporters)
• Photos of a 2006 match versus the Portland Timbers

Preceded by Charlotte Eagles	Southern Derby Winner 2002	Succeeded by Charleston Battery
Preceded by Charleston Battery	Southern Derby Winner 2004	Succeeded by Co-Winners with Charleston Battery
Preceded by Atlanta Silverbacks	Southern Derby Co-Winners with Charleston Battery 2005	Succeeded by Atlanta Silverbacks
Preceded by Atlanta Silverbacks	Southern Derby Winner 2006	Succeeded by Carolina RailHawks FC