Dale Mitchell (soccer)

Dale Mitchell

Personal information
Full name	Dale William Mitchell
Date of birth	April 21, 1958 (1958-04-21)
Place of birth	Vancouver, Canada
Playing position	Striker (retired)
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1977–1978	Vancouver Whitecaps	5	(0)
1979–1982	Portland Timbers	101	(35)
1983	Montreal Manic	24	(8)
1984–1985	Tacoma Stars (indoor)	96	(96)
1986–1987	Kansas City Comets (indoor)	99	(99)
1988–1990	Vancouver 86ers (indoor)	213	(211)
1991	Baltimore Blast (indoor)	51	(42)
1992–1994	Tacoma Stars (indoor)	40	(45)
National team‡
1976	Canada U-20	3	(1)
1983–1987	Canada U-23	9	(4)
1980–1993	Canada	55	(19)
Teams managed
1995–1999	Vancouver 86ers reserves
2000–2001	Vancouver Whitecaps
2002–2007	Canada U-20
2007–2009	Canada
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 19 September 2009. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 19 September 2009

Dale William Dink Mitchell (born April 21, 1958 in Vancouver) is a former top-level professional association football striker who played for several North American teams in the 1980s and 1990s.

He made 55 appearances for the Canadian national team and scored a national record 19 goals. He is also former head coach of the Canadian national team, having held the post from May 2007 until March 27, 2009.

Club career

Mitchell played in the former North American Soccer League, beginning his pro career with the Vancouver Whitecaps (1977, 1978), playing with Portland Timbers (1979 to 1982), and for the Montreal Manic (1983). He was then an inaugural signee with the Vancouver 86ers of the Canadian Soccer League and American Professional Soccer League for whom he scored 37 goals during seasons from 1988 to 1990 and 1992 to 1994. He was with the Toronto Blizzard for the 1991 season.

Mitchell also played nine indoor soccer seasons in the old Major Indoor Soccer League with the Tacoma Stars, Kansas City Comets, and the Baltimore Blast. Mitchell finished as the league's third all-time goal scorer and fourth all-time points getting with 406 goals and 280 assists for 686 points.

International career

Mitchell played every minute of Canada's matches at the 1984 Summer Olympics, scoring three goals including the equalizer that took Brazil to extra-time and eventually penalty kicks in the quarterfinals.

He made his senior debut for Canada in a September 1980 friendly match against New Zealand and played his final international in August 1993 against Australia. He represented Canada in 22 World Cup qualifiers and also played in the 1986 FIFA World Cup finals in Canada's third group stage match against Hungary.

International goals

Scores and results list Canada's goal tally first.

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	15 September 1980	Vancouver, Canada	New Zealand		4-0	Friendly match
2	15 September 1980	Vancouver, Canada	New Zealand		4-0	Friendly match
3	11 November 1980	Guatemala City, Guatemala	Guatemala	1-0	1-0	Friendly match
4	12 October 1981	Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago	Trinidad and Tobago		4-2	Friendly match
5	12 October 1981	Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago	Trinidad and Tobago		4-2	Friendly match
6	20 April 1985	Victoria, Canada	Guatemala		2-1	1986 FIFA World Cup qualification
7	20 April 1985	Victoria, Canada	Guatemala		2-1	1986 FIFA World Cup qualification
8	5 May 1985	Guatemala City, Guatemala	Guatemala		2-1	1986 FIFA World Cup qualification
9	8 May 1985	Port-au-Prince, Haiti	Haiti	1-0	2-0	1986 FIFA World Cup qualification
10	2 June 1985	Seoul, South Korea	Ghana		2-1	Presidents Cup
11	2 October 1988	Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago	Trinidad and Tobago		2-1	Friendly match
12	15 October 1988	Swangard Stadium, Burnaby, Canada	Guatemala	1-2	3-2	1990 FIFA World Cup qualification
13	15 October 1988	Swangard Stadium, Burnaby, Canada	Guatemala	2-2	3-2	1990 FIFA World Cup qualification
14	28 June 1991	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, USA	Honduras	1-4	2-4	1991 CONCACAF Gold Cup
15	28 June 1991	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, USA	Honduras	2-4	2-4	1991 CONCACAF Gold Cup
16	3 July 1991	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, USA	Jamaica	1-0	3-2	1991 CONCACAF Gold Cup
17	18 October 1992	National Stadium, Kingston, Jamaica	Jamaica	1-1	1-1	1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
18	1 November 1992	Varsity Stadium, Toronto, Canada	Jamaica	1-0	1-0	1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
19	8 November 1992	Swangard Stadium, Burnaby, Canada	El Salvador	2-2	2-3	1994 FIFA World Cup qualification

Managerial career

Following his retirement as a player, Mitchell coached the 86ers reserves squad and was first-team assistant coach from 1995 to 1999, when he succeeded Carl Valentine as the club's head coach (as the club changed their name to the Vancouver Whitecaps). From 2001 to 2007, Mitchell served as Canada's Under-20 national team head coach. In 2004, he served as an assistant coach to Frank Yallop with the senior national team during FIFA World Cup Qualifiers. In May 2007, he was appointed head coach of the Canadian men's senior team. In 2008, he failed to guide Canada beyond CONCACAF Stage III of the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, falling in the so-called CONCACAF Group of Death while higher-ranked nations Mexico and Honduras advanced to the final stage. He was relieved of his duties on 27 March 2009.

External links

• Profile - Canada Soccer
• Career stats - National Football Teams
• Dale Mitchell becomes Canadian Senior Men's head coach
• CSA press release for hiring Mitchell to their coaching staff