Shaun Goater

Leonardo Shaun Goater MBE ( born February 25, 1970 in Hamilton, Bermuda) is a former football player and current football coach. He played from 1989 to 2006 at various English clubs.

Life

Shaun Goater grew up in Hamilton, the capital of Bermuda. In 1987 he was invited to Saltus Grammar School football and basketball tour. During these two weeks he played against several high school teams from England. In the same year he went to the U.S. to study, where he got a scholarship at Columbia High School in New Jersey. He was discovered by a scout from Manchester United youth team and joined the club.

Playing career

In 1989 he got his first professional contract with Manchester United, but did not make it into the first team, so he joined Rotherham United in the same year. Until 1996, he played 209 times for Rotherham, scoring 70 goals. In 1996, he refused offers from Spanish club Osasuna and the South Korean first division club Suwon Samsung Bluewings, as he had just married in England. Instead, he moved to Bristol City, where he met 43 times in 79 games.

Manchester City was on the then 28 -year-old attention. In the following five years he played 197 matches and scored 105 goals. In 2001, Kevin Keegan as coach at City. Goater benefited greatly from Keegan's coach work. In the 2001/2002 season he scored more than 30 goals, becoming the first Manchester City player since 1972 (then Francis Lee) have managed this. A season later, he announced the club to leave. In his last game at Maine Road, he ran on as team captain.

From 1 August 2003 Goater played at FC Reading. The President of the Association, John Madejski, called this the biggest transfer in Readings history. However, shortly after the beginning of the season moved the then coach, Alan Pardew, West Ham United and the new coach, Steve Coppell, did not plan with him as a regular player. In his second and final season at Reading he was only four missions and it was loaned to Coventry City, where he made only six games.

In 2005 he terminated the contract at Reading and joined the League One, the third English league and played for one year at Southend United. In 34 games, he scored 11 goals. In his last game, Southend United played against his former club Bristol City. Over 100 Manchester City fans traveled to see to Southend to his last game. On 6 May 2006 he announced his resignation as football players. Southend United and rose to his protege Freddy Eastwood scorer.

After Goater had stopped playing football, he traveled back to Bermuda and was officially received by the Prime Minister of his country. A week later he played a farewell match with the national team of Bermuda. In 2005, he earned his UEFA B coaching license and on 4 September 2006, he and two other former internationals Bermuda football club Bermuda Hogges who participates in the U.S. league play. Goater is also co-owner and player of the club. After two seasons, he left the Hogges and moved to the Bermudian Premier Division of the North Village Rams. There he played for two years as a player-manager, before he ended his playing career in the winter of 2010.

National

For the national team of Bermuda, he played a total of 36 times. His first game was in 1987 against Canada, and his last official match he played in 2003 against El Salvador. In these 36 games he scored 32 goals.

Coaching career

On 20 December 2008, he was playing coach of the North Village Rams and was honored coach of the year 2011. Goater coached the club from North Village to January 2013, and then returned to England, where he is working as a youth coach in Devon.

Private

Goater is married to his high school sweetheart and has two daughters. In 2003 he was appointed Member of the British Empire. This was due to his efforts to bring in Bermuda young people sport better and to promote it. His autobiography, Feed the Goat: The Shaun Goater Story, was released in September 2006.