Frank Stapleton
Encyclopedia
Francis Anthony "Frank" Stapleton (born 10 July 1956 in Dublin) is an Irish
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

 former football player and manager
Coach (sport)
In sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.-Staff:...

. He is best remembered for his time at Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...

, Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...

 and as a pivotal player for the Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland national football team
The Republic of Ireland national football team represents Ireland in association football. It is run by the Football Association of Ireland and currently plays home fixtures at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, which opened in May 2010....

. He has also been manager at Bradford City
Bradford City A.F.C.
Bradford City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, playing in League Two....

 and MLS
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...

 club New England Revolution
New England Revolution
The New England Revolution is an American professional association football club based in Foxborough, Massachusetts which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada...

.

Playing career

Stapleton was a tough tackling forward who was an especially good header of the ball. He started his career with Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...

, joining them in 1972 as an apprentice, after being turned down by Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...

. He made his first-team debut in 1975 against Stoke City
Stoke City F.C.
Stoke City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire that plays in the Premier League. Founded in 1863, it is the oldest club in the Premier League, and considered to be the second oldest professional football club in the world, after Notts...

, and would go on to form a potent striking partnership with Malcolm Macdonald
Malcolm Macdonald
Malcolm Ian Macdonald is a former English footballer nicknamed Supermac, famed for scoring goals for Luton Town, Newcastle United and Arsenal.-Football career:...

; the two scored 46 goals between them in 1976–77. He was Arsenal's top scorer for the three following seasons, and helped the Gunners reach a trio of FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...

 finals; Stapleton scored one of the goals in Arsenal's 1979 FA Cup Final
1979 FA Cup Final
The 1979 FA Cup Final was a football match played on 12 May 1979 at Wembley Stadium. The match was contested by Arsenal and Manchester United. It is widely regarded as one of the greatest-ever finishes in an FA Cup final. For over 85 minutes the game had been unremarkable, with Arsenal taking...

 3–2 win over Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...

, and scored 108 goals in 300 appearances in total for the Gunners.

Stapleton went on to move to Man United in 1981 for £900,000 (a fee set by tribunal
Tribunal
A tribunal in the general sense is any person or institution with the authority to judge, adjudicate on, or determine claims or disputes—whether or not it is called a tribunal in its title....

 after the two clubs could not agree). He helped United win the 1983
1983 FA Cup Final
The 1983 FA Cup Final was contested by Manchester United and Brighton & Hove Albion at Wembley Stadium.Manchester United were the favourites, as Brighton had been relegated from the First Division that season...

 and 1985
1985 FA Cup Final
The 1985 FA Cup Final was contested by Manchester United and holders Everton at Wembley Stadium. United won by a single goal, scored in extra time by Norman Whiteside....

 FA Cups. It was in the first of those finals, when he scored against Brighton, in which Stapleton made history by becoming the first man to score for two different clubs in FA Cup Finals. He left United in 1987, after scoring 78 goals for the club in 365 matches.

He went on to play for Ajax Amsterdam
Ajax Amsterdam
Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax , also referred to as AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam or simply Ajax , is a professional football club from Amsterdam, Netherlands...

, before returning to England with Derby County
Derby County F.C.
Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English...

, Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers F.C.
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....

, Aldershot
Aldershot F.C.
Aldershot Football Club was an English Football League club, which was wound up in the High Court in March 1992. They became the first Football League club since Accrington Stanley to resign from the League during the course of a season. The club was nicknamed the Shots for both the last syllable...

, Huddersfield Town
Huddersfield Town F.C.
Huddersfield Town Football Club is an English football club formed in 1908 and based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. They currently play in League One...

 and Bradford City
Bradford City A.F.C.
Bradford City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, playing in League Two....

, where he spent three seasons after a brief period at Le Havre
Le Havre AC
Le Havre Athletic Club Football Association is a French association football club based in Le Havre. The club was founded originally as an athletics and rugby club in 1872, thus making it the oldest association football and rugby club registered in France...

 in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

.

After being sacked as Bradford's player-manager in 1994, he had a brief spell at Brighton & Hove Albion
Brighton & Hove Albion F.C.
Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club are an English association football club based in the coastal city of Brighton & Hove, East Sussex. They currently play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system....

 in the 1994–95 season, playing two games before finally announcing his retirement as a player.

International career

He also won 71 caps
Cap (sport)
In sports, a cap is a metaphorical term for a player's appearance on a select team, such as a national team. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of association football...

 for the Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland national football team
The Republic of Ireland national football team represents Ireland in association football. It is run by the Football Association of Ireland and currently plays home fixtures at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, which opened in May 2010....

, scoring a then record 20 goals. Stapleton made his international debut under then player-manager Johnny Giles
Johnny Giles
Michael John "Johnny" Giles is a former association footballer and manager best remembered for his time as a midfielder with Leeds United in the 1960s and 1970s...

 in a friendly against Turkey
Turkey national football team
The Turkey national football team represents Turkey in association football and is controlled by the Turkish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Turkey. They are affiliated with UEFA...

 in Ankara
Ankara
Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....

 in 1976 at 20 years of age. He scored after only three minutes of his debut when he headed home a Giles free-kick at the near post. That friendly international finished 3–3 and marked the start of a magnificent international career for the quiet and reserved Stapleton.

Stapleton was committed to international football insisting that an "international release clause" be inserted to all of his contracts so that he could be released to play in international games for Ireland.

Stapleton played a significant role in Ireland's attempt to qualify for the World Cup in Spain in 1982
1982 FIFA World Cup
The 1982 FIFA World Cup, the 12th FIFA World Cup, was held in Spain from 13 June to 11 July. The tournament was won by Italy, after defeating West Germany 3–1 in the final.-Host selection:...

. Goals against Cyprus
Cyprus national football team
The Cyprus national football team represents Cyprus in association football and is controlled by the Cyprus Football Association, the governing body for football in Cyprus. Cyprus' home ground is the GSP Stadium in Nicosia and the current coach is Nikos Nioplias...

, Holland
Netherlands national football team
The Netherlands National Football Team represents the Netherlands in association football and is controlled by the Royal Dutch Football Association , the governing body for football in the Netherlands...

 and France
France national football team
The France national football team represents the nation of France in international football. It is fielded by the French Football Federation , the governing body of football in France, and competes as a member of UEFA, which encompasses the countries of Europe...

 for Stapleton in the qualifying matches were not enough as Ireland were denied a place at the World Cup by a superior French goal difference. Stapleton was made captain of the national team for the qualifying campaign for the 1986 World Cup
1986 FIFA World Cup
The 1986 FIFA World Cup, the 13th FIFA World Cup, was held in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-team format. Colombia had been originally chosen to host the competition by FIFA but, largely due to economic reasons, was not able to do so and officially...

 though Ireland failed to emulate their fine performance in the 1982 qualifiers.

Jack Charlton
Jack Charlton
John "Jack" Charlton, OBE, DL is a former footballer and manager who played for Leeds United in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, and was part of the England team who won the 1966 World Cup...

 took over as the Irish manager in 1986 and he kept Stapleton as captain despite a sometimes uneasy relationship between the two men. Stapleton scored a magnificent diving header in the opening Euro 1988
1988 UEFA European Football Championship
The 1988 UEFA European Football Championship final tournament was held in West Germany. West Germany won the right to host the tournament with five votes ahead of a joint bid from Norway, Sweden and Denmark, who gained 1 vote, and a bid from England. It was the eighth European Football...

 qualifer against Belgium in the 2–2 draw at the Heysel Stadium, Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...

 that September. He also scored in the 2–1 defeat by Bulgaria
Bulgaria national football team
The FIFA Bulgaria national football team is an association football team fielded by the Bulgarian Football Union, a member association of UEFA. The team's home ground is Vasil Levski in Sofia and Luboslav Penev is in charge manager after replacement of Lothar Matthäus...

 in Sofia
Sofia
Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...

 on 1 April 1987 with another goal against Luxembourg
Luxembourg national football team
The Luxembourg national football team is the national football team of Luxembourg, and is controlled by the Luxembourg Football Federation. The team play most of their home matches at the Stade Josy Barthel, in Luxembourg.- History :...

 in the 2–1 victory at Lansdowne Road
Lansdowne Road
Lansdowne Road was a stadium in Dublin owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union that has been the location of a number of sports stadiums. It was used primarily for rugby union and for association football matches as well as some music concerts...

 the following September.

Stapleton captained the Irish team to the 1988 Euro finals and played in all of their matches during the competition including Ireland's famous victory against England.

After the 1988 European Championships Stapleton remained on the fringe of the national team during qualification for World Cup Italia 1990
1990 FIFA World Cup
The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event twice. Teams representing 116 national football associations from all six populated...

 making just two appearances late in the campaign. By then, his 20 goals for the Republic had made him the national side's all time leading goalscorer - a record which would be broken 10 years later by Niall Quinn
Niall Quinn
Niall John Quinn honorary MBE is a former Irish international footballer, and the ex-chairman of Sunderland AFC. He still works at the club as an overseas manager. He is also heavily involved in the management side of horse racing...

, who was in the early stages of his own international career when Stapleton bowed out of the international scene.

He did, however, score an 87th minute goal against Malta
Malta national football team
The Malta national football team is the national football team of Malta and is controlled by the Malta Football Association. Malta played its first international game in February 1957, and began competing for qualification to major tournaments in 1962. The side's first competitive victory came in...

 in a 3–0 friendly in Valetta just prior to those finals in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

.

Coaching career

Stapleton moved to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 to coach Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...

 side New England Revolution
New England Revolution
The New England Revolution is an American professional association football club based in Foxborough, Massachusetts which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada...

 in 1996. In the 2003–04 season he briefly returned to English football as a specialist coach of Bolton Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers F.C.
Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the area of Horwich in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. They began their current spell in the Premier League in 2001....

. The Bolton manager Sam Allardyce
Sam Allardyce
Samuel "Sam" Allardyce , nicknamed "Big Sam", is an English football manager and former professional player. In June 2011 he was appointed as manager of West Ham United....

 wanted Stapleton to enhance the skills of the strikers at the club and saw the Irishman as an ideal candidate, given his successful playing career.

External links

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