Episode 106: John Harkes | Greenville Triumph SC Head Coach & National Soccer Hall of Fame Member
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Rich Take On Sports
Show Notes:
- Rich Spotlight: John Harkes
- Very fortunate to have such a long playing career with great accomplishments being on the first team to qualify for 1990 World Cup and then in the inaugural season of the MLS in 1996
- Loved building a club in Cincinnati and loves the challenge in Greenville with building the Greenville Triumph SC in it’s the inaugural season in 2019
- He has always been an optimistic guy even with coaching
- Played all the other sports but gravitated to soccer immediately growing up in Kearny, NJ (Soccertown USA)
- Competing against the older guys was the biggest thing that helped them
- Academics were the biggest challenge once he got to UVA and it was a tough decision to forego his senior season to play on the US Men’s National Team
- Motivation comes more from having a chip on his shoulder and proving people wrong
- Was accepted in Europe after scoring the “Goal of the Year” against Peter Schilling
- Best players he faced were Romario, Roberto Baggio, Ryan Giggs, David Beckham, Bryan Robson (Captian Marvel), and Mark Hughes
- TV broadcasting was fun but Coaching is rewarding
- Loves being in Greenville and the genuine warmness of people and clubs like Reedy River Riot are helping educate fans
- Some of his favorite music on his playlist consists of AC/DC, U2, and soulful Blues
- Words of Wisdom from John Harkes:
- “You’re never bigger than the club.”
- “You’re only as good as the next game.”
- “You can’t expect other people to believe in you unless you believe in yourself first.”
Social Media:
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To Follow Greenville Triumph on Twitter: @GVLTriumph
To Follow Greenville Triumph on Instagram: gvltriumph
To learn more information about Greenville Triumph: Greenville Triumph
To learn more information about Reedy River Riot: Reedy River Riot
Featured Image Photo Credit: Steve Wallace | Creative Concepts
