ex Cardiff and West Ham Clive Charles died - TalkSoccer

Frank Cunha · 27-08-2003, 08:03 PM

1. Clive Charles, 1951-2003:
Beloved coach at Portland, with U.S. national teams succumbs to cancer

Clive Charles, the London-born defender who came to America during
the NASL's golden years and remained in the United States as perhaps
its most beloved coach, succumbed following a three-year battle with
prostate cancer.

Charles, who built the University of Portland's men's and women's
programs into national powers while working with numerous U.S.
national teams, died Tuesday at the his northwest Portland home. He
was 51.

His family will hold private services, and a public gathering is
planned for Sept. 8 on the UP campus.

Charles was considered one of the finest people in American soccer,
loved by his players, revered by his peers, and respected for his
gentle demeanor and intense passion for the sport. He brought
national recognition to the University of Portland, a small (2,800
enrollment) Catholic university in Oregon's largest city, and
developed dozens of athletes who played professionally and for varied
national teams.

A coach who prized development over victory -- yet was one of college
soccer's winningest coaches -- Charles' pupils included Tiffeny
Milbrett and Shannon MacMillan, who were selected Tuesday for the
U.S. roster for the Sept. 20-Oct. 12 Women's World Cup, and men's
national-teamers Kasey Keller, goalkeeper with English Premier League
club Tottenham, and Steve Cherundolo, who plays with Hannover in the
German Bundesliga.

Charles posted a 439-144-44 combined record in 17 seasons as coach of
Portland's men's team and 14 seasons with its women's team, and
guided the women last fall to the NCAA championship -- the
university's only NCAA title in any sport -- the Pilots' first
triumph in seven final four appearances.

The 2-1 overtime victory in the final over West Coast Conference
rival Santa Clara was the final match of Charles' career.

Portland's men's team reached the final four twice under Charles, and
in all the Pilot men and women won 13 conference titles and reached
the NCAA tournament 20 times.

Charles also spent eight years as a U.S. Soccer staff coach, serving
as Steve Sampson's assistant with the men's national team at the 1998
World Cup and guiding the U.S. under-23 men's team to a stunning
fourth-place finish at the Sydney Olympics in 2000. He also coached
the U.S. under-20 women's team from 1993 to 1996.

Charles, who played professionally for 17 years, learned he had
cancer just before departing for the Sydney Games. A private man,
Charles did not disclose his illness until spring 2002. He underwent
hormonal therapy, radiation treatments and chemotherapy to battle the
cancer, and he was strong enough to coach both Portland teams last
fall.

The youngest of nine children, Charles learned soccer on the streets
of East London. He played for West Ham United and Cardiff City in the
English League, with a short stint in 1971-72 with the NASL's
Montreal Olympique mixed in, before signing with the Portland Timbers
before the 1978 season. He was one of the league's finest defenders
in his four years with the Timbers -- a three-time All-NASL player
whom Pele selected to his all-time NASL team -- and retired following
a short stint in the Major Indoor Soccer League.

He remained in Portland following his time with the Timbers, creating
FC Portland youth soccer club -- which Milbrett and MLS veteran Chris
Brown played for-- and coaching the boys team at Reynolds High School
in Troutdale, Ore. He also served as director of player development
for the Oregon Youth Soccer Association.

Charles received a lifetime achievement award from the WUSA last
year, and he was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in
mid-August. His No. 3 jersey is to be retired on Friday by the
Portland Timbers, now a club in the A-League.

Longtime Charles assistants Bill Irwin, with the men, and Garrett
Smith, with the women, will be in charge of the UP teams. Both will
retain their titles as ''assistant'' coaches. The university has not
determined whether the programs will continue to have one head coach
or a different coach for each team.

In addition to Milbrett, MacMillan, Keller, Brown and Cherundolo,
other professional players who competed at Portland under Charles
include men's pros Yari Allnutt, Scott Benedetti, Conor Casey, Kelly
Gray, Nate Jacqua, Ian McLean, Darren Sawatzky, Curtis Spiteri,
Davide Xausa and Wade Webber; and current or former WUSA players
Betsy Barr, Justi Baumgardt, Erin Fahey, Michelle French, Tara
Koleski, Wynne McIntosh, Erin Misaki, Brooke O'Hanley and Lauren
Orlandos.

Charles is survived by his wife, Clarena; son, Michael; daughter,
Sarah, a defender at Portland in the mid-1990s; four brothers and two
sisters.

2. CLIVE CHARLES: An Amazing Career

Shortly after guiding the University of Portland to the 2002 NCAA
women's Division I title, Clive Charles spoke at length about his
life and career with Senior Editor Scott French. And some of Charles'
most renowned players -- Shannon MacMillan, Tiffeny Milbrett, Steve
Cherundolo, Wynne McIntosh and Chris Bown -- discussed his influence
in the article that was published in the Jan. 20, 2003 issue of
Soccer America: