Thursday, July 9, 2009

Murphy is American Success Story in Scotland


Congratulations to John Murphy, who recently became the first American coach to be named as a manager of our domestic team in Europe - given the reigns at Livingston FC in Scotland.

Murphy went from successful coach at the youth, collegiate and professional levels here in the United States to getting named as the goalkeeper coach at Livingston in February. He was just recently promoted as their manager.


“You get one chance over here,’’ Murphy said. “If you get fired, there’s a stigma with that. In Europe, you have to make good on your first job.’’

“With what’s hanging over the club right now, if I can turn it into a better situation, that would reflect very well on me. And if for some reason things didn’t go as planned, maybe people wouldn’t be as harsh.’’
Being a bit of a curiosity as a foreigner might earn a little slack in the beginning but Murphy is wise enough to know that he needs results.

“I want people to judge me on who I am as a coach,’’ Murphy said. “The fact that I’m an American and the fact I have Scottish heritage, that’s part of who I am. But I want to be judged on how I develop teams and, ultimately at this level, about winning games and winning championships.’’

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