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Mark Parsons

Mark Richard David Parsons (born 8 August 1986) is an English football manager who is the former head coach of American club Washington Spirit.[4] He previously managed top-level teams including the Netherlands women's national team, the Portland Thorns FC, and the Washington Spirit in a previous stint.[5]

Mark Parsons
Parsons coaching the Portland Thorns in October 2017
Personal information
Full name Mark Richard David Parsons[1]
Date of birth (1986-08-08) 8 August 1986 (age 38)[2]
Place of birth Cranleigh, England[3]
Managerial career
Years Team
2004–2008 Chelsea (academy assistant)
2008–2010 Chelsea Reserves (women's)
2010–2012 Culpeper (Va.) SC (technical director)
2012 D.C. United Women U-20
2013 Washington Spirit Reserves
2013–2015 Washington Spirit
2016–2021 Portland Thorns
2021–2022 Netherlands (women's)
2023 Washington Spirit

Parsons holds USSF and UEFA A and B Licenses, a USSF National Youth License, and a NSCAA Director of Coaching Diploma.[6]

Early life

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Parsons was born and raised in Surrey, England, and played youth football in Woking.[7]

Managerial career

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Chelsea academy, women's reserves

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Parsons spent six years in multiple coaching roles in England. Parsons's first experience came as a volunteer boys' coach in Surrey, then as a community coach with the Chelsea Foundation. He then held several coaching roles at Chelsea, counting Reece James and Conor Gallagher among the youth players he trained at the academy level.[7]

His first experience as manager was for Chelsea women's reserves from 2008[8][9][10] which he led to an unprecedented treble in his first season.[11]

Culpeper (Va.) Soccer Club

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Parsons, seeking a job in the Virginia area, accepted the role of technical director at Culpeper Soccer Club in 2010 and moved with his wife to the United States.[9][7]

D.C. United Women Under-20s

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Former Chelsea striker Lianne Sanderson, then playing for D.C. United Women, contacted Parsons about a vacant coaching role with the club's under-20 team.[7] In 2012, Parsons led the D.C. United Women Under-20s to the 2012 Super-20 League final, which they lost to Colorado Rapids Women.[12]

Washington Spirit Reserves

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Parsons was signed by Washington Spirit on 16 March 2013 to manage their reserve team for the 2013 W-League season.[12]

Washington Spirit

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Following the dismissal of Washington Spirit manager Mike Jorden in July 2013, Parsons was promoted to be the first team manager.[7][13][14] The team was at the bottom of the table halfway through the 2013 season when Parsons took over, but he led them to their first two home wins in 2013 and into the playoffs in both the 2014 and 2015 seasons.

Parsons stepped down from his position as head coach and general manager of the Washington Spirit on 30 September 2015.[15]

Portland Thorns

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On 5 October 2015, Parsons accepted the position as head coach of Portland Thorns FC.[16]

He led a new-look team through a 12-game undefeated streak (a team record) from the beginning of the 2016 season.[17] The team finished as the regular season champions, winning the NWSL Shield, but fell to the Western New York Flash in the Thorns' first-ever home playoff match on 2 October 2016.[18]

The Thorns repeated in securing a home playoff match in the 2017 season despite suffering numerous injuries to the first XI throughout the season, including the long-term absence of star Tobin Heath from a back injury.[19] After beating the Orlando Pride 4–1 in the semifinal, the Thorns won the NWSL championship by defeating the North Carolina Courage 1–0 in the final.[20]

In March 2020 Parsons signed a new multi-year contract with Portland.[21]

In 2021 Parsons led the Thorns to the NWSL Shield for the second time. In addition, the team also won the NWSL Challenge Cup, beating NJ/NY Gotham FC in the final, and the Women's International Champions Cup, beating Olympique Lyonnais in the final. The team also set the NWSL single-season record for shutouts, with 13 out of 24 games played.[22]

Overall, Thorns FC under Parsons made the playoffs all five seasons, won two NWSL Shields and one NWSL Championship, and scored 182 goals, more than any other NWSL team in that time.[23]

Netherlands

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On 20 May 2021, the KNVB announced that Parsons would succeed Sarina Wiegman as head coach of the Netherlands women's national football team after the conclusion of the 2020 Summer Olympics; he continued to coach the Portland Thorns until November 2021 after the season finished, when the position was taken over by Rhian Wilkinson.[5]

On 10 August 2022, Parsons' contract with KNVB was terminated[24] by mutual consent, after the Netherlands team failed in the defence of their 2017 title in the UEFA Women's Euro 2022 competition.[25]

Return to Washington Spirit

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On 21 November 2022, Parsons was announced as the head coach for the Washington Spirit, succeeding Kris Ward as head coach and Albertin Montoya as interim head coach.[22][26][27]

At the conclusion of the 2023 NWSL season the Spirit announced Parsons will not return as head coach.[28][29]

Managerial statistics

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As of 26 April 2023
Managerial record by team and tenure
Team From To Record
P W D L GF GA GD Win %
Washington Spirit Reserves 2013 2013 15 9 2 4 − − !— 060.00
Washington Spirit July 2013 December 2015[30] 57 20 13 24 − − !— 035.09
Portland Thorns FC April 2016 November 2021 46 27 10 9 − − !— 058.70
Netherlands September 2021 August 2022 18 10 5 3 51 18 +33 055.56
Washington Spirit 21 November 2022 17 October 2023 5 2 2 1 5 4 +1 040.00
Career Total — − − − − − !— —

Personal life

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Parsons is British and also holds US citizenship.[14]

Honours

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Portland Thorns FC

Individual

References

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  1. ^ "Netherlands | Squad | Women's World Cup". UEFA. Archived from the original on 7 January 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  2. ^ "Mark Parsons". Royal Dutch Football Association. Archived from the original on 22 November 2021. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  3. ^ Danzer, Paul (27 December 2016). "Suited for soccer success". Portland Tribune. Archived from the original on 11 July 2021. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  4. ^ Pittman, Sam (21 November 2022). "Washington Spirit Names Mark Parsons New Head Coach » Washington Spirit".
  5. ^ a b "MARK PARSONS NIEUWE BONDSCOACH ORANJELEEUWINNEN". KNVB. 20 May 2021. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  6. ^ "2021 Portland Thorns Media Guide". Portland, Oregon: Portland Thorns, FC. 2021. p. 6. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  7. ^ a b c d e Spencer, Jamie (9 July 2022). "Mark Parsons: The English coach in charge of Netherlands at Euro 2022". 90min. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  8. ^ "MEET THE MANAGEMENT". Chelsea F.C. Archived from the original on 24 July 2008.
  9. ^ a b Parsons, Mark (8 November 2018). "Mark Parsons: The manager who went from Chelsea Reserves to Coach of the Year in America". English Players Abroad (Interview). Interviewed by Cam Melling. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  10. ^ "Spirit part ways with head coach Mike Jorden". baltimoresoccernews.com. Archived from the original on 31 March 2016. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
  11. ^ "Thorns FC name Mark Parsons as head coach for 2016 season". Thorns FC. 5 October 2015. Archived from the original on 8 July 2017. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
  12. ^ a b "Mark Parsons named Washington Spirit Reserves head coach". soccerwire.com. Archived from the original on 25 April 2016. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
  13. ^ "Mark Parsons". washingtonspirit.com. Archived from the original on 26 September 2013. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
  14. ^ a b "Game Notes: Portland Thorns FC vs. Chicago Red Stars: June 22, 2016 by Portland Thorns FC – issuu". Portland Thorns FC. 22 June 2016.
  15. ^ "Mark Parsons steps down". washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  16. ^ "Mark Parsons joins Thorns". oregonlive.com. 5 October 2015. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  17. ^ "Portland Thorns 1, North Carolina Courage 3 | August 24, 2022". Portland Thorns FC. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
  18. ^ Goldberg, Jamie (2 October 2016). "Portland Thorns eliminated from NWSL playoffs after 4–3 extra time loss to Western New York Flash". The Oregonian. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
  19. ^ Tan, Victor (24 September 2017). "USWNT, Portland Midfielder Tobin Heath Makes 2017 NWSL Debut". New Day Review. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  20. ^ Lauletta, Dan (15 October 2017). "Lauletta: Nasty fouls, injuries, lack of cards sucked the life out of 2017 NWSL Championship". The Equalizer. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  21. ^ Diamond, Drew (6 March 2020). "Mark Parsons commits future to Portland Thorns". Her Football Hub. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  22. ^ a b "Washington Spirit Names Mark Parsons New Head Coach" (Press release). Washington Spirit. 21 November 2022. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
  23. ^ a b "Portland Thorns FC clinches 2021 NWSL Shield". SoccerWire. 18 October 2021. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
  24. ^ Lamberts, Marc (10 August 2022). "Mark Parsons and Dutch national team part ways". Her Football Hub. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  25. ^ "Netherlands, Mark Parsons part ways after 'disappointing' Euro 2022 campaign". espn.com. 10 August 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  26. ^ "Washington Spirit fires coach Kris Ward". Washington Post. 22 August 2022. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
  27. ^ "Washington Spirit Names Albertin Montoya Interim Head Coach". Washington Spirit. 2 September 2022. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
  28. ^ Diamond, Drew (18 October 2023). "Washington Spirit sack Mark Parsons after second stint in charge". Her Football Hub. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  29. ^ https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2023/10/17/spirit-fires-mark-parsons-coach/. Retrieved 18 October 2023. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  30. ^ "Spirit Announce Head Coach and General Manager Mark Parsons Will Not Return in 2016". 30 September 2015. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  31. ^ a b "Portland Thorns FC's Mark Parsons Voted Coach of the Year". National Women's Soccer League. 8 October 2016. Archived from the original on 4 October 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
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