American soccer player
Robert Findley
(born August 4, 1985) is an American former professional
soccer
player who played as a
forward
. He was capped 11 times by the
United States national team
, having made his international debut in 2007.
Findley played college soccer for the
Oregon State Beavers
and amateur soccer for the
Boulder Rapids Reserve
before turning professional in 2007. He played in
Major League Soccer
for
Los Angeles Galaxy
and
Real Salt Lake
, before moving to English club
Nottingham Forest
in January 2011. After a loan at
Gillingham
, Findley returned to Real Salt Lake before spells with
Toronto FC
and
Rayo OKC
.
Early and personal life
[
edit
]
Born in
Phoenix, Arizona
, Findley attended
Shadow Mountain High School
, graduating in 2003.
[1]
Findley is a cousin of basketball players
Mike Bibby
and
Eddie House
, and American football wide receiver
Shaun McDonald
.
[1]
He is of Trinidadian descent.
[2]
Club career
[
edit
]
College and amateur
[
edit
]
Findley began his career playing
college soccer
at
Oregon State University
.
[3]
Later, he spent two seasons with the
Boulder Rapids Reserve
of the
USL Premier Development League
.
[4]
Major League Soccer
[
edit
]
Findley was selected by the
Los Angeles Galaxy
in the second round of the
2007 MLS SuperDraft
as the sixteenth pick overall.
[5]
On June 21, 2007, Findley was traded along with midfielder
Nathan Sturgis
to
Real Salt Lake
in exchange for veteran forward
Chris Klein
.
[6]
He joined
Danish Superliga
side
Brøndby
on trial in January 2009.
[7]
However, he failed to secure a contract with the club and returned to Salt Lake. In the following season, he had three multi-goal matches, including the first hat trick in franchise history.
[8]
In the 2009 MLS Cup Final, Findley scored in the 64th minute, tying the match at 1?1; Salt Lake later emerged victorious in penalty kicks, claiming the
MLS Cup
in one of the biggest upsets in the history of the MLS Cup final.
[9]
Findley's contract with Real Salt Lake expired at the end of the 2010 MLS season, and he announced his intentions to leave MLS and move to Europe.
[10]
Despite this statement of intent, Findley was selected by
Portland Timbers
in the
2010 MLS Expansion Draft
, enabling Portland to retain his MLS rights should he ever choose to return to the league.
[11]
Nottingham Forest
[
edit
]
After a short trial with English club
Wolverhampton Wanderers
in mid-December 2010, Findley was signed as a free agent by English Championship club
Nottingham Forest
on December 23, 2010, subject to receiving a work permit. His work permit was approved at a F.A. hearing in London on January 15, 2011.
[12]
Findley incurred a thigh injury in training shortly after joining Forest and became unavailable until Spring 2011.
[13]
After several months on the sidelines, Findley finally made his debut for Forest on April 22, 2011, coming on as a substitute in a 3?2 victory over East Midlands rivals
Leicester City
.
[14]
Findley made his full competitive debut for Forest on August 8, 2011, in a home fixture against
Notts County
in the first round of the
2011?12 Football League Cup
. Findley scored Forest's second goal?his first goal for the club?after having an earlier effort ruled out for offside. He also converted his penalty in the match's penalty shoot-out, which Forest won.
[15]
Forest manager
Steve McClaren
said: "He can have a big impact in the Championship. He is as fast as lightning. He is quick, he covers a lot of ground, he works for the team, he defends when he has to and, most importantly, he can get a goal".
[16]
After struggling for first-team opportunities in 2012, Findley was loaned to
League Two
club
Gillingham
on September 21, 2012, for an initial period of one month.
[17]
He made his debut for Gillingham in a 2?0 away win at
Port Vale
, and supplied the cross for the first goal.
[18]
Vale manager
Micky Adams
stated that "the pace of Findley scared the life out of" his team.
[19]
After seven appearances for
the Gills
, Findley returned to Forest.
[20]
On January 14, 2013, Nottingham Forest announced that Findley's contract had been terminated by mutual consent.
[21]
Return to Major League Soccer
[
edit
]
Following his release from Forest, Real Salt Lake acquired Findley's MLS rights from Portland in exchange for allocation money and re-signed him on January 16, 2013.
[22]
On December 1, 2014, it was announced that Salt Lake had declined their option on Findley's contract.
[23]
Findley entered the
2014 MLS Re-Entry Draft
on December 12, 2014 and was chosen in the first round of stage one by
Toronto FC
.
[24]
He scored a goal in his first game for Toronto to start the
2015 season
.
[25]
Findley would go on to finish the season scoring 2 goals for Toronto FC.
On February 10, 2016, it was reported that Findley was no longer with Toronto FC.
[26]
NASL
[
edit
]
On February 24, 2016, Findley signed a contract with
Rayo OKC
of the
NASL
, the second tier in the American soccer pyramid.
[27]
On April 22, 2016, Findley scored his first goal for Rayo OKC in a 3-2 victory over
Miami FC
.
[28]
On March 6, 2018, Findley announced his retirement from professional soccer.
[29]
[30]
International career
[
edit
]
Findley made his international debut for the
United States national team
in October 2007
[1]
[31]
and made three appearances at the
2010 World Cup
in South Africa, starting at forward for the US against England and Slovenia in the group stage of the tournament, as well as starting in the round of 16 match against Ghana.
[32]
Career statistics
[
edit
]
- As of February 14, 2016
[1]
[31]
[33]
Club
|
Season
|
League
|
Cup
|
League Cup
|
Continental
|
Total
|
Apps
|
Goals
|
Apps
|
Goals
|
Apps
|
Goals
|
Apps
|
Goals
|
Apps
|
Goals
|
Boulder Rapids Reserve
|
2005
|
9
|
10
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
9
|
2
|
2006
|
8
|
5
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
8
|
5
|
Total
|
17
|
15
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
17
|
15
|
Los Angeles Galaxy
|
2007
|
9
|
2
|
?
|
?
|
0
|
0
|
?
|
?
|
9
|
2
|
Total
|
9
|
2
|
?
|
?
|
0
|
0
|
?
|
?
|
9
|
2
|
Real Salt Lake
|
2007
|
16
|
6
|
?
|
?
|
0
|
0
|
?
|
?
|
16
|
6
|
2008
|
29
|
6
|
?
|
?
|
3
|
0
|
?
|
?
|
32
|
6
|
2009
|
27
|
12
|
?
|
?
|
4
|
3
|
?
|
?
|
31
|
15
|
2010
|
24
|
5
|
?
|
?
|
2
|
1
|
6
|
0
|
32
|
6
|
Total
|
96
|
29
|
?
|
?
|
9
|
4
|
6
|
0
|
111
|
33
|
Nottingham Forest
|
2010?11
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
2011?12
|
23
|
3
|
1
|
0
|
3
|
3
|
0
|
0
|
27
|
6
|
2012?13
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
Total
|
25
|
3
|
1
|
0
|
3
|
3
|
0
|
0
|
29
|
6
|
Gillingham
(loan)
|
2012?13
|
7
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
7
|
0
|
Total
|
7
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
7
|
0
|
Real Salt Lake
|
2013
|
25
|
6
|
4
|
0
|
5
|
2
|
?
|
?
|
34
|
8
|
2014
|
16
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
?
|
?
|
18
|
2
|
Total
|
41
|
7
|
5
|
1
|
6
|
2
|
?
|
?
|
52
|
10
|
Toronto FC
|
2015
|
25
|
2
|
?
|
?
|
1
|
0
|
?
|
?
|
26
|
2
|
Total
|
25
|
2
|
?
|
?
|
1
|
0
|
?
|
?
|
26
|
2
|
Rayo OKC
|
2016
|
20
|
4
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
?
|
?
|
22
|
4
|
Total
|
20
|
4
|
?
|
?
|
1
|
0
|
?
|
?
|
22
|
4
|
Career total
|
240
|
62
|
7
|
1
|
20
|
9
|
6
|
0
|
273
|
72
|
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
"Profile"
. Major League Soccer.
- ^
"USA squad"
. May 26, 2010.
- ^
"Profile"
. Oregon State Beavers. Archived from
the original
on May 2, 2012.
- ^
"13 USL Alums on US World Cup Roster"
. USL Soccer. May 26, 2010. Archived from
the original
on May 24, 2012.
- ^
"Galaxy select five players in MLS SuperDraft"
.
Our Sports Central
. January 12, 2007
. Retrieved
January 5,
2012
.
- ^
"Findley, Sturgis go to RSL"
. L.A. Soccer News
. Retrieved
June 5,
2012
.
- ^
"Amerikaner pa prøve i Brøndby"
. Avisen.dk. January 20, 2009
. Retrieved
June 5,
2012
.
- ^
Michael Black (April 3, 2009).
"Findley nets RSL's first-ever hat trick"
. Deseret News
. Retrieved
June 5,
2012
.
- ^
"CNNSI.com - Salt Lake's MLS title brings hope to sporting underdogs everywhere"
. Sportsillustrated.cnn.com. November 23, 2009
. Retrieved
June 5,
2012
.
- ^
Randy Davis (November 22, 2010).
"RSL announce Findley will try luck overseas"
. Major League Soccer.
- ^
Jeremiah Oshan (November 24, 2010).
"MLS Expansion Draft, Analysis: Whitecaps Showed Greater Willingness To Spend"
. SBNation.com
. Retrieved
November 28,
2012
.
- ^
"Nottingham Forest sign USA striker Robbie Findley"
. BBC Sport. December 23, 2010
. Retrieved
December 23,
2010
.
- ^
"Nottingham Forest's Robbie Findley close to fitness"
. BBC Sport. April 14, 2011
. Retrieved
April 14,
2011
.
- ^
Paul Fletcher (April 22, 2011).
"Nott'm Forest 3 - 2 Leicester"
. BBC Sport
. Retrieved
April 22,
2011
.
- ^
"Match report: Forest 3 Notts 3 AET (Forest win 4-3 on penalties)"
. This is Nottingham. August 10, 2011
. Retrieved
June 5,
2012
.
- ^
"McClaren: Findley can have big impact with the Reds"
. This is Nottingham. August 12, 2011
. Retrieved
June 5,
2012
.
- ^
"Gillingham sign Nottingham Forest's Robbie Findley on loan"
. BBC Sport. September 21, 2012.
- ^
"Port Vale 0-2 Gillingham"
. BBC Sport. September 22, 2012
. Retrieved
October 27,
2012
.
- ^
"Threat of Nottingham's Findley helps Gillingham go clear in League Two"
.
nz.news.yahoo.com
. September 25, 2012
. Retrieved
October 27,
2012
.
- ^
Day, Richard (November 1, 2012).
"Scunthorpe Preview"
.
gillinghamfootballclub.com
. Gillingham F.C
. Retrieved
November 1,
2012
.
- ^
Nicholson, Fraser (January 14, 2013).
"Robbie Findley"
.
nottinghamforest.co.uk
. Nottingham Forest F.C
. Retrieved
January 14,
2013
.
Nottingham Forest can confirm Robbie Findley has had his contract with the Club cancelled by mutual consent.
- ^
"Real Salt Lake acquires rights to Robbie Findley from Portland"
. MLS. January 16, 2013
. Retrieved
November 30,
2017
.
- ^
"Real Salt Lake begin retooling roster, decline options on Robbie Findley, three others | MLSsoccer.com"
. Archived from
the original
on December 3, 2014
. Retrieved
December 1,
2014
.
- ^
"Former Sporting Kansas City goalkeepers Eric Kronberg, Andy Gruenebaum taken in Re-Entry Draft | MLSsoccer.com"
. Archived from
the original
on December 28, 2014
. Retrieved
November 12,
2014
.
- ^
Clipperton, Joshua (March 7, 2015).
"Toronto FC defeats Vancouver in season opener Jozy Altidore scores twice and Robbie Findley adds one in 3-1 victory over Whitecaps"
. Toronto Star
. Retrieved
March 8,
2015
.
- ^
"Robbie Findley Released by Toronto FC"
. FanSided Inc. February 9, 2016
. Retrieved
November 30,
2017
.
- ^
"Rayo OKC signs Robbie Findley"
. rayookc.com. February 24, 2016
. Retrieved
February 24,
2016
.
- ^
"RAYO OKC GRINDS OUT FIRST NASL WIN, EDGING MIAMI FC IN 3-2 THRILLER"
. nasl.com. April 22, 2016
. Retrieved
April 22,
2016
.
- ^
"Former RSL striker Robbie Findley retires"
.
RSL Soapbox
. Retrieved
March 19,
2018
.
- ^
"Robbie Findley on Instagram: "Recently I was asked where I was now playing. Although I've already made the decision to retire from professional soccer I have yet to…"
"
.
Instagram
. Archived from
the original
on December 24, 2021
. Retrieved
March 19,
2018
.
- ^
a
b
Robbie Findley
at National-Football-Teams.com
- ^
Robbie Findley
?
FIFA
competition record (archived)
- ^
Robbie Findley
at Soccerbase