Full name Neil Anthony Banfield Role Football player Name Neil Banfield | ?–1980 Crystal Palace Playing position Position Defender | |
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Date of birth (1962-01-20) 20 January 1962 (age 53) Place of birth Poplar, London, England Current team Arsenal (First team coach) Team coached Arsenal F.C. (First team coach, since 2012) Similar People Boro Primorac, Steve Bould, Gerry Peyton, Pat Rice, Gavin Hoyte | ||
Inside Edge: Play With Style
Neil Banfield (born 20 January 1962 in Poplar, London) is an English football player and coach. He is currently the first-team coach of Arsenal F.C..
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Playing career
As a footballer, Banfield played as a centre half, playing for Crystal Palace with whom he won, in a 1-0 victory over Aston Villa, the FA Youth Cup of 1978. Whilst at Palace, Banfield also featured for England at youth level. He then moved five years afterward to Leyton Orient with whom he spent a solitary season. He also had a spell at Australian side Adelaide City.
Managerial career
After retiring from playing he entered coaching, and joined Arsenal in 1997. Banfield thus coached and managed various youth teams at Arsenal, winning two FA Youth Cups, an FA Premier Academy League U17 title in 1999-00 and an Academy League U19 title in 2003–04. He succeeded Eddie Niedzwiecki as Arsenal Reserves coach after the former's departure for Blackburn Rovers in September 2004. He was also Republic of Ireland U21 assistant manager under Don Givens between April 2004 and May 2005. On 24 May 2012 it was announced that Neil Banfield took up the role of a first-team coach for Arsenal.
Honours
FA Youth Cup: 1978