View source for Dale Mitchell (soccer)

{{Short description|Canadian soccer player}}
{{BLP sources|date=August 2011}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=February 2019}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2021}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name                = Dale Mitchell
| image               = Dale-mitchell-soccer.jpg
| image_size          = 200px
| caption             = Mitchell in 2007
| fullname            = Dale William Mitchell
| birth_date          = {{Birth date and age|1958|4|21}}
| birth_place         = [[Vancouver]], British Columbia, Canada
| height              = 1.85 m
| position            = [[Striker (association football)|Striker]]
| currentclub         = 
| years1              = 1977–1978
| clubs1              = [[Vancouver Whitecaps (NASL)|Vancouver Whitecaps]]
| caps1               = 5
| goals1              = 0
| years2              = 1979–1982
| clubs2              = [[Portland Timbers (NASL)|Portland Timbers]]
| caps2               = 101
| goals2              = 35
| years3              = 1983
| clubs3              = [[Montreal Manic]]
| caps3               = 24
| goals3              = 8
| years4              = 1984–1985
| clubs4              = [[Tacoma Stars (MISL)|Tacoma Stars]] (indoor)
| caps4               = 96
| goals4              = 96
| years5              = 1986–1990
| clubs5              = [[Kansas City Comets (1979–91)|Kansas City Comets]] (indoor)
| caps5               = 99
| goals5              = 99
| years6              = 1988–1990, 1992
| clubs6              = [[Vancouver 86ers]]
| caps6               = 
| goals6              = 
| years7              = 1990–1991
| clubs7              = [[Baltimore Blast]] (indoor)
| caps7               = 51
| goals7              = 42
|years8=1991
|clubs8=[[Toronto Blizzard (1986-1993)|Toronto Blizzard]]
|caps8=22
|goals8=10
| years9              = 1992–1994
| clubs9              = [[Tacoma Stars (MISL)|Tacoma Stars]] (indoor)
| caps9               = 40
| goals9              = 45
| totalcaps           = 651 
| totalgoals          = 546
| nationalyears1      = 1976
| nationalteam1       = [[Canada U-20 men's national soccer team|Canada U-20]]
| nationalcaps1       = 3
| nationalgoals1      = 1
| nationalyears2      = 1983–1987
| nationalteam2       = [[Canada men's national soccer team|Canada U-23]]
| nationalcaps2       = 9
| nationalgoals2      = 4
| nationalyears3      = 1980–1993
| nationalteam3       = [[Canada men's national soccer team|Canada]]
| nationalcaps3       = 55
| nationalgoals3      = 19
| manageryears1       = 1995–1999
| managerclubs1       = [[Vancouver Whitecaps (1986–2010)|Vancouver 86ers]] reserves
| manageryears2       = 2000–2001
| managerclubs2       = [[Vancouver Whitecaps (1986–2010)|Vancouver Whitecaps]]
| manageryears3       = 2002–2007
| managerclubs3       = [[Canada U-20 men's national soccer team|Canada U-20]]
| manageryears4       = 2007–2009
| managerclubs4       = [[Canada men's national soccer team|Canada]]
| medaltemplates = {{MedalCountry|{{fb|CAN}}}}
{{MedalSport|Men's [[Association football]]}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[CONCACAF Championship]]}}
{{Medal|W|[[1985 CONCACAF Championship|1985 North America]]|}}
}}

'''Dale William  Mitchell''' (born April 21, 1958) is a Canadian former professional [[association football|soccer]] [[Striker (association football)|striker]] who played for several North American teams in the 1980s and 1990s.

He made 55 appearances for the [[Canada men's national soccer team|Canada national team]] and scored a then national record 19 goals.<ref>[https://www.rsssf.org/miscellaneous/can-recintlp.html Goalscoring for Canada National Team] - RSSSF</ref> He coached the Canada national team from May 2007 until March 27, 2009. In 2012 as part of the [[Canadian Soccer Association]]'s centennial celebration, he was named to the all-time Canada XI men's team.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.canadasoccer.com/association-announces-all-time-canada-xi-men-s-team-p150746%26t%3Darticle_canadasoccer100|title=Association announces All-Time Canada XI - men's team - Canada Soccer|accessdate=April 2, 2021|archive-date=November 27, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121127071716/http://www.canadasoccer.com/association-announces-all-time-canada-xi-men-s-team-p150746%26t%3Darticle_canadasoccer100|url-status=dead}}</ref> He was inducted into the [[Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame]] in 2002. In March 2014 it was announced that he would also be a 2014 inductee into the Indoor Soccer Hall of Fame.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.indoorsoccerhall.com/|title=Home - Indoor Soccer Hall of Fame|website=www.indoorsoccerhall.com|accessdate=April 2, 2021}}</ref>

==Club career==
{{BLP unreferenced section|date=August 2011}}
Mitchell played in the former [[North American Soccer League (1968-1984)|North American Soccer League]]. He began his professional career with the [[Vancouver Whitecaps (NASL)|Vancouver Whitecaps]] (1977, 1978), then played for the [[Portland Timbers (NASL)|Portland Timbers]] (1979 to 1982)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.timbers.com/post/2012/08/24/timbers-flashback-dale-mitchell&client=safari&hl=en&gl=us&strip=1&vwsrc=0|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200716214735/https://www.timbers.com/post/2012/08/24/timbers-flashback-dale-mitchell&client=safari&hl=en&gl=us&strip=1&vwsrc=0|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 16, 2020|title=Timbers Flashback: Dale Mitchell|accessdate=April 2, 2021}}</ref> and for the [[Montreal Manic]] (1983). He was an original player with the [[Vancouver 86ers]] of the [[Canadian Soccer League (1987–1992)|Canadian Soccer League]] and [[American Professional Soccer League]] for whom he scored 37 goals during seasons from 1988 to 1990 and 1992 to 1994. He was with the [[Toronto Blizzard (NASL)|Toronto Blizzard]] for the 1991 season.

Mitchell also played nine [[indoor soccer]] seasons in the old [[Major Soccer League|Major Indoor Soccer League]] with the [[Tacoma Stars (MISL)|Tacoma Stars]], [[Kansas City Comets (1979–91)|Kansas City Comets]], and the [[Baltimore Blast (1980–1992)|Baltimore Blast]]. Mitchell finished as the league's third all-time goal scorer and fourth in total points with 406 goals and 280 assists for 686 points. He also played with the [[Toronto Blizzard (1986-1993)|Toronto Blizzard]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.statscrew.com/minorsoccer/stats/p-mitchdal001|title=Dale Mitchell soccer Statistics on StatsCrew.com|website=www.statscrew.com|accessdate=April 2, 2021}}</ref>

==International career==
Mitchell made his senior debut for [[Canada men's national soccer team|Canada]] in a September 15, 1980 friendly match against [[New Zealand men's national football team|New Zealand]] in [[Vancouver]] (in which he scored two goals) and played his final international in an August 15, 1993 World Cup qualifier against [[Australia men's national soccer team|Australia]] in [[Sydney]].<ref name = "CSA">{{Cite web|url=https://canadasoccer.com/index.php?pid=2222&t=profile&|title=Dale Mitchell|website=www.canadasoccer.com|access-date=May 9, 2020}}</ref> He represented Canada in 22 World Cup qualifiers<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080228062915/http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/statisticsandrecords/players/player=54294/index.html Record at FIFA Tournaments] - FIFA</ref> and also played in the [[1986 FIFA World Cup]] finals in Canada's third group stage match against the [[Soviet Union national football team|Soviet Union]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/edition=68/results/matches/match=476/report.html |title=1986 FIFA World Cup Mexico ™ |publisher=FIFA.com |access-date=December 29, 2013|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131230232348/http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/edition%3D68/results/matches/match%3D476/report.html |archive-date=December 30, 2013}}</ref>

Mitchell also played every minute of Canada's matches at the [[Football at the 1984 Summer Olympics|1984 Summer Olympics]], scoring three goals including the equalizer when Canada took Brazil into extra time and eventually penalty kicks in the quarterfinals.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.fifa.com/tournaments/archive/tournament=512/edition=3330/results/index.html |title=Previous Tournaments |publisher=FIFA.com |access-date=December 29, 2013|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080914040453/http://www.fifa.com/tournaments/archive/tournament%3D512/edition%3D3330/results/index.html |archive-date = September 14, 2008|year=2008 }}</ref>

===International goals===
:''Scores and results list Canada's goal tally first.''
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! No. !! Date !! Venue !! Opponent !! Score !! Result !! Competition
|-
| 1 || September 15, 1980 || [[Empire Stadium (Vancouver)|Empire Stadium]], [[Vancouver]], Canada || {{fb|NZL}} || 2–0 || 4–0 || [[Friendly match|Friendly]]
|-
| 2 || September 15, 1980 || Empire Stadium, Vancouver, Canada || {{fb|NZL}} || 3–0 || 4–0 || Friendly
|-
| 3 || November 11, 1980 || [[Estadio Mateo Flores]], [[Guatemala City]], Guatemala || {{fb|GUA}} || 1–0 || 1–0 || Friendly
|-
| 4 || October 12, 1981 || Skinner Park, [[San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago|San Fernando]], Trinidad and Tobago || {{fb|TRI}} || 1–0 || 4–2 || Friendly
|-
| 5 || October 12, 1981 || Skinner Park, San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago || {{fb|TRI}} || 4–1 || 4–2 || Friendly
|-
| 6 || April 20, 1985 || [[Royal Athletic Park]], [[Victoria, British Columbia|Victoria]], Canada || {{fb|GUA}} || 1–0 || 2–1 || [[1986 FIFA World Cup qualification]]
|-
| 7 || April 20, 1985 || Royal Athletic Park, Victoria, Canada || {{fb|GUA}} || 2–0 || 2–1 || 1986 FIFA World Cup qualification
|-
| 8 || May 5, 1985 || Estadio Mateo Flores, Guatemala City, Guatemala || {{fb|GUA}} || 1–0 || 1–1 || 1986 FIFA World Cup qualification
|-
| 9 || May 8, 1985 || [[Stade Sylvio Cator]], [[Port-au-Prince]], Haiti || {{fb|HAI|1964}} || 1–0 || 2–0 || 1986 FIFA World Cup qualification
|-
| 10 || June 2, 1985 || [[Dongdaemun Stadium]], [[Seoul]], South Korea || {{fb|GHA}} ||  || 2–1 || [[1985 President's Cup Football Tournament|President's Cup]]
|-
| 11 || October 2, 1988 || [[Queen's Park Oval]], [[Port of Spain]], Trinidad and Tobago || {{fb|TRI}} || 2–1 || 2–1 || Friendly
|-
| 12 || October 15, 1988 || [[Swangard Stadium]], [[Burnaby]], Canada || {{fb|GUA}} || 1–2 || 3–2 || [[1990 FIFA World Cup qualification]]
|-
| 13 || October 15, 1988 || Swangard Stadium, Burnaby, Canada || {{fb|GUA}} || 2–2 || 3–2 || 1990 FIFA World Cup qualification
|-
| 14 || June 28, 1991 || [[Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum]], [[Los Angeles]], U.S. || {{fb|HND|1949}} || 1–4 || 2–4 || [[1991 CONCACAF Gold Cup]]
|-
| 15 || June 28, 1991 || Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, U.S. || {{fb|HND|1949}} || 2–4 || 2–4 || 1991 CONCACAF Gold Cup
|-
| 16 || July 3, 1991 || Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, U.S. || {{fb|JAM}} || 1–0 || 3–2 || 1991 CONCACAF Gold Cup
|-
| 17 || October 18, 1992|| [[Independence Park (Jamaica)|National Stadium]], [[Kingston, Jamaica|Kingston]], [[Jamaica]] || {{fb|JAM}} || 1–1 || 1–1 || [[1994 FIFA World Cup qualification]]
|-
| 18 || November 1, 1992 || [[Varsity Stadium]], [[Toronto]], Canada || {{fb|JAM}} || 1–0 || 1–0 || 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
|-
| 19 || November 8, 1992 || Swangard Stadium, Burnaby, Canada || {{fb|SLV}} || 2–2 || 2–3 || 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
|}

==Coaching career==
Following his retirement as a player, Mitchell coached the 86ers reserves squad and was first-team assistant coach from 1995 to 1999. He succeeded [[Carl Valentine]] as the club's head coach in 1999 when the club was renamed the [[Vancouver Whitecaps (1986–2010)|Vancouver Whitecaps]]. From 2001 to 2007, Mitchell was [[Canada U-20 men's national soccer team|Canada's Under-20 national team]] head coach. In 2004, he served as an assistant coach to [[Frank Yallop]] with the senior national team during FIFA World Cup Qualifiers. In May 2007, he was appointed head coach of the Canadian men's senior team. In 2008, Canada did not progress beyond CONCACAF Stage III of the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, finishing in the so-called CONCACAF Group of Death behind the higher-ranked Mexican and Honduran teams. Mitchell was relieved of his duties on March 27, 2009.<ref>[http://sports.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090327.wsptcansoc0327/GSStory/GlobeSports/home "Mitchell given the boot", ''The Canadian Press'', Friday, March 27, 2009.]</ref>

==Honours==
'''Canada'''
*[[CONCACAF Championship]]: [[1985 CONCACAF Championship|1985]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablesc/conca85det.html|title=Torneo Premundial 1985 (IX Campeonato de Naciones (NORCECA) CONCACAF)|access-date=April 20, 2025}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Canada Soccer player|id=2222}} / [[Canada Soccer Hall of Fame]]
* {{NFT|13882}}
* [http://nasljerseys.com/Players/M/Mitchell.Dale.htm Dale Mitchell stats]

{{Navboxes
| title = Canada squads
| bg    = red
| fg    = white
| list1 = 
{{Canada Squad 1984 Summer Olympics}}
{{Canada squad 1985 CONCACAF Championship}}
{{Canada Squad 1986 World Cup}}
{{Canada Squad 1991 CONCACAF Gold Cup}}
}}
{{Vancouver Whitecaps coaches}}
{{Canada national soccer team managers}}
{{Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Dale}}
[[Category:1958 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Soccer players from Vancouver]]
[[Category:Canadian people of British descent]]
[[Category:Men's association football forwards]]
[[Category:Canada men's national soccer team managers]]
[[Category:Canadian men's soccer players]]
[[Category:Canada men's international soccer players]]
[[Category:Canada men's national under-20 soccer team managers]]
[[Category:Olympic soccer players for Canada]]
[[Category:Canadian expatriate men's soccer players]]
[[Category:Canadian expatriate sportspeople in the United States]]
[[Category:Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States]]
[[Category:Footballers at the 1984 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:1986 FIFA World Cup players]]
[[Category:1991 CONCACAF Gold Cup players]]
[[Category:Vancouver Whitecaps (1974–1984) players]]
[[Category:Portland Timbers (1975–1982) players]]
[[Category:Montreal Manic players]]
[[Category:Tacoma Stars players]]
[[Category:Kansas City Comets (1979–1991) players]]
[[Category:Baltimore Blast (1980–1992) players]]
[[Category:Vancouver Whitecaps (1986–2010) players]]
[[Category:Toronto Blizzard (1986–1993) players]]
[[Category:North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players]]
[[Category:North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players]]
[[Category:American Professional Soccer League players]]
[[Category:Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players]]
[[Category:Canadian Soccer League (1987–1992) players]]
[[Category:A-League (1995–2004) players]]
[[Category:Canadian soccer coaches]]
[[Category:Vancouver Whitecaps (1986–2010) coaches]]
[[Category:Canada Soccer Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:Canada men's youth international soccer players]]
[[Category:Canada men's under-23 international soccer players]]
[[Category:CONCACAF Championship–winning players]]
[[Category:20th-century Canadian sportsmen]]