Aaran Lines

Aaran Franklyn Lines (born 21 December 1976) is a New Zealand professional football manager and former player, most recently in charge of the Western New York Flash. He represented New Zealand at international level.

Club career Born in Lower Hutt, New Zealand, Lines moved to Germany at the age of 16 to join SV Werder Bremen's youth team of the German Bundesliga, following his appearance playing in an U-17 tournament in Japan. Lines played 80 games with the Werder Bremen youth team and 60 games with the reserve team.

In 1997, Lines moved to VfL Osnabrück where he appeared in over 80 matches in the first and second Bundesliga. At the start of the new century, the New Zealand native headed back home to play in the newly launched A-League for the Auckland Football Kingz (now the Wellington Phoenix). Following his stint in the A-League, Lines returned to Europe where he played for Dresdner SC of the 2. Bundesliga, and Ruch Chorzów and Arka Gdynia of the Polish first division.

Lines then headed to America to play for the Portland Timbers of the USL, and in 2006 made the move to Rochester, NY to play for the Rochester Rhinos. Lines appeared in over 40 matches for the Rhinos in the last two years of his career, including the 2006 USL Championship match.

International career Lines played representative age group football for New Zealand, making ten New Zealand U17, eight New Zealand U20 and nine New Zealand U23 appearances before making his full New Zealand debut in a 1–0 win over Tahiti on 25 September 1998.

He was included in the New Zealand side for the 1999 Confederations Cup finals tournament in Mexico where he featured in all three group games, and again for the 2003 Confederations Cup finals tournament in France where he made a single appearance against Japan.

Lines ended his international playing career with 31 official full international caps and four goals to his credit, his final cap an appearance in a 2–0 win over Fiji on 6 June 2004. Lines led the Buffalo Flash to an impressive 10–3–3 record in their inaugural season and a trip to the second round of the playoffs. In only his second year of coaching, he led the squad to an undefeated season and a W-League Championship defeating the Vancouver Whitecaps 3–1 in Santa Clarita, CA. Lines was named the Fieldturf 2010 Coach of the Year.

The WNY Flash joined Women's Professional Soccer as an expansion club in September 2010. Lines led a squad featuring five-time FIFA World Player of the Year Marta, Christine Sinclair and Alex Morgan to the 2011 WPS title. Lines focuses on the development of the WNY Flash Youth Academy. He continues to manage Sahlen's Sports Park indoor facility and oversee the direction of the Euros and Champions Soccer series based in Elma, NY.

Career statistics

Scores and results list New Zealand's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Lines goal.

Managerial statistics All competitive league games (league and domestic cup) and international matches (including friendlies) are included.

Personal life Lines is married to Alex Sahlen, who played for the Flash from 2009 to 2014, was the team's president, and is the daughter of team owner Joe Sahlen. They have three children.

Honours New Zeland OFC Nations Cup: 1998, 2002; 3rd place, 2004 AFC–OFC Challenge Cup: Runner-up, 2003