Chris Greatwich

Christopher Robert Barbon Greatwich (born 30 September 1983) is a former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Born in England, he played for the Philippines national team.

He was the assistant head coach of the Philippines from 2018 to 2020. He has previously played for Morris County Colonials and Kaya FC.

Club career

Greatwich began his career at Brighton and Hove Albion when he was recommended to the club by his PE Teacher aged 12. He progressed through the youth ranks and was part of their successful FA Youth Cup side in 2002, which lost to eventual winners Aston Villa.

Following his release from the club in 2003, Greatwich pursued a soccer scholarship in the United States, playing for Drury University and Hartwick College. Upon graduation, Greatwich returned to UK and following an unsuccessful trial with Kilmarnock in the Scottish Premier League, he joined non-league clubs Lewes FC & Bognor Regis Town.

In January 2013, Greatwich joined Kaya F.C. in the Philippines United Football League. Alongside being a player, Greatwich was brought in to oversee the club's Academy system.

In November 2015, Greatwich was appointed as full-time head coach of the club.

International goals No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1. 12 November 2006 Panaad Stadium, Bacolod, Philippines 1–2 1–2 2007 AFF Championship qualification 2. 14 November 2006 3–0 7–0 3. 23 October 2008 National Olympic Stadium, Phnom Penh, Cambodia 2–1 3–2 2008 AFF Championship qualification 4. 2 December 2010 Mỹ Đình National Stadium, Hanoi, Vietnam 1–1 1–1 2010 AFF Championship 5. 5 December 2010 Mỹ Đình National Stadium, Hanoi, Vietnam 1–0 2–0 2010 AFF Championship 6. 15 October 2013 Panaad Stadium, Bacolod, Philippines 2–1 3–1 2013 Philippine Peace Cup 7. 27 May 2014 National Football Stadium, Malé, Maldives 3–2 3–2 2014 AFC Challenge Cup

Managerial career

Kaya FC On 2 November 2015 Kaya announced that they have assigned Chris Greatwich as the club's full-time head coach. Greatwich had previously served as the club's head coach in an interim capacity in numerous occasions such as in the 2015 UFL Cup knockout stage.

Following his appointment, Kaya qualified for the AFC Cup in 2016, progressing out of the group having only conceded 2 goals in 6 group games (fewest in the competition). At the time, it was the first time a Philippine club had qualified for the knock-out stages of the AFC Cup. Also led the team to a UFL Cup semi-final in 2016.

In the newly formed Philippine Football League (PFL) in 2017, Greatwich led the team to a third-place regular season finish, the club's highest league position in 5 years, and narrowly lost in the play-off semi-finals to eventual PFL Champions Ceres.

In 2018, the club won its second trophy in three years when Kaya won their domestic cup competition, the Paulino Alcantara trophy. In addition to this trophy, Greatwich steered the club to runner-up in the PFL League.

In 2016 Greatwich was named number 12 in FourFourTwo's "Top 15 Managers" in the ASEAN/ Australian region.

Philippine National Team

In March 2018, Head Coach Thomas Dooley appointed Greatwich as his Assistant Coach. The team had impending qualification games for the Asian Cup, which they ultimately qualified for via victory versus Tajikistan.

Following Dooley's departure, Greatwich remained as Assistant Coach under former England manager Sven-Göran Eriksson for the Suzuki Cup, where they led the team to the semi-finals, losing to eventual champion Vietnam. In January 2019, Eriksson and Greatwich worked together in the Philippines' first ever major tournament, the Asian Cup.

Personal life Greatwich's brothers Phil and Simon also play for the Philippine national football team.

Honours

International Philippines AFC Challenge Cup runner-up: 2014