Martin Nash (born December 27, 1975) is a Canadian soccer coach and former player. He is currently the head coach of York United of the Canadian Premier League.

A five-time all-league selection in the USL-1 and its predecessor, the A-League, Nash has won four league championships, two with the Rochester Rhinos in 2000 and 2001 and two with the Vancouver Whitecaps in 2006 and 2008. He spent the majority of his playing career in North America, most notably in the Vancouver area, but also played in England for Stockport County, Chester City and Macclesfield Town.

Nash was also a regular member of the Canadian national soccer team, making 38 appearances and scoring 2 goals during his 13-year career.

He is the younger brother of retired basketball superstar Steve Nash.

Club career

Early career
Nash began his career with the Vancouver 86ers in 1995. He was named to the all-A-League team in his second season with the 86ers as a 20-year-old in 1996. He spent the next several years jumping backwards and forwards across the Atlantic: he also played 5 games for a Stockport County side in 1996–97 that won promotion to Football League First Division and appeared in 15 games as a substitute for the club's first-team the next season. He also played briefly for Third Division Chester City in 1999, on loan for Third Division Macclesfield Town in February 2003, and had a short stint with the Edmonton Drillers in 1998–1999.

Rochester Raging Rhinos
Nash played for the Rochester Raging Rhinos of the A-League from 2000 to 2003, winning back-to-back league titles in 2000 and 2001.  He was given second-team all-league honours in 2000.

Montreal Impact

He spent the 2003 season with the Montreal Impact, before signing with the Vancouver Whitecaps for a third time in 2004.  During this time, Nash also played pro indoor soccer in the Major Indoor Soccer League, playing the 2003–04 season with the Dallas Sidekicks.

Vancouver Whitecaps
In 2006, Nash helped Vancouver capture their first USL First Division Championship, beating Rochester Raging Rhinos by a score of 3–0. He established a new team record for longest ironman streak, playing 77 consecutive games over three seasons. The record had previously belonged to Domenic Mobilio with 68 games.  After being named to two Second All-League teams in 1996 and 2000, Nash received First All-League honours in 2007 with the Whitecaps.  The following season, on September 30, 2008, Nash was named to his second consecutive USL-1 First All-League Team, en route to another USL-1 Championship on October 12, 2008, beating the Puerto Rico Islanders 2–1 in Vancouver. The win marked Nash's fourth league title (including the USL's predecessor, the A-League).

With the departure of Jeff Clarke following the Whitecaps' championship, Nash succeeded Clarke as team captain on January 26, 2009. He missed the final five games of the regular season after pulling his hamstring in a game against the Rochester Rhinos on August 29.  He returned in time for the playoff opener against the Carolina RailHawks. In the midst of Vancouver's playoff run, Nash was named to the Second All-League team.  Despite finishing the 2009 regular season as the seventh and final seed in the playoffs, Nash and the Whitecaps advanced to the finals for the second consecutive year, eliminating the RailHawks and Timbers, the league's top two seeds.  In the first leg of the final against the Montreal Impact, however, Nash was assessed a red card in the 52nd minute after delivering a tackle to Roberto Brown, suspending him for the remainder of the two-leg final.  Brown was carried off the field on a stretcher but quickly returned to finish the game, which Montreal won 3–2.

Despite expectations that he would captain the Whitecaps as the team enters Major League Soccer in 2011, Nash announced his retirement from professional soccer on October 27, 2010, stating "Today is a day of mixed emotions for me, but we all decide to move on. I'm glad to end my career here, where it all started". Nash accepted a new role as a scout and youth playing coach with the club.

International career

Nash made his debut for Canada in an April 1997 FIFA World Cup qualification match against El Salvador. Along with Jason De Vos, Paul Stalteri and Jason Bent, he formed a new generation of Canadian internationals who would succeed the retiring veterans Frank Yallop, Colin Miller, Randy Samuel and Alex Bunbury. He earned a total of 38 caps, scoring 2 goals. He has represented Canada in 10 FIFA World Cup qualification matches. He was a member of the Canadian squad at the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

International goals
Scores and results list Canada's goal tally first.

Coaching career
Nash was named the assistant coach of the Ottawa Fury on October 18, 2013, for their inaugural year in the North American Soccer League. On October 31, 2016, Nash announced he was leaving the Fury to pursue other opportunities.

In January 2017, Nash served as an assistant coach for the Canada men's national team under interim head coach Michael Findlay.

On May 11, 2018, he was named as an assistant coach for Calgary Foothills FC After helping lead Calgary Foothills to the PDL Championship in 2018, he joined Tommy Wheeldon Jr. on the inaugural coaching staff of Canadian Premier League club Cavalry FC, being named assistant coach and technical director.

On December 21, 2021, he was announced as the head coach of York United FC of the Canadian Premier League.

Honours
Rochester Raging Rhinos
A-League: 2000, 2001

Vancouver Whitecaps
USL First Division: 2006, 2008

Canada
CONCACAF Gold Cup: 2000

Individual
USSF D-2 Pro League Best XI: 2010

References

External links

 Vancouver Whitecaps bio
  (archive)
 Dallas Sidekicks bio

1975 births
Living people
Men's association football midfielders
Canadian men's soccer players
Canadian soccer coaches
Soccer people from Saskatchewan
Sportspeople from Regina, Saskatchewan
Soccer players from Victoria, British Columbia
Canadian people of English descent
Canadian people of Welsh descent
Canadian expatriate men's soccer players
Expatriate men's footballers in England
Canadian expatriate sportspeople in England
Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States
Canadian expatriate sportspeople in the United States
Vancouver Whitecaps (1986–2010) players
Stockport County F.C. players
Edmonton Drillers (1996–2000) players
Chester City F.C. players
Rochester New York FC players
Macclesfield Town F.C. players
Montreal Impact (1992–2011) players
Dallas Sidekicks (2001–2008 MISL) players
American Professional Soccer League players
English Football League players
National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players
Major Indoor Soccer League (2001–2008) players
USSF Division 2 Professional League players
USL First Division players
Canada men's under-23 international soccer players
Canada men's international soccer players
CONCACAF Gold Cup-winning players
2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup players
2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup players
2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup players
Vancouver Whitecaps FC non-playing staff
Ottawa Fury FC non-playing staff
Cavalry FC non-playing staff
York United FC coaches
Canadian Premier League coaches