# John Catliff

John Terence Catliff (born 8 January 1965) is a Canadian former professional soccer player, who played as a striker. He retired ranked second all-time on the Canadian national team with 18 international "A" goals between 1984 and 1994.
In 2012 as part of the Canadian Soccer Association's centennial celebration, he was named to the all-time Canada XI men's team.

## Club career

Catliff was selected to the All-Ivy League First team as a forward in 1983, 1984, and 1986 while playing for the Harvard Crimson. He was also named to the All-American First Team in 1986. Catliff ended his college career with the Crimson with a total of 34 goals and 15 assists.
Catliff was a Canadian Soccer League star, scoring the second most goals of anyone in the League's six-year history with 69 goals in total. He was a league season scoring champion in 1988 with 22 goals and in 1990 with 19 goals. He began his CSL career in 1987 playing for the League's inaugural champions, the Calgary Kickers. He then spent the next six seasons with the Vancouver 86ers, who became the CSL champions in four consecutive seasons from 1988 through 1991. Ligament injuries to both knees forced him to retire from professional play in 1994 after two years on the 86ers in the American Professional Soccer League.

## International career

Catliff was a member of the quarter-finalist Canadian national team at the 1984 Summer Olympics while still playing at Harvard. He was just 19 years old when he made his international "A" debut for Canada in a July 1984 friendly match against Chile in Edmonton. He made 60 international appearances across 11 years from 1984 to 1994 with Canada Soccer's Men's National Team, including 45 international "A" appearances and 18 international "A" goals.
He represented Canada in 12 FIFA World Cup qualification matches. He suffered a serious knee injury in a 1986 World Cup qualifying match away to Honduras. His replacement, George Pakos, scored the only goal in a crucial 1–0 victory. Recovering from injury, he was not named to Canada's roster for the 1986 World Cup, Canada's only appearance until the 2022 World Cup.
His final international game came in June 1994 in a friendly match against the Netherlands.

### International "A" goals

    Scores and results list Canada's goal tally first.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1 | 9 June 1985 | Gwangju Mudeung Stadium, Gwangju, South Korea | Iraq | 1–0 | 1–6 | President's Cup |
| 2 | 2 October 1987 | Estadio Nacional, Tegucigalpa, Honduras | Honduras | 1–0 | 1–1 | Friendly match |
| 3 | 5 April 1988 | National Stadium, Kingston, Jamaica | Jamaica | 1–0 | 4–0 | Friendly match |
| 4 | 5 April 1988 | National Stadium, Kingston, Jamaica | Jamaica | 2–0 | 4–0 | Friendly match |
| 5 | 5 April 1988 | National Stadium, Kingston, Jamaica | Jamaica | 3–0 | 4–0 | Friendly match |
| 6 | 14 April 1988 | Swangard Stadium, Burnaby, Canada | Mexico | 1–0 | 1–1 | Friendly match |
| 7 | 2 October 1988 | Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago | Trinidad and Tobago | 1–1 | 2–1 | Friendly match |
| 8 | 13 May 1990 | Swangard Stadium, Burnaby, Canada | Mexico | 1–1 | 2–1 | North American Soccer Championship |
| 9 | 13 May 1990 | Swangard Stadium, Burnaby, Canada | Mexico | 2–1 | 2–1 | North American Soccer Championship |
| 10 | 2 April 1992 | Royal Athletic Park, Victoria, Canada | China | 1–0 | 5–2 | Friendly match |
| 11 | 2 April 1992 | Royal Athletic Park, Victoria, Canada | China | 2–0 | 5–2 | Friendly match |
| 12 | 20 May 1992 | Varsity Stadium, Toronto, Canada | Scotland | 1–1 | 1–3 | Friendly match |
| 13 | 4 March 1993 | LeBard Stadium, Costa Mesa, United States | United States | 2–1 | 2–2 | Friendly match |
| 14 | 11 March 1993 | Royal Athletic Park, Victoria, Canada | South Korea | 1–0 | 2–0 | Friendly match |
| 15 | 4 April 1993 | Estadio Nacional, Tegucigalpa, Honduras | Honduras | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 16 | 11 April 1993 | Swangard Stadium, Burnaby, Canada | El Salvador | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 17 | 18 April 1993 | Swangard Stadium, Burnaby, Canada | Honduras | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 18 | 2 May 1993 | Estadio Cuscatlán, San Salvador, El Salvador | El Salvador | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification |

### Additional international goals

    Scores and results list Canada's goal tally first.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| * | 23 June 1984 | Provincial Stadium, Guangzhou, Canton, China | Nigeria | 1–1 | 3–1 | Great Wall Championship |
| * | 23 June 1984 | Provincial Stadium, Guangzhou, Canton, China | Nigeria | 3–1 | 3–1 | Great Wall Championship |
| * | 25 June 1984 | Workers Stadium, Beijing, China | Congo | 2–0 | 2–0 | Great Wall Championship |
| * | 30 June 1984 | Tianjin Garden Stadium, Tianjin, China | Poland U-21 | 1–0 | 2–5 | Great Wall Championship |
| * | 30 June 1984 | Tianjin Garden Stadium, Tianjin, China | Poland U-21 | 2–1 | 2–5 | Great Wall Championship |
| * | 26 March 1988 | Lima, Peru | Peru U-19 & Seniors | 3–1 | 3–1 | Friendly match |
| * | 8 July 1988 | Windsor Stadium, Windsor, ON, CAN | Italy Amateurs | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly match |
| * | 6 May 1990 | Swangard Stadium, Burnaby, Canada | United States "B" | 1–0 | 1–0 | North American Soccer Championship |

## Personal life

Catliff recently worked as global Vice President of Sales with Helly Hansen outdoor apparel company but now works with Firstar Sports. He lives with his wife Sarah and his three soccer loving sons, Brendan (born 1994), and Jamie (born 1998), and Andrew Catliff (born 1996) John was the team Coach of the Vancouver Football Club Under 14 boys, where his son Jamie played. Catliff is an Honoured member of The Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame.

## Honours

* Canadian Soccer League: 5
       1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991
* Canadian Soccer League Top Goalscorer: 2
       1988, 1990