Aaran Franklyn Lines is a retired New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 association football player and current head coach of the Western New York Flash, the 2011 Women's Professional Soccer

Women's Professional Soccer

Women's Professional Soccer is the top level professional women's soccer league in the United States. It began play on March 29, 2009. The league was composed of seven teams for its first two seasons and fielded 6 teams for the 2011 season, with continued plans for future expansion...

 (WPS) Champions. He has represented New Zealand at international level. He moved to Germany at age 16 to play professionally for Werder Bremen.

Professional Career

Lines moved to Germany at the age of 16 to join SV Werder Bremen Youth team of the German Bundesliga, following his appearance in the U-17 World Cup in Japan. Lines played 80 games with the Werder Bremen youth team, 60 games with the reserve team eventually worked his way up to the First team. In 1997, Lines moved to Vfl Osnabruck 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 Dresdener SC of the German second Bundesliga, and Ruch Chorzow 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 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

Lines played representative age group football for New Zealand, making ten New Zealand U17

New Zealand national under-17 football team

The New Zealand Under 17's football team, more commonly known as the Young All Whites, is controlled by New Zealand Football and represents New Zealand in international Under 17 or youth football competitions....

, eight New Zealand U20

New Zealand national under-20 football team

The New Zealand Under 20's football team, more commonly known as the Junior All Whites, is controlled by New Zealand Football and represents New Zealand in international Under 20 or youth football competitions.-OFC:...

 and nine New Zealand U23

New Zealand national under-23 football team

The New Zealand Under-23 Football Team, informally known as the "Oly-Whites", represents New Zealand Football and New Zealand in international Under-23 football events, such as the Summer Olympics....

 appearances before making his full New Zealand debut in a 1–0 win over Tahiti

Tahiti national football team

The Tahiti national football team is the national team of French Polynesia and is controlled by the Fédération Tahitienne de Football.They finished second in the OFC Nations Cup in its first three installments, 1973, 1980, and 1996. In 2009 the under 20 team qualified for the FIFA U-20 World Cup in...

 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

Japan national football team

The Japan national football team represents Japan in association football and is operated by the Japan Football Association, the governing body for association football in 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

Fiji national football team

The Fiji national football team is the national team of Fiji and is controlled by the Fiji Football Association. Their best finish in the OFC Nations Cup was third in 1998 and 2008.-World Cup record:*1930 to 1978 - Did not enter...

 on 6 June 2004.

Coaching Career

After his two seasons with the Rochester Rhinos, Lines retired and accepted a coaching position with the expansion W-League Buffalo Flash, one hour from where he played. Lines had obtained his UEFA B Coaching License in Germany and had experience coaching in Germany as well as Australia. 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 after the clubs outstanding season. The WNY Flash joined Women’s Professional Soccer as an expansion club in September of 2010, directly following their decisive W-League Championship, and Lines led a squad featuring five time FIFA world player of the year Marta, Christine Sinclair, Caroline Seger and Alex Morgan to the 2011 WPS title.

External links

• Profile at 90Minut.pl