Carl Howard Valentine (born 4 July 1958) is a former professional soccer player and coach who has had a long association with soccer in the Vancouver area. Born in England, he represented the Canada national team at international level. He was the head coach of Ottawa Fury in the USL Premier Development League until taking the position as Vancouver Whitecaps FC club ambassador and staff coach in 2010, in the lead-up to the Whitecaps inaugural season in Major League Soccer. Club career Valentine had a career from the late 1970s to the late 1990s with several clubs, notably the Vancouver Whitecaps of the North American Soccer League, Oldham Athletic, West Bromwich Albion of the Football League, and the Vancouver 86ers of the Canadian Soccer League and later American Professional Soccer League. A striker, Valentine began his pro career in 1976 as a 17-year-old with Football League Second Division side Oldham Athletic. Valentine signed with the Vancouver Whitecaps and as a rookie helped them win their only North American Soccer League championship in 1979. Liking life in Vancouver, Valentine became a Canadian citizen in 1983. The lure of top division English soccer saw Valentine sign with West Midlands side West Brom in 1984. Until 2011, Valentine was the last player to have scored a winning goal for Albion against their local rivals Aston Villa, having scored the only goal of the game in a 1–0 win in 1985. After two seasons with the Baggies, in which he played 44 first-team games and scored 6 times, Valentine returned to Vancouver to play for the new franchise Vancouver 86ers, where he remained for the next 13 years. Retiring as a full-time player in 1992, Valentine was player/manager of the club until retiring in 1999. On 22 November 1985, Valentine signed with the Cleveland Force of the Major Indoor Soccer League. Valentine played three seasons with the Force which folded during the 1988 off season. He then signed with the Baltimore Blast. In June 1990, Valentine signed a one-year contract with the Blast only to be traded to the Kansas City Comets in exchange for Dale Mitchell on 21 August 1990. The Comets folded at the end of the season and in September 1991, Valentine signed with the Tacoma Stars. International career Initially hoping to be selected to play for England at some point, Valentine passed on an offer to play for Canada at