Darren Tilley


Darren Tilley is an English football former player and coach for USL-1 club Rochester Rhinos.

Playing career

Tilley played for York City in the English Third Division from 1991–1993. In 1997, Tilley began the season with the Toronto Lynx before being traded to the Montreal Impact. He then played for the Rochester Rhinos from 1998 to 2000 and is one of the franchise's top all-time scorers. In 2000, he began the season with the Montreal Impact before finishing it with the Vancouver 86ers. Tilley was the CSL Golden Boot winner in 2002 playing for Canadian club Mississauga Olympians. He retired following the 2003 season.

Personal life

Tilley was born in Keynsham England, the only child of Terence Tilley and Sandra Tilley. He grew up in Kingswood Bristol. He was known to be a big Liverpool fan as a kid. Tilley met his wife Monique, born in Ontario Canada, in 1991. The couple married in 1993. Tilley and his wife have two sons, Calum born in 1996 and Kieran born in 2002. They have lived in Cambridge Ontario since 1998.

Managerial career

His first coaching experience was in 2003 by becoming the head coach for the Mississauga Olympians in the Canadian Professional Soccer League.
On 26 March 2008, the Rochester Rhinos hired Tilley as the team's coach on a two-year contract. During the 2008 season Tilley led the Rhinos into the playoffs by finishing fourth in the standings. In the club's playoff run the Rhinos defeated the Charleston Battery in the quarterfinals to advance to the semifinals. There the Rhinos were defeated by the Puerto Rico Islanders on a 3–2 aggregate on goals. The following season Tilley led the Rhinos to a sixth-place finish in the standings enough to clinch a playoff spot. In the postseason the Rhinos were eliminated in the quarterfinals by the Islanders once again on a 5–3 aggregate on goals. On 28 September 2009 Rochester announced that the organization would not be renewing his contract for the 2010 season.