Adrian Heath is a former English soccer player and current manager of Major League Soccer side Minnesota United.

Heath is most famous for his playing days at Everton from 1982 to 1988. During this spell, he won the First Division title in 1984/85 and 1986/87, as well as the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1984/85.

He made 218 appearances in total for Everton, scoring 80 goals from attacking midfield.

As a player, Heath also enjoyed his career at Stoke City, Espanyol, Aston Villa, Manchester City, Burnley and Sheffield United.

After stepping into management, Heath was in charge of Burnley and Sheffield United before two spells as Coventry City caretaker manager. His first US managerial job was with the Austin Aztex, who later became Orlando City. After his sacking, Heath became and remains manager of Minnesota United.

The Blue side of Merseyside

After bursting onto the scene at Stoke City, Heath joined Everton in January 1982 for a reported fee of £750,000.

Heath played as an attacking midfielder and played a major role in the last era of consistent success for Everton.

Everton beat Watford 2-0 in the final of the 1983/84 FA Cup final, with Heath picking up his first piece of major silverware with the Toffees, scoring 15 goals in 31 appearances.

adrian heath fa cup final v watford

The following season, Heath's attacking exploits proved vital in Everton's tremendous success, continuing his goal scoring from midfield, scoring 12 in 21 appearances.

The Toffees won the 1984 Charity Shield, as well as the 1984/85 European Cup Winners' Cup, beating Rapid Wien in the final. Crucially, they also won the 1984/85 First Division by a whopping 13 points.

Everton once again won the First Division title in 1986/87 with Heath playing a key role. He left the club in 1989, signing for Espanyol.

After a brief spell in Spain and at Aston Villa, Heath was signed by Howard Kendall for Manchester City in 1990. He forged a strike partnership with Niall Quinn before leaving for Stoke in 1992.

Management in England

After two spells playing for Burnley and one with Sheffield United, Heath hung up his boots at the end of the 1996/97 season. He had spent that campaign as Burnley's player-manager, but left after a ninth-place finish in the Second Division.

Heath worked with former Everton teammate Peter Reid at Sunderland, serving as manager of the reserve team. His side won the Pontis League championship in 1999 and he left to take charge of Sheffield United, where he only lasted five months.

heath at sunderland in 2002

He later followed Reid to Leeds United and Coventry City, twice serving as caretaker manager. He remained at the club under Micky Adams, Reid's successor, but left following the January 2007 appointment of Iain Dowie.

The American dream

After taking over at Austin Aztex in 2008, the team relocated to Florida and became Orlando City in 2010. In 2015, they became an MLS team.

Heath had led Orlando City to the USL Pro League title in 2011 and 2013, as well as the USL Pro Commissioner's Cup in 2011, 2012 and 2014. However, they struggled somewhat to repeat that success in the early years of the MLS.

After a 4-0 loss to FC Dallas, Heath was sacked as manager of Orlando City in July 2016. In the MLS era, he picked up 26 wins, 21 draws and 31 defeats from 78 matches in charge of Orlando.

In November 2016, he was appointed manager of Minnesota United ahead of their first season in the MLS.

The 2017 season did not start off well for Minnesota United as they conceded 18 goals in their first four matches - more than any other team. However, a 4-2 win over Real Salt Lake in April set Minnesota on a promising path. They finished the season ninth in the Western Conference.

heath after beating dc united 4-0 in 2017

In 2018, they finished 10th in the Western Conference, but they rose to fourth in the 2019 season. Heath's side also kept their consistency the next season, remaining in fourth place.

Minnesota lost to LA Galaxy in the first round of the 2019 MLS Cup Playoffs and to Seattle Sounders in the Conference Finals of the 2020 edition.

Minnesota qualified for the semi-finals of the 2020 MLS Is Back tournament, where they ironically lost 3-1 to Orlando City.

Personal life

Heath's son, Harrison Heath, is also a footballer. He plays for Miami FC in the USL Championship and was previously on the books of Orlando City, Atlanta United, Sacramento Republic and Minnesota United.

Net worth

Adrian Heath's net worth is believed to be around $1-5 million.

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After success in his playing career with Everton, MLS manager Adrian Heath looks to replicate his previous glory with Minnesota United.