{{Short description|American soccer player (born 1986)}} {{Infobox football biography | name = Darrius Barnes | image = Darrius Barnes cropped 2011.jpg | caption = Barnes in 2011 | fullname = | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1986|12|24}} | birth_place = Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S. | height = {{height|ft=6|in=1}} | position = Defender | currentclub = | clubnumber = | youthyears1 = 2005–2008 | youthclubs1 = Duke Blue Devils | years1 = 2006 | clubs1 = Raleigh CASL Elite | caps1 = 11 | goals1 = 2 | years2 = 2007–2008 | clubs2 = Cary RailHawks U23's | caps2 = 27 | goals2 = 1 | years3 = 2009–2016 | clubs3 = New England Revolution | caps3 = 129 | goals3 = 2 | years4 = 2017 | clubs4 = New York Cosmos | caps4 = 13 | goals4 = 0 | totalcaps = 180 | totalgoals = 5 | nationalyears1 = | nationalteam1 = | nationalcaps1 = | nationalgoals1 = | medaltemplates = | pcupdate = 12:16, 30 October 2017 (UTC) | ntupdate = }}
'''Darrius Barnes''' (born December 24, 1986) is an American retired soccer player. He played the majority of his professional career for the New England Revolution of Major League Soccer, the top flight of professional soccer in the United States. He primarily played defender. He is currently the president of Crown Legacy FC, the MLS Next Pro team of Charlotte FC.
==Career==
===Youth and college=== Barnes played high school soccer at Southeast Raleigh High School, in Raleigh, North Carolina. He started for Varsity all four years. His senior year he helped his team to reach the conference finals and defeat a tough Broughton High School team to claim the school's first ever conference championship. His merits include TAAC All-Conference 2005.<ref>{{cite web |title=Duke University 2008 Player Profile |url=https://goduke.com/sports/mens-soccer/roster/darrius-barnes/998 |website=goduke.com |accessdate=14 August 2020}}</ref>
Barnes played college soccer at Duke University. During his college years Barnes also played with Raleigh CASL Elite and Cary RailHawks U23's in the USL Premier Development League.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.uslsoccer.com/docs/home/PDL-MLS09DraftList.pdf |title=Archived copy |accessdate=2009-03-22 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610163902/http://www.uslsoccer.com/docs/home/PDL-MLS09DraftList.pdf |archivedate=2011-06-10 }}</ref>
===Professional=== Barnes was drafted in the third round (40th overall) of the 2009 MLS SuperDraft by New England Revolution on 15 January 2009, officially signing for the club on 17 March 2009.<ref name="Club History Coach and Player Registry">{{cite web |url=https://newengland-mp7static.mlsdigital.net/elfinderimages/media/ClubHistory_CoachandPlayerRegistry.pdf |title=Club History Coach and Player Registry |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612135826/https://newengland-mp7static.mlsdigital.net/elfinderimages/media/ClubHistory_CoachandPlayerRegistry.pdf |archive-date=June 12, 2018 |access-date=October 17, 2024 |url-status=dead }}</ref> He made his professional debut on 21 March 2009, in New England's first game of the 2009 MLS season against the San Jose Earthquakes.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://web.mlsnet.com/scoreboard/game.jsp?match=03212009_COLCHV |title=Major League Soccer: Match Tracker: Main |accessdate=2009-03-22 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090325004649/http://web.mlsnet.com/scoreboard/game.jsp?match=03212009_COLCHV |archivedate=2009-03-25 }}</ref><ref name="2024 Media Guide">{{cite book |title=2024 Media Guide |publisher=New England Revolution|url=https://revolution.1rmg.com/season/2024/media-guide/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240322013528/https://revolution.1rmg.com/season/2024/media-guide/ |access-date=October 17, 2024|archive-date=2024-03-22 }}</ref> He became the second rookie in the history of MLS to play every minute of every game, following in the footsteps of former Revs center back Michael Parkhurst, who was the first to accomplish the feat in 2005.<ref name="Darrius Barnes Revolution Player Profile">{{cite web|url=https://www.revolutionsoccer.net/players/darrius-barnes/ |title=Darrius Barnes |access-date=October 17, 2024}}</ref> He was also the only outfield player to play every minute of every game in the 2009 season,<ref name="Darrius Barnes MLS Profile">{{cite web|url=https://www.mlssoccer.com/players/darrius-barnes/ |title=profile |access-date=October 17, 2024}}</ref> and helped the Revolution establish a club-record 386-minute shutout streak.<ref name="Darrius Barnes Revolution Player Profile"/>
In 2011, Barnes was a finalist for the MLS Fair Play Award.<ref name="2024 Media Guide"/>
On 22 September 2012 against the New York Red Bulls, Barnes scored his first-ever (and only) professional goal, finding the net in the 95th minute of the match to help the Revolution salvage a 1-1 draw.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/23/sports/soccer/revolution-score-late-to-tie-red-bulls.html |date=22 September 2012 |access-date=17 October 2024 |title=Revolution Score Late to Tie Red Bulls |website=The New York Times }}</ref> He made his 100th MLS appearance on 15 March 2014,<ref name="Darrius Barnes Revolution Player Profile"/> and recorded his 100th MLS start on 7 September 2014 against the Chicago Fire.<ref name="Darrius Barnes Revolution Player Profile"/>
Following his release from New England at the end of the 2016 season, Barnes joined North American Soccer League side New York Cosmos on 24 March 2017.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.nycosmos.com/news/2017/03/24/cosmos-ink-versatile-defender-darrius-barnes |date=24 March 2017 |access-date=17 October 2024 |title=Cosmos Ink Versatile Defender Darrius Barnes}}</ref>
On 15 December 2017, Barnes announced his retirement from playing professional soccer.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.instagram.com/p/Bcuva7WHqBL/ | title=Darrius Barnes on Instagram: "Dreams definitely do come true! Never would have thought a little country boy from Raleigh (Knightdale), NC would make I️t this far. I have truly been blessed by the best 🙏🏽🙌🏽! It is with great passion, excitement, fulfillment and enjoyment that I announce my retirement from professional soccer. These have been the best 9 years of my life to say the least. This game has brought me so much joy since i started playing as a kid 25 years ago 😳👴🏽. I have experienced the high of highs and the low of lows that come with playing this beautiful game. Through I️t all, I always competed at the highest level i could and laid I️t all out on the line for my teammates. This game has introduced me to some of my best friends in life and gave me the opportunity to play against some of the worlds best competitors which I will cherish for a lifetime. I want to sincerely thank my loving parents, brother and fiancé for always supporting me through I️t all. Without them I would not be where I am today. I want to thank @nerevolution and @MLS for taking a chance on the kid 9 years ago and giving my first professional opportunity that lasted 8 fantastic years. I want to thank @nycosmos and @naslofficial for allowing me the opportunity to continue my dream. All the coaches along the way, thank you for helping shape me into the player I became today. I will always feel i have more to pay back and contribute to the game and hopefully i can do that through a different lens. Thank you for ALL of your support! D Barnes OUT!!! ✌🏾✌🏾 😎 #SigningOut #timeflieswhenyourehavingfun #LastKick" }}</ref>
===Post-playing career=== After retiring from active play, Barnes joined the Major League Soccer offices and as of June, 2020 was working for the league in marketing.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bird |first1=Hayden |title=Revolution players and staff held a roundtable discussion about racial injustice. Here's what they had to say. |url=https://www.boston.com/sports/new-england-revolution/2020/06/18/new-england-revolution-roundtable-racial-injustice/ |website=boston.com |access-date=14 August 2020}}</ref>
In March 2022, Charlotte FC named Barnes the president of their MLS Next Pro team Crown Legacy FC.<ref>{{cite web |title=Charlotte FC Names Darrius Barnes President of MLS NEXT Pro Team |url=https://www.charlottefootballclub.com/news/charlotte-fc-names-darrius-barnes-president-of-mls-next-pro-team |website=CharlotteFootballClub.ccom |publisher=Charlotte FC |access-date=8 August 2023}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist|30em}}
==External links== * {{MLS player|darrius-barnes}}
{{PDL Defender of the Year}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnes, Darrius}} Category:1986 births Category:Living people Category:African-American soccer players Category:American men's soccer players Category:Men's association football defenders Category:Duke Blue Devils men's soccer players Category:Major League Soccer players Category:New England Revolution draft picks Category:New England Revolution players Category:New York Cosmos (2010) players Category:North American Soccer League (2011–2017) players Category:North Carolina FC U23 players Category:Soccer players from North Carolina Category:Soccer players from Raleigh, North Carolina Category:USL League Two players Category:Charlotte FC non-playing staff