# Derek Backman

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{{short description|South African footballer}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name      = Derek Backman
| fullname = 
| image =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1966|1|6}}
| birth_place = [South Africa](/source/South_Africa)
| height = {{height|ft=6|in=0}}
| position = [Midfielder](/source/Midfielder)
|  youthyears1 =    
|  youthclubs1 =   Arcadia Shepherds 
| collegeyears1 =  1983–1987
| college1 =  [College of Boca Raton](/source/College_of_Boca_Raton)
|  years1 =   1988 
| years2 =  1989 
| years3 =  1989–1993 
| years4 =  1994 
| years5 =  1995 
| years6 =  1996–1997
|  clubs1 =   [Tampa Bay Rowdies](/source/Tampa_Bay_Rowdies_(1975%E2%80%931993)) 
| clubs2 =  [Fort Lauderdale Strikers](/source/Fort_Lauderdale_Strikers_(1988-1994)) 
| clubs3 =  [Tampa Bay Rowdies](/source/Tampa_Bay_Rowdies_(1975%E2%80%931993)) 
| clubs4 =  [St. Petersburg Kickers](/source/St._Petersburg_Kickers) 
| clubs5 =  [Tampa Bay Cyclones](/source/Tampa_Bay_Cyclones) 
| clubs6 =  [Tampa Bay Mutiny](/source/Tampa_Bay_Mutiny)
| caps1 =    ?  
| caps2 =   
| caps3 =   
| caps4 =   
| caps5 =   
| caps6 =  28  
| goals1 =  4  
| goals2 =  
| goals3 =  
| goals4 =  
| goals5 =  
| goals6 =  0 
| manageryears1 =   
| managerclubs1 =   
}}
'''Derek Backman''' (born January 6, 1966) is a retired U.S. [soccer](/source/soccer) [midfielder](/source/midfielder_(football)) who played in the [USISL](/source/USISL).
Backman played for the Arcadia Shepherds in his native South Africa before moving to the United States in 1983 to attend the [College of Boca Raton](/source/College_of_Boca_Raton). In 1987, Backman and his teammates won the [NAIA national men's soccer championship](/source/NAIA_national_men's_soccer_championship). Backman was also a two time first team NAIA All American. He graduated in 1989 and was inducted into the school's Athletic Hall of Fame in 2004.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www1.lynn.edu/index.php?submenu=Fame&src=gendocs&link=Athletics-HallofFame-Inductees&category=Athletics&PHPSESSID=6... |title=Hall of Fame Inductees |access-date=2009-02-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719232135/http://www1.lynn.edu/index.php?submenu=Fame&src=gendocs&link=Athletics-HallofFame-Inductees&category=Athletics&PHPSESSID=6... |archive-date=2011-07-19 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
In 1988, Backman signed with the [Tampa Bay Rowdies](/source/Tampa_Bay_Rowdies_(1975%E2%80%931993)) as it prepared to enter the newly established [American Soccer League](/source/American_Soccer_League_(1988-1989)).<ref>[http://a-leaguearchive.tripod.com/1988/statsasl88.htm 1988 American Soccer League]</ref>   He moved to the [Fort Lauderdale Strikers](/source/Fort_Lauderdale_Strikers_(1988-1994)) for the first part of the 1989 season before returning to the Rowdies for the end of the season.<ref>[http://a-leaguearchive.tripod.com/1989/statsasl89.htm 1989 American Soccer League]</ref>  He then remained a regular with the team until sidelined in 1993 with a stress fracture in his left ankle. In 1990, the Rowdies moved to the [American Professional Soccer League](/source/American_Professional_Soccer_League) and folded at the end of the 1993 season. Backman remained in the Tampa area, coaching youth soccer and working in his family's interior design business.  He also played with the amateur St. Petersburg Kickers. In 1995, Backman gained his U.S. citizenship. That year, he played for the expansion [Tampa Bay Cyclones](/source/Tampa_Bay_Cyclones) in the USISL.<ref>[https://archive.today/20130201023946/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/sptimes/access/21179961.html?FMT=FT&dids=21179961:21179961&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jun+25,+1995&author=DAVID+BRACKMAN&pub=St.+Petersburg+Times&desc=Rowdie+redux+Series:+Hillsborough+SPORTS+EXTRA Rowdie redux Series: Hillsborough SPORTS EXTRA]</ref> In February 1996, the [Tampa Bay Mutiny](/source/Tampa_Bay_Mutiny) selected Backman in the 11th round (107th overall) of the [1996 MLS Inaugural Player Draft](/source/1996_MLS_Inaugural_Player_Draft). He played 25 games with the Mutiny in 1996, but only three in 1997.  He retired in 1998.  He currently plays for the amateur team Kaknballz FC, who won the state title in 2017.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://mytampabayrowdies.blogspot.com/2008/11/derek-backman-1988-1993.html Tampa Bay Rowdies Player Profile]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Backman, Derek}}
Category:1966 births
Category:American Professional Soccer League players
Category:American Soccer League (1988–89) players
Category:American men's soccer players
Category:Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1988–1994) players
Category:St. Petersburg Kickers players
Category:South African emigrants to the United States
Category:Tampa Bay Cyclones players
Category:Tampa Bay Mutiny players
Category:Tampa Bay Rowdies (1975–1993) players
Category:USISL players
Category:Lynn Fighting Knights men's soccer players
Category:Living people
Category:Major League Soccer players
Category:South African men's soccer players
Category:South African expatriate men's soccer players
Category:South African expatriate sportspeople in the United States
Category:Men's association football midfielders
Category:20th-century American sportsmen
Category:20th-century South African sportsmen

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Derek Backman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derek_Backman) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derek_Backman?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.