User:Eric McAleer

Eric Kelly McAleer (born August 30, 1968 in Glasgow, Scotland) is a former Scottish professional soccer player who last played for East Stirlingshire FC in the Scottish second division.

= Career = Youth

McAleer grew up through the ranks of famous Glasgow youth club Drumchapel Amateurs, the former club of Sir Alex Ferguson and many other top Scottish players, winning the West of Scotland Cup in 1987 at Hampden Stadium. He had trials with top London club Chelsea FC in 1985. He represented Scotland at Under-16 schoolboy level playing in 12 games and losing in the final of the St. Malo (France) tournament to Russia after having beaten the host nation in the semifinals, captained by Didier Deschamps. McAleer then went on to play for top youth side Kilpatrick Juveniles, winning the National Championship in 1990 and subsequently signing with professional club, Falkirk FC.

Professional

McAleer signed for Falkirk on 26/4/1990 and went on to spent two season at Falkirk FC and could not break into the first team set-up. He was transferred as part of a 10,000 UK pounds deal to second division side East Stirlingshire FC along with midfield player, Colin McKinnon, where he played for two season totaling 26 first team appearances.

= Personal = McAleer founded Excel International Sports in the USA in June of 1997, a company specializing in international soccer travel. Excel International Sports was acquired by WorldStrides (www.worldstrides.com), the largest Educational travel company in North America, in January of 2015. Eric McAleer remains with the company in the role of Vice President of WorldStrides Excel Programs, the sports division of the company.