BIOGRAPHY

PROFILE
A Canadian international defender/midfielder that enjoyed previous spells in the USL First Division with Montreal Impact and Toronto Lynx, Chris Williams joined the Whitecaps from Charleston Battery for an undisclosed amount on Nov. 12, 2009. The native of Toronto, Ontario, signed a one-year contract - plus an option - with Vancouver.

UNITED SOCCER LEAGUES FIRST DIVISION
2003: Williams embarked on his professional career with Canadian rivals Montreal Impact, despite being taken in the second round (26th overall) of 2003 USL-1 entry draft by Toronto Lynx. The defender/midfielder started half of his 22 appearances for the Quebec-based outfit that year, as the Impact finished top of the Eastern Conference, Northeast Division standings. He also started Montreal's 2-1 postseason defeat at Rochester Raging Rhinos on Sept. 5, as the Impact bowed out in the first round of the playoffs 2-1 on aggregate. 2004: Though he made fewer regular season appearances in his second year with the Impact, Williams recorded his first points in USL-1 by claiming two assists. He set up Darko Kolic's last-minute equalizer in a 1-1 away draw versus Edmonton Aviators on June 15, while his other assist came on Eduardo Sebrango's winning goal during a 1-0 home win over Puerto Rico Islanders on Aug. 14. Williams also appeared in four matches during Montreal's successful playoff run to the USL-1 championship title that year. 2005: After two seasons with the Impact, Williams returned home and joined Toronto Lynx as a free agent on June 9. He played in just over half of the Lynx's regular season matches, with Toronto finishing bottom of the USL-1 standings that season. 2006: After re-signing with the Lynx on Apr. 6, the defender/midfielder started all but four of Toronto's 28 regular season matches, with the Lynx missing out on the postseason again after a tenth-place finish in the 12-club USL-1 standings. 2008: After a spell in the Czech Republic with SK Kladno, Williams returned to USL-1 when he joined Charleston Battery. He started all of his 24 regular season appearances for the South Carolina outfit that year, and recorded assists in the 2-0 home win over Atlanta Silverbacks on May 24, the 3-1 home win over Montreal Impact on June 7, and the 1-1 home draw versus Minnesota Thunder on June 20. He also appeared in both legs of Charleston's playoff quarterfinal defeat to Rochester Rhinos on Sept. 26 and 28. The defender/midfielder also played a role in helping the Battery reach the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup final, where Charleston finished runners-up after a 2-1 defeat to Major League Soccer (MLS) club D.C. United on Sept. 3. 2009: Williams scored his first USL-1 goal during his second season in Charleston, as he struck the opener in a 2-0 home win over Cleveland City Stars on May 30. He also recorded two assists on goals by Randi Patterson. The first assist came during a 1-1 home draw with Portland Timbers on June 13, while the other assist came during the 1-1 draw at Rochester Rhinos on July 18. Williams then appeared in both legs of Charleston's first-round playoff defeat to Montreal Impact on Sept. 24 and 27, as well as the Battery's four matches in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. Charleston were knocked out of the cup competition in the quarterfinals by MLS club Houston Dynamo.

CZECH REPUBLIC GAMBRINUS LIGA
2007-08: After spells with Montreal and Toronto, Williams headed to Europe and joined SK Kladno of the Czech Republic’s top-flight Gambrinus Liga for the 2007-08 campaign.

COLLEGE
Williams enjoyed a successful four-year college career at the University of Mobile in Alabama. 1999: In his freshman year, the Rams advanced to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) National Championship match before falling 2-1 to Lindsey Wilson College. 2000: The defender/midfielder earned an NAIA All-American Honorable Mention after helping the Rams to Gulf Coast Athletic Conference and Region XIII Tournament championship titles. Mobile then advanced to the NAIA National Tournament 'Final Four' before falling 1-0 to Auburn University Montgomery in the semifinals. 2001: The Rams struggled to emulate the efforts of the previous two seasons during Williams' junior year, with Mobile posting an overall record of 12W-5L-2D that season. 2002: Williams was named NAIA First Team All-American after leading the Rams to their first-ever NAIA National Championship men's soccer title with a 2-1 final victory over Missouri's Park University.

INTERNATIONAL
Williams has represented Canada at both youth and senior international levels. U-20: The defender/midfielder helped Canada qualify for the 2001 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Argentina, as Paul James' side secured their place during CONCACAF U-20 qualifying in Victoria, BC, that same year. He then started all three group-stage defeats to Iraq, Germany, and Brazil at Argentina 2001. U-23: Williams appeared for Canada's U-23 Olympic team at the IV Francophone Games in Ottawa, Ontario, in July 2001. He started five matches in the men's soccer competition, with Canada eventually falling to France in the quarterfinals. In Feb. 2004, Williams and Canada missed out on qualification for the Athens Olympics after finishing bottom of Group A at the CONCACAF Olympic qualifying tournament in Guadalajara, Mexico. Senior: Williams has earned three senior international caps for Canada, with the defender/midfielder making his debut in a 4-0 friendly defeat to arch-rivals United States in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Jan. 18, 2003. His last appearance came in qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, as he was a second-half substitute during Canada's 3-0 away defeat to Jamaica on Nov. 19, 2008. Canada missed out on the final round of CONCACAF qualifying for South Africa 2010 following the result.

HIGH SCHOOL/AMATEUR
The defender/midfielder played his youth soccer in Southern Ontario for Glen Shields Soccer Club and Scarborough Azzurri Soccer Club. As a student, Williams attended Terraview-Willowfield Public School in Scarborough, Ontario, and Birchmount Park Collegiate Institute in Toronto, Ontario.

PERSONAL
Born in Toronto, Ontario, Williams was raised in nearby Scarborough, Ontario. He is married to wife Darina, while he also has a two-year-old son. At the University of Mobile, the defender/midfielder majored in Business Management. His parents are Janet and Victor Williams, while he has a sister named Jennifer, who attended the University of Alabama at Birmingham on a soccer scholarship.

INTERESTING FACTS
Williams has been a fan of Italian giants Juventus and English Premier League club Arsenal since his childhood days. He is also an admirer of Juventus and Italy striker Alessandro Del Piero, as well as the legendary Brazilian playmaker Garrincha. He also had the privilege of having dinner with former France captain and current UEFA president Michel Platini. Though a native of Toronto, Williams is a fan of the NHL's Detroit Red Wings and their legendary centre Steve Yzerman. When not concentrating in his soccer career, the defender/midfielder is a student of the Japanese martial art of Aikido. He enjoys listening to the music of Andrea Bocelli and Celine Dion, while he is also a fan of his mother-in-law Ivana's Czech meals during the Holiday season. Williams also enjoys speaking publicly to youth about confidence, goal-setting, and self-esteem.

STATISTICS

CLUB STATISTICS

Year	Team	League	GP	GS	MIN	G	A	PTS	GWG	SH	SOG	FC	FS	C	E
1999	University of Mobile	NAIA	-
2000	University of Mobile	NAIA	-
2001	University of Mobile	NAIA	-
2002	University of Mobile	NAIA	-
2003	Montreal	USL-1	22	11	972	0	0	0	0	9	-	21	-	0	0
	Montreal	PO	1	1	63	0	0	0	0	0	-	2	-	0	0
2004	Montreal	USL-1	16	9	976	0	2	0	0	5	-	11	-	0	0
	Montreal	PO	4	2	229	0	0	0	0	0	-	0	-	0	0
2005	Toronto Lynx	USL-1	15	11	1058	0	0	0	0	3	-	6	-	0	0
2006	Toronto Lynx	USL-1	24	24	2114	0	0	0	0	5	-	26	-	1	0
2007	SK Kladno	CZE 1					-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2008	Charleston	USL-1	24	24	1918	0	3	3	0	8	-	24	-	2	0
	Charleston	PO	2	1	135	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	-	0	0
	Charleston	US Cup	5	4	380	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	-	0	0
2009	Charleston	USL-1	25	18	1692	1	2	4	1	4	-	16	-	6	1
	Charleston	PO	2	0	47	0	0	0	0	0	-	0	-	0	0
	Charleston	US Cup	4	3	266	0	0	0	0	0	-	7	-	1	0
2010	Vancouver	RS	-
	Vancouver	PO	-
	Vancouver	NCC	-
University Totals:			-
USA - US Open Cup Totals:			9	7	646	0	1	1	0	0	-	7	-	1	0
Vancouver - Regular Season Totals:			-
Vancouver - Playoff Totals:			-
Vancouver - NCC Totals:			-
Vancouver - All Competitions Totals:			-
USL-1 Regular Season Totals:			126	97	8730	1	7	9	1	34	-	104	-	9	1
USL-1 Playoff Totals:			9	4	474	0	0	0	0	0	-	4	-	0	0
USL-1 Totals:			135	101	9204	1	7	9	1	34	-	108	-	9	1

NATIONAL TEAM STATISTICS

Canada's National Team:
Date	Opponent	Competition	Location	Result		GP	GS	MIN	G	C	E
03.01.18	USA	Friendly	Fort Lauderdale, FL	L	0:4	1	0	22	0	0	0
08.01.30	Martinique	Friendly	Fort-de-France, MTQ	W	1:0	1	1	90	0	1	0
08.11.19	Jamaica	WCQ 2010	Kingston, JAM	L	0:3	1	0	22	0	0	0
	Canada's National Team Totals:					3	1	134	0	1	0

Canada's National Team (Miscellaneous Opponent):
Date	Opponent	Competition	Location	Result		GP	GS	MIN	G	C	E
08.02.03	Vejle Boldklub	Exhibition	Fort Lauderdale, FL	W	2:0	1	1	80	0	0	0
	Canada's National Team Totals (Miscellaneous Opponent):					1	1	80	0	0	0

Canada's U-23 National Team:
Date	Opponent	Competition	Location	Result		GP	GS	MIN	G	C	E
01.07.08	Morocco	Francophonie Gm	Ottawa, ON	D	0:0	1	1	90	0	0	0
01.07.13	Gabon	Francophonie Gm	Ottawa, ON	L	0:1	1	1	90	0	0	0
01.07.15	Egypt	Francophonie Gm	Ottawa, ON	L	1:2	1	1	90	0	0	0
01.07.17	Bulgaria	Francophonie Gm	Ottawa, ON	W	4:0	1	1	90	0	0	0
01.07.19	France	Francophonie Gm	Ottawa, ON	D	2:2	1	1	120	0	0	0
02.05.30	Honduras	Friendly	Siguatepque, HON	L	0:1	1	1	90	0	0	0
02.12.19	USA	Friendly	Sunrise, FL	W	2:0	1	1	90	0	0	0
02.12.21	USA	Friendly	Sunrise, FL	L	0:2	1	1	85	0	0	0
03.09.07	US Virgin Islands	Olympic Qualifier	St. Croix, VIR	W	10:0	1	0	45	0	0	0
03.09.10	US Virgin Islands	Olympic Qualifier	Saint John, NB	W	14:0	1	1	90	0	0	0
03.11.15	El Salvador	Olympic Qualifier	San Salvador, SLV	L	0:1	1	1	90	0	0	0
04.02.03	Honduras	Olympic Qualifier	Guadalajara, MEX	L	0:1	1	1	90	0	0	0
04.02.05	USA	Olympic Qualifier	Guadalajara, MEX	L	0:2	1	1	90	0	0	0
04.02.07	Panama	Olympic Qualifier	Guadalajara, MEX	L	1:2	1	1	90	0	0	0
	Canada's U-23 National Team Totals:					14	13	1240	0	0	0

Canada's U-20 National Team:
Date	Opponent	Competition	Location	Result		GP	GS	MIN	G	C	E
00.06.23	Guatemala	Friendly	London, ON	D	3:3	1	1	90	0	0	0
00.06.25	Guatemala	Friendly	Scarborough, ON	W	1:0	1	0	30	0	0	0
00.06.27	Guatemala	Friendly	Guelph, ON	L	0:1	1	1	70	0	0	0
00.08.04	USA	Friendly	Kingston, RI	W	2:1	1	1	90	0	0	0
01.02.28	Honduras	CONCACAF WCQ	Victoria, BC	W	1:0	1	1	90	0	0	0
01.03.02	Mexico	CONCACAF WCQ	Victoria, BC	W	1:0	1	1	90	0	0	0
01.03.04	Jamaica	CONCACAF WCQ	Victoria, BC	D	0:0	1	1	69	0	0	0
01.06.06	Australia	Friendly	Santiago, CHI	L	0:3	1	1	77	0	0	0
01.06.09	Chile	Friendly	Santiago, CHI	D	1:1	1	1	77	0	1	0
01.06.17	Iraq	U-20 World Cup	Cordoba, ARG	W	0:3	1	1	80	0	0	0
01.06.20	Germany	U-20 World Cup	Cordoba, ARG	L	0:4	1	1	90	0	0	0
01.06.23	Brazil	U-20 World Cup	Cordoba, ARG	L	0:2	1	1	90	0	0	0
03.10.15	Panama	Torneo Mondialito	Panama City, PAN	L	1:2	1	1	90	0	0	0
03.10.17	Mexico	Torneo Mondialito	Panama City, PAN	W	2:1	1	0	20	0	0	0
03.10.19	Paraguay	Torneo Mondialito	Panama City, PAN	L	0:1	1	1	45	0	0	0
	Canada's U-20 National Team Totals:					15	13	1098	0	1	0