Pat Rice
Pat Rice in 2015
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Patrick James Rice | ||
| Date of birth | 17 March 1949 | ||
| Place of birth | Belfast, Northern Ireland | ||
| Playing position | Right back | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1967–1980 | Arsenal | 397 | (12) |
| 1980–1984 | Watford | 112 | (1) |
| Total | 509 | (13) | |
| National team | |||
| 1968–1979 | Northern Ireland | 49 | (0) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 1984–1996 | Arsenal (Youth team coach) | ||
| 1996 | Arsenal (Caretaker manager) | ||
| 1996–2012 | Arsenal (Assistant manager) | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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Patrick James "Pat" Rice, MBE (born 17 March 1949) is a Northern Irish former footballer and coach. As a player he made over 500 appearances for Arsenal, winning the Double, and later made a hundred more appearances for Watford. He also won 49 caps for Northern Ireland. After retirement from playing professionally he was at the helm of Arsenal's Academy teams, then served as assistant manager of Arsenal, a position he held since the appointment of Arsène Wenger in 1996, and helped the club to two more Doubles, amongst other silverware, in that time. He announced his retirement from the post on 10 May 2012.
Born in Belfast, Rice grew up in London, and after working at a greengrocers on Gillespie Road, the street Highbury Stadium is on, he joined Arsenal F.C. as an apprentice in 1964. He turned professional in 1966 and worked his way up through the club's youth and reserve teams. He made his first-team debut in the League Cup against Burnley on 5 December 1967, a match Arsenal won 2–1.
Playing at right back, Rice was initially a bit-part player, making only 16 appearances in his first three seasons at Arsenal, and missed out on Arsenal's 1969–70 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup win over RSC Anderlecht. However, during this time he won his first cap for Northern Ireland, against Israel on 10 September 1968, while still largely a reserve player. Peter Storey was Arsenal's first choice right back, but after he was moved into central midfield at the start of the 1970–71, Rice took his place and was a near-ever present in the side that season, as Arsenal won the League and FA Cup Double.
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