American coaches of foreign national soccer teams

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Several Americans have served as the head coach of a foreign national soccer team. [1] Americans coaching foreign national teams is seen as an important step in improving the perceptions of American soccer. [2]

Contents

During the 20th century, Americans coaching foreign national teams were rare. The first American to coach a foreign national soccer team was Mark Scott Thompson, who was appointed El Salvador's first ever head coach in 1930. [3] Gavin Newton became the second manager to coach a foreign national side, when he did with Cuba in 1934. Alkis Panagoulias led the U.S. team in the 1980s including the 1984 Summer Olympics, before soccer had become fully established in the U.S., [4] in between stints with the Greece national team. When Panagoulias led Greece to the 1994 World Cup, he was the only American and Greek head coach in the tournament. [5]

Since the 1990s and the establishment of Major League Soccer, Americans coaching foreign national teams has become more frequent. Bill Moravek was the first American-born head coach of a foreign national team. [6]

Alkis Panagoulias, Steve Sampson and Bob Bradley all led the United States national team before later becoming head coach of a foreign national team; [7] Afshin Ghotbi served as a U.S. national team assistant coach before taking over the Iran national side. [8]

Fernando Clavijo embarked his coaching career with Haiti in 2003 to 2004, making him the first American who played for USMNT to coach a national team, having been assistant to Bora Milutinović in Nigeria at 1998. [9]

Egypt's hiring of Bradley in 2011 was seen as a milestone in the growth of American soccer — an American coach taking over a team with a history of success. [10] Bradley's hiring was seen as an important step that would help other American coaches land oversees coaching jobs. [11] Bradley was also the first American head coach of a Major League Soccer team to become the head coach of a foreign national side. [12]

Two American coaches faced each other in the 2003 Gold Cup when the Steve Sampson coached Costa Rica faced the United States, coached by Sampson's successor Bruce Arena. [13] Ian Mork had the distinction of coaching Belize against his native United States in the 2013 Gold Cup. [14] [15] Another occasion where two national sides played where both teams were coached by Americans was the 3–0 victory by Thomas Dooley's Philippines over Jack Stefanowski's Nepal in a 2014 friendly match. [16] Jack Stefanowski was not a well-known American coach until he took the reins of the Nepal national team, where his highlight was leading Nepal to victory over rival India in the South Asian Football Federation championships. [17] Stefanowski's assistant to Nepal at the time, Richard Orlowski, would go on to be the head coach of Belize from 2016 to 2018, made it the first team two American managers coached one national team after Ian Mork. [18] Previously, Orlowski also made his short spell with Anguilla.

Mike Keeney, a low-profile American manager, also had his short spell with Papua New Guinea, coaching the team in 2013. [19]

Thomas Dooley, former captain of the U.S. national team, was hired by the Philippines in 2014 and released in 2018. [20] [21] [22] Dooley is also the second person who has played for the U.S. national team to coach a foreign national team after Fernando Clavijo. [23] Under Dooley, the Philippines managed to qualify for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, the first-ever major football tournament for the Philippines, but his contract was not extended after the success. [24]

Yohannes Sahle, an Ethiopian naturalized as American during 1990s and had used to play for the national team in all levels, was appointed as manager of Ethiopia in 2015, the second team from Africa to be managed by an American. [25] He was sacked only after a year in charge, due to the 1–7 defeat to Algeria in the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification. [26]

The most recent American manager to lead a foreign national team is Hugo Pérez, where he returned to lead his native El Salvador in 2021. Pérez himself was born in El Salvador before leaving at the age of 11 where he later persuaded a successful career with the USMNT in 1990s. [27]

List

CoachNational teamYears
Mark Scott Thompson [28] El Salvador 1930–1935
Gavin Newton Cuba 1934–1935
Alkis Panagoulias [29] Greece 1973–1976, 1977–1981, 1992–1994
Bill Moravek [30] British Virgin Islands 2000–2001
Steve Sampson [31] Costa Rica 2002–2004
Fernando Clavijo [32] Haiti 2003–2004
Afshin Ghotbi [33] Iran 2009–2011
Ian Mork [34] Belize 2009, 2012, 2013–2014
Bob Bradley [35] Egypt 2011–2013
Mike Keeney [19] Papua New Guinea 2013
Jack Stefanowski [36] Nepal 2013–2015
Thomas Dooley [37] Philippines 2014–2018
Richard Orlowski [38] Anguilla 2015
Yohannes Sahle [25] Ethiopia 2015–2016
Richard Orlowski [38] Belize 2016–2018
Hugo Pérez [27] El Salvador 2021–

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "Dooley seventh American to coach foreign national team", Soccer America, February 8, 2014.
  2. ↑ "Jack Stefanowski Hopes to Elevate Nepal National Side", American Soccer Now, Brian Sciaretta, November 4, 2014. ("I think the more American coaches we can get abroad, [the] more respect,” Stefanowski said. “I hope that this matchup between two American head coaches gives our coaches back home more hope and opportunities to work abroad."
  3. ↑ "Bradley's job a boost for U.S. credibility", ESPN, Jeff Carlisle, September 28, 2011. ("Mark Scott Thompson became the first U.S. coach to head up another country's national team when he took over El Salvador.")
  4. ↑ "Team America Is Taking Shape", New York Times, February 23, 1983.
  5. ↑ "World Cup '94 : WORLD CUP USA '94 / GROUP D PREVIEW : Modern Greek Heroes : Former U.S. Coach Panagoulias at the Helm of Nation's Rise to Prominence", LA Times, William Montalbano, June 12, 1994.
  6. ↑ "For Soccer Coach, Life's an Island Paradise", Washington Post, Brian Strauss, August 6, 2000. ("Moravek is the first American-born coach to lead a foreign national team.")
  7. ↑ "Bob Bradley And Egypt Can Make History Together", Empire of Soccer, Dave Martinez, September 16, 2011.
  8. ↑ "Afshin Ghotbi's improbable journey", ESPN, Mark Young, December 23, 2010.
  9. ↑ "For Fernando Clavijo, One Year Coaching in Haiti Changed His Life". 7 July 2015.
  10. ↑ "Bob Bradley And Egypt Can Make History Together", Empire of Soccer, Dave Martinez, September 16, 2011.
  11. ↑ "Bradley's job a boost for U.S. credibility", ESPN, Jeff Carlisle, September 28, 2011. ("it's an important step in gaining credibility for American soccer, not just American coaches, not just Bob Bradley, but the entire American soccer community . . . If he's successful, it may well open the door for other American coaches to get opportunities abroad.")
  12. ↑ "Bob Bradley And Egypt Can Make History Together", Empire of Soccer, Dave Martinez, September 16, 2011. ("former U.S. Men’s National Team and M.L.S. product Bob Bradley has become a trailblazer.")
  13. ↑ "GOLD CUP: Sampson vs. Arena for third-place", Soccer America, July 25, 2003.
  14. ↑ "American Ian Mork to coach Belize against his home country", Sports Illustrated, RJ Rico, July 8, 2013.
  15. ↑ "Gold Cup: Belize's American coach says his players will show USMNT they can make it in MLS", MLSsoccer.com, Jonah Freedman, July 8, 2013. ("Mork (at right) is on a very short list of Americans who have coached foreign national teams, believed to be around a half-dozen.")
  16. ↑ "Jack Stefanowski Hopes to Elevate Nepal National Side", American Soccer Now, Brian Sciaretta, November 4, 2014. (“the perception of an American coach coming in, I don’t think people were too sure ... It’s definitely a challenge perception-wise for an American coach to come out to Asia or even Nepal.")
  17. ↑ "From Queens to Kathmandu: a New Yorker's two-year stint as Nepal's coach", The Guardian, Les Carpenter, October 22, 2015.
  18. ↑ Kay, Bryan (7 March 2017). "Belize's American manager: Richard Orlowski's long route to Central America". The Guardian.
  19. 1 2 "Mike Keeney appointed Mentor Coach". 16 April 2013.
  20. ↑ "Philippines coach Thomas Dooley confident heading into World Cup qualifier against Uzbekistan", Sydney Morning Herald, Jason Dasey, September 2, 2015.
  21. ↑ "Former U.S. captain to coach Philippines soccer team" Archived 2019-06-28 at the Wayback Machine , Baltimore Sun, Kevin Baxter, February 7, 2014. ("The German-born Dooley, the son of a U.S. serviceman, joins former coaches Steve Sampson (Costa Rica), Bob Bradley (Egypt), Thomas Rongen (American Samoa) and current coaches Ian Mork (Belize) and Jack Stefanowski (Nepal) as Americans coaching national teams overseas.")
  22. ↑ "Dooley to coach Philippines soccer team", Yahoo! Sports, February 7, 2014. ("Other Americans currently in charge of national teams are Ian Mork (Belize) and Jack Stefanowski (Nepal).")
  23. ↑ "Dooley seventh American to coach foreign national team", Soccer America, February 8, 2014.
  24. ↑ "'No hard feelings' for Thomas Dooley after Azkals sacking".
  25. 1 2 "Ethiopia appoint Sahle as new coach". BBC Sport.
  26. ↑ "Opinion: Ethiopia sack Yohannes Sahle – A look at what went wrong – Ethiosports".
  27. 1 2 "Hugo Perez takes reins of el Salvador national team".
  28. ↑ El Salvador-Guatemala: Una vieja rivalidad Archived 2012-09-25 at the Wayback Machine at elsalvador.com (in Spanish)
  29. ↑ "Greek Coach A `Modern Hero'", Chicago Tribune, Robert Markus, December 20, 1993.
  30. ↑ "Ex-U.S. national coach Bob Bradley up for job in Egypt", Sporting News, Brian Strauss, August 8, 2011. (“If Bradley gets the job, he would become a member of the tiny fraternity of U.S. born coaches who have managed foreign national teams.”)
  31. ↑ "SOCCER: NOTEBOOK; Former U.S. Coach Winning in Costa Rica", New York Times, Jack Bell, June 10, 2003. ("there have been a lot of doubters, people asking how can an American come down here and show us how to play soccer?")
  32. ↑ "For Fernando Clavijo, One Year Coaching in Haiti Changed His Life". 7 July 2015.
  33. ↑ "Afshin Ghotbi's improbable journey", ESPN, Mark Young, December 23, 2010.
  34. ↑ "American Ian Mork to coach Belize against his home country", Sports Illustrated, R.J. Rico, July 8, 2013.
  35. ↑ "Soccer in the Storm", ESPN, Wayne Drehs.
  36. ↑ "Jack Stefanowski, American coach of Nepali national soccer team, recounts earthquake aftermath", Washington Post, Adam Kilgore, May 4, 2015.
  37. ↑ "Soccer in the Philippines Scrambles for a Toehold, With an American Leading the Way", New York Times, John Duerden, November 23, 2016.
  38. 1 2 "Belize's American manager: Richard Orlowski's long route to Central America", The Guardian, Bryan Kay, March 7, 2017.

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