D.C. United has had several head coaches since the inaugural 1996 Major League Soccer season. The club has had seven permanent head coaches. Bruce Arena was the club's inaugural coach in 1996, leaving his position coaching the men's soccer team at the University of Virginia. In 1998, after winning two MLS Cups and the 1996 U.S. Open Cup, Arena left to coach the United States men's national soccer team. [1] Thomas Rongen then left his head coach position with the New England Revolution to come to D.C. Rongen led D.C. to another MLS cup in 1999 but was replaced by Ray Hudson in 2002, who was hired after the contraction of his Miami Fusion F.C. that year. [2]
Hudson saw D.C. United fall to last in the table in 2002 and lose in the first round of the playoffs in 2003. Former Chicago Fire player Piotr (Peter) Nowak was then hired to replace Hudson, and led D.C. United to their fourth MLS Cup in 2004. [3] Nowak left on December 21, 2006, for an assistant coaching position on the U.S. men's national team. Tom Soehn, another former Chicago Fire player, was hired next, and was the first American to coach the team since Bruce Arena. He left the team at the end of the 2009 season. [4] On December 28, 2009, D.C. hired former Kansas City Wizards manager Curt Onalfo as their sixth head coach. [5] On August 4, 2010, Onalfo was dismissed as head coach of D.C. United and former player Ben Olsen was named interim head coach. [6] On November 29, 2010, Olsen was named head coach on a permanent basis. [7] After a string of losses during the 2020 season, Ben Olsen was replaced by Chad Ashton on October 8, 2020. [8] Aston's tenure as interim coach ended at the conclusion of the 2020 season, and D.C. appointed Hernán Losada as permanent head coach on January 18, 2021. [9] On July 12, 2022, former Manchester United and DC United star Wayne Rooney came back to DC as their manager.
This list includes all those who have managed the club since 1996, when the club joined Major League Soccer for the first time, whether coaching on a full-time or caretaker basis. Games played include all League, Cup, Playoff, and Continental matches, and the win percentage is calculated from the total of games.
M = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against
Name | Nat | From | To | M | W | D | L | F | A | Win1 | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bruce Arena | January 3, 1996 | October 30, 1998 | 131 | 74 | 153 | 42 | - | - | 56.48% | ||
Thomas Rongen | December 2, 1998 | August 4, 2001 | 97 | 45 | 8 | 44 | - | - | 46.39% | ||
Ray Hudson | January 8, 2002 | December 15, 2003 | 110 | 44 | 20 | 46 | - | - | 40.00% | ||
Piotr Nowak | January 7, 2004 | December 19, 2006 | 1103 | 50 | 26 | 34 | 178 | 143 | 45.45% | ||
Tom Soehn | December 21, 2006 | November 3, 2009 | 110 | 48 | 25 | 37 | 171 | 152 | 43.64% | ||
Curt Onalfo | January 5, 2010 | August 4, 2010 | 22 | 7 | 3 | 12 | 22 | 34 | 31.82% | ||
Ben Olsen | November 29, 2010 | October 8, 2020 | 331 | 117 | 752 | 139 | 428 | 469 | 35.35% | Interim coach from August 5 – November 28, 2010 | |
Chad Ashton | October 8, 2020 | November 8, 2020 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 6 | 60.00% | Interim coach from October 8 – November 8, 2020 | |
Hernán Losada | January 18, 2021 | April 20, 2022 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 17 | 14 | 41.67% | ||
Chad Ashton | April 20, 2022 | July 12, 2022 | 12 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 16 | 32 | 25.00% | Interim coach from April 20 – July 23, 2022 | |
Wayne Rooney | July 12, 2022 | October 8, 2023 | 53 | 14 | 13 | 26 | 61 | 86 | 26.41% | ||
Frédéric Brillant | October 8, 2023 | January 10, 2024 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 100.00% | Interim Coach | |
Troy Lesesne | January 10, 2024 | Present |
Name | Nat | Tenure | Honors |
---|---|---|---|
Bruce Arena | 1996–1998 | 1996 U.S. Open Cup 1996 MLS Cup 1997 MLS Cup 1997 MLS Supporters' Shield 1998 CONCACAF Champions' Cup 1998 Copa Interamericana | |
Thomas Rongen | 1999–2001 | 1999 MLS Cup 1999 MLS Supporters' Shield | |
Piotr Nowak | 2004–2006 | 2004 MLS Cup 2006 MLS Supporters' Shield | |
Tom Soehn | 2007–2009 | 2007 MLS Supporters' Shield 2008 U.S. Open Cup | |
Ben Olsen | 2010–2020 | 2013 U.S. Open Cup | |
D.C. United is an American professional men's soccer club based in Washington, D.C. that competes in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS), the top tier of American soccer. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups, four Supporters' Shields, three U.S. Open Cups, and six Eastern Conference championships. In international competitions, the club has one CONCACAF Champions Cup title and one Copa Interamericana, the only United States team to win the latter. In terms of trophies won, it is the joint-most successful overall club in American soccer.
Bruce Arena is an American soccer coach who currently serves as the head coach and sporting director of the San Jose Earthquakes.
Jaime Moreno Morales is a Bolivian former professional footballer now serving as Youth Academy Technical Training Coach for D.C. United in Major League Soccer, and as the head coach of D.C. United's U-23 side.
Thomas Eddy Rongen is a Dutch-American football coach who has spent the majority of his playing and coaching career in the United States. In December 2016, he was named Chief Scout of the United States men's national soccer team. Rongen won the MLS Coach of the Year award in MLS's inaugural season in 1996, leading the Tampa Bay Mutiny to the best regular-season record. His stint managing the American Samoa national team was covered in the 2014 documentary Next Goal Wins, and the 2023 biographical comedy-drama also called Next Goal Wins.
Benjamin Robert Olsen is an American sports executive, soccer coach, and former professional player who was formerly the president of Washington Spirit, a professional women's soccer club in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). He is currently the head coach of Houston Dynamo FC in Major League Soccer. Olsen is best known for his long-term association with D.C. United of Major League Soccer (MLS), first as a player then as a coach.
Raymond Wilfred Hudson is an English former professional football player and manager who currently works as a radio host for SiriusXM FC 157. He started playing professionally at 17, in 1973, with Newcastle United. Fans nicknamed him Rocky and he stayed with the Football League First Division side for four years before moving to the U.S. and playing with various teams for about 15 years.
MLS Cup 1998 was the third edition of the MLS Cup, the championship match of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the United States. It took place on October 25, 1998, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, with an attendance of 51,350 people. The final was contested by two-time reigning champions D.C. United and the Chicago Fire, the first expansion team to reach the final. Chicago won the match 2–0, with goals scored by Jerzy Podbrożny and Diego Gutiérrez in the first half.
MLS Cup 1999 was the fourth edition of the MLS Cup, the championship soccer match of Major League Soccer (MLS), the top-level soccer league of the United States. It took place on November 21, 1999, at Foxboro Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, and was contested by D.C. United and the Los Angeles Galaxy in a rematch of the inaugural 1996 final that had been played at the same venue. Both teams finished atop their respective conferences during the regular season under new head coaches and advanced through the first two rounds of the playoffs.
MLS Cup 2004 was the ninth edition of the MLS Cup, the championship match of Major League Soccer (MLS), which took place on November 14, 2004, at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California. It was contested between D.C. United and the Kansas City Wizards to decide the champion of the 2004 season. The two teams had qualified for the playoffs after seasons with mixed results that ended in top-two finishes in their respective conferences.
Michael Dax McCarty is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Major League Soccer club Atlanta United FC.
Curt Onalfo is an American former soccer player and coach who currently serves as sporting director of Major League Soccer club New England Revolution.
Tom Soehn is an American soccer coach who is the head coach of USL Championship club Birmingham Legion. A former player, his career as a defender spanned seven clubs across 12 seasons, both indoors and outdoors.
Chad Ashton is an American former soccer midfielder who spent one season in Major League Soccer, four in the American Professional Soccer League, six in the National Professional Soccer League and one in the Major Indoor Soccer League. He coached for ten years at the collegiate level and as assistant coach of D.C. United.
The 2010 D.C. United season was the club's 16th year of existence, as well as their 15th season in Major League Soccer, and their 15th consecutive season in the top flight of American soccer.
This article documents the history of D.C. United, an American soccer club based in Washington, D.C. For a general overview of the club, see D.C. United.
The 1999 D.C. United season was the clubs' fifth year of existence, as well as their fourth season in Major League Soccer.
The D.C. United Hall of Tradition is an honor bestowed upon players, coaches and club management deemed by the franchise to have crucial to the club's success.
The 2020 season was the 108th season of competitive soccer in the United States. Many of the competitions were significantly altered, postponed, or cancelled in the wake of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2021 D.C. United season was the club's 26th season of existence, and their 26th consecutive season playing in Major League Soccer, the top flight of American soccer. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its ongoing vaccination efforts, the season began on April 17, 2021 and ended on November 7, 2021. Despite winning against Toronto FC on the last match of the regular season, the team did not qualify playoffs, making it their second consecutive season in which D.C. United did not qualify for the playoffs. It was the first time since 2011, that United did not qualify for the playoffs in consecutive seasons.