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List of D.C. United head coaches

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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.

List of head coaches

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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.

  • Figures correct as of October 15, 2023. Includes all competitive matches

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 United States January 3, 1996 October 30, 1998 131 74 153 42 - - 56.48%
Thomas Rongen Netherlands December 2, 1998 August 4, 2001 97 45 8 44 - - 46.39%
Ray Hudson England January 8, 2002 December 15, 2003 110 44 20 46 - - 40.00%
Piotr Nowak Poland January 7, 2004 December 19, 2006 1103 50 26 34 178 143 45.45%
Tom Soehn United States December 21, 2006 November 3, 2009 110 48 25 37 171 152 43.64%
Curt Onalfo United States January 5, 2010 August 4, 2010 22 7 3 12 22 34 31.82%
Ben Olsen United States November 29, 2010 October 8, 2020 331 117 752 139 428 469 35.35% Interim coach from August 5 – November 28, 2010
Chad Ashton United States October 8, 2020 November 8, 2020 5 3 1 1 8 6 60.00% Interim coach from October 8 – November 8, 2020
Hernán Losada Argentina January 18, 2021 April 20, 2022 12 5 1 6 17 14 41.67%
Chad Ashton United States April 20, 2022 July 12, 2022 12 3 2 7 16 32 25.00% Interim coach from April 20 – July 23, 2022
Wayne Rooney England July 12, 2022 October 8, 2023 53 14 13 26 61 86 26.41%
Frédéric Brillant France October 8, 2023 January 10, 2024 1 1 0 0 2 1 100.00% Interim Coach
Troy Lesesne United States January 10, 2024 Present
  • 1 Win% is rounded to a whole.
  • 2 Three drawn cup games lost and one won after extra time or on penalties.
  • 3 MLS matches that went into penalty kick shootouts are counted as a draw

Coaches with Honors

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Name Nat Tenure Honors
Bruce Arena United States 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 Netherlands 1999–2001 1999 MLS Cup
1999 MLS Supporters' Shield
Piotr Nowak Poland 2004–2006 2004 MLS Cup
2006 MLS Supporters' Shield
Tom Soehn United States 2007–2009 2007 MLS Supporters' Shield
2008 U.S. Open Cup
Ben Olsen United States 2010–2020 2013 U.S. Open Cup

References

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General
  • League and Playoff records sourced to: Litterer, Dave (June 16, 2011). "USA - Major League Soccer". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved August 5, 2011.
  • Cup records sourced to: Hikala, Josh. "1995 - Present (Pro Era)". TheCup.us. Archived from the original on August 16, 2011. Retrieved August 5, 2011.
  • Continental records sourced to: Torres, Steven. "CONCACAF Champions Cup and Champions League History" (PDF). CONCACAF. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 16, 2011. Retrieved July 13, 2011.
Notes
  1. ^ "America's one and only United". FIFA. September 24, 2008. Archived from the original on October 28, 2008. Retrieved September 6, 2009.
  2. ^ Bell, Jack (January 9, 2002). "Major League Soccer Eliminates Two Teams". The New York Times. Retrieved September 6, 2009.
  3. ^ Connolly, Marc (January 8, 2004). "Newest coaches will be under pressure". ESPN Soccernet.com. Archived from the original on June 29, 2012. Retrieved September 6, 2009.
  4. ^ "Soehn will not return to D.C. United". The Miami Herald. The Sports Network. November 3, 2009. Retrieved November 3, 2009. [dead link‍]
  5. ^ Hansen, Drew (December 29, 2009). "Ex-D.C. player Onalfo named United's coach". The Washington Times. Retrieved January 14, 2010.
  6. ^ Goff, Steven (August 4, 2010). "D.C. United fires Coach Curt Onalfo". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on February 5, 2013. Retrieved August 4, 2010.
  7. ^ "Ben Olsen named D.C. United Head Coach". November 29, 2010. Archived from the original on December 3, 2010. Retrieved November 30, 2010.
  8. ^ "D.C. United Announce the Departure of Head Coach Ben Olsen". October 8, 2020.
  9. ^ "D.C. United Name Hernán Losada as Head Coach". D.C. United. January 18, 2021. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
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