USA’s Best Soccer Coaches

Footy Magazine 4-4-2 USA recently ran an article to declare the ’25 Best Coaches in American Soccer’ . The college scene was well represented with many of the coaches having played or coached at the college level at some point in their careers: Including of course, the number 1 pick Bruce Arena who held the Head Coach’s job at the University of Virginia. Here are the 2 current college soccer coaches that made it into the list:

Jeremy Gunn – Stanford Men’s

Rank – 23

Stanford is the back-to-back reigning College Cup champion. It owns NCAA Division I soccer’s best winning percentage (.792, from a record of 46-8-11) over the past three years. It has groomed current MLS standouts Jordan Morris and Brandon Vincent, both of whom were rated as exceptional enough to earn their senior U.S. men’s national team debuts before playing their first games at the professional level.

The architect of all this success? An engaging Englishman whose devotion to structure, discipline and preparation has reaped success everywhere he has coached. For his first head-coaching job, Jeremy Gunn ventured into the Colorado mountains and built little Fort Lewis College into a Division II powerhouse, winning the 2005 national championship and reaching two other title games. Then he moved to UNC-Charlotte and did much the same at D-I level, booking two NCAA tournament appearances and a 64-26-14 record over five seasons and advancing to the 2011 College Cup final.

“It is different than every other team I’ve played on,” Morris said of Gunn’s Cardinal team two years ago. “You have to hold yourself accountable to doing the right thing.”

Gunn’s teams don’t always play the prettiest or most creative soccer, but they rarely lose. And when the pressure is on, they deliver.

Watch the highlights from Jeremy Gunn’s second Championship Campaign

Sasho Cirovski – Maryland Terrapins Men’s

Rank – 21

Just north of Washington, D.C., an American soccer institution has taken root over the past quarter-century. Guided by the steady hands of Sasho Cirovski, the Maryland Terrapins program has become a blue-chip talent factory as well as a perennial national-championship contender, enjoying levels of success and devotion that make even the football and basketball programs envious.

The list of future pros sculpted by Cirovski runs longer than a goal kick in a tailwind: Taylor Twellman. Maurice Edu. Robbie Rogers. Clarence Goodson. Graham Zusi. A.J. DeLaGarza. Omar Gonzalez. Patrick Mullins. And so many more. All were legitimate talents when they arrived on campus, but all credit the Macedonian-born coach and the culture of excellence he created for pushing their careers to a higher echelon.

Never one to shirk from a challenge, Cirovski’s latest passion is a wholesale overhaul of the college game itself. For several years he has been doggedly leading a movement to make NCAA soccer a two-semester sport, creating a longer season with a less punishing schedule, a more aesthetically appealing entertainment product and a better environment for player development. A long road lies ahead. But if he can navigate the path, the results could be revolutionary for the sport in the United States.

Read the Full Article from 4-4-2 USA here