because I had no idea until I looked it up. But did you know Curt Onalfo played four seasons in MLS? Yep, but after appearing in 13 games (and three playoff games) for the Galaxy in the inaugural season and six games for San Jose in 1997, Curt only made four appearances (all as a sub) in '98 and '99 for D.C. United. Onalfo was a star at Virginia (back in the days of the Tony Meola, Richie Williams, Jeff Agoos dynasty), but never found his groove in MLS. Like Soehn, Onalfo is considered a rising star in the coaching ranks.
6. Jason Kreis. As I said up top, I was shocked when I got the text message that Kreis had retired to coach RSL. He joins a few of the guys listed below as legitimate MLS stars who moved on to the coaching ranks. Let's say this about his debut: Chris Klein and Chris Brown scored goals that had to impress even one of the best long distance marksmen the league has ever seen.
5. Mo Johnston. So far, not so good for Mo Johnston. Not much else to say, other than he seems to have one of the itchiest trigger fingers I've ever seen in the league when it comes to making roster and lineup decisions. As emotional a player as Mo was, it's hard to imagine him not giving amazing pregame speeches. After beginning his coaching career with a 3-0-1 mark (including a playoff win for the MetroStars), Johnston is 2-8-7 as a head coach. Obviously, he gets more rope with an expansion team, but we'll see.
4. Preki. The challenge for Preki now is to get the results to go along with the high-energy, high-excitement style of soccer that Chivas USA is now playing. To this point, Chivas USA has paid dearly for mistakes and giveaways in their own end of the field. As for the entertainment value, it's not surprising given the type of player that Preki was. To this day, one of the most gifted dribblers, passers and shooters the league has ever seen.
3. Dominic Kinnear. The soon-to-be 40-year-old Kinnear put in five solid seasons as an MLS player who was born in the "tweener" years, meaning he was a little too old, with a few too many miles on his odometer, to really be at his best when the league got up and running in 1996. But, with that said, he was at the perfect age to transition into a successful coaching career. After a rough initiation in 2004, Kinnear has been outstanding, guiding the Quakes/Dynamo to the top of the league, and making them one of the league's hardest-running, hardest-fighting teams on a game-in, game-out basis.
2. Peter Nowak. It's been said before, but Nowak was very much like a coach when he played. Very vocal, always directing traffic, always relishing the opportunity to instill his wisdom and express his heartfelt feelings to his teammates. When he took over D.C. United in 2004, there were some rumblings that Nowak was pushing too hard, expecting too much out of his players, especially in practice. Well, he won an MLS Cup in his first year as a head coach and last season took home the Supporters' Shield. No, he hasn't made friends with everyone along the way, but that was never Nowak's concern.
1. Frank Yallop. A hard-nosed defender and team leader on the 1996-99 Tampa Bay Mutiny, Yallop was another one of those players everyone had tagged as a future MLS coach from the day the league started. Like Nowak, he turned his first head coaching experience into a title run (when his 2001 Earthquakes upset the Miami Fusion ... and won MLS Cup on a Dwayne De Rosario golden goal), then added a second title in 2003, when his Quakes outlasted the Chicago Fire 4-2 in perhaps the wildest MLS Cup Final ever. Now in L.A., Yallop should have all the pieces in place by summer to make another run. And, since we're into the "Did You Knows?" ... how about this one: Did you know that four of the last six MLS Cups have been won by teams coached by former MLS players? No wonder RSL is putting its faith in Jason Kreis.
Jeff Bradley is a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine. Send your comments and complaints (200 words or less, please) to Jeff at jbradleyespn2003@yahoo.com and he promises to read (but not respond to) all of them. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author's, and not necessarily those of Major League Soccer or MLSnet.com.
