After guiding D.C. United from the worst-ever MLS record last year to a spot in first place in the Eastern Conference heading into the final month of the season, head coach Ben Olsen has signed a multi-year contract extension, the club announced Monday.
Olsen, the seventh head coach in club history, has compiled a 46-64-33 record in his nearly five seasons, including the Black and Red’s 14-9-6 record this season.
“We are proud of the job that Ben has done leading the team, and we are excited about securing his future with D.C. United,” D.C. United managing general partner Jason Levien said in a statement. “Proving himself as a coach just as he did as a player, he has kept the group together through adversity, and he has the club poised for immediate and future success.”
Following his retirement as a player after the 2009 season, Olsen launched his coaching career in 2010 as an assistant under Curt Onalfo. He was named interim head coach on Aug. 4, 2010, following Onalfo’s departure. In 2012, Olsen guided the team to the Eastern Conference finals, in the process ending the club’s four-year absence from the playoffs.
Last year, D.C. United finished with a 3-24-7 record but qualified for the 2014-15 CONCACAF Champions League as winners of last year’s US Open Cup title.
“Ben has re-established a winning culture at D.C. United, and I'm very pleased that he has reached a multi-year agreement with the club to continue his excellent work,” D.C. United general manager Dave Kasper said in a statement. “He has forged a playing style that is very effective in MLS and fostered an identity that ‘the team is the star,’ one that our fans in the D.C. metropolitan area are very proud of. I look forward to continuing a strong working relationship with Ben with the goal of adding more silverware to our trophy case.”
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As a player, Olsen was among the club’s all-time leaders in several categories at the time of his retirement – second in games played (221), minutes played (17,098) and game-winning goals (13), third in assists (49) and seventh in goals (29). He won eight total trophies with D.C. United, including two MLS Cups (1999 & 2004). He was also a two-time All-Star (1998 & 1999), the 1998 MLS Rookie of the Year, the 1999 MLS Cup MVP, the 2003 USSF Humanitarian of the Year and was named to the MLS Best XI in 2007.
He also earned 37 caps with the US national team.
“Close to half my life I've been a part of this proud club,” Olsen said in a statement. “D.C. United has become my family and my identity. It is where I belong and thankfully, with this extension, it is a place I'm going to be for several more years. My commitment to winning and having a team that our fans and community are proud of will continue to be my priority.”
