New York City FC continued to add local flavor on Monday, announcing that Rob Vartughian has joined the club as an assistant coach.
Vartughian's most recent appointment was with the Philadelphia Union, where he was an assistant coach and later technical director before head coach John Hackworth was fired in June, with Vartughian parting ways with the club two days later.
A former goalkeeper, Vartughian has coached at the University of Maryland and in the US youth national team system. He joins CJ Brown and Miles Joseph as assistants working with New York City FC head coach Jason Kreis.
“To be a part of this club, with such a talented group of coaches, is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and very humbling for me,” Vartughian said in a club statement. “I have a great amount of respect and admiration for Jason Kreis and how his teams have played over the years. I think he’s a coach that really trusts his assistants and values everyone’s input. He is open and treats everybody like equals. My background is in goalkeeping, so I’ll work specifically with the goalkeepers, but Jason prefers all of his coaches to be involved with all areas of the team.”
Vartughian was born in Queens, New York, and starred at North Brunswick High School in New Jersey (he was good enough that future US national team goalkeeper Tim Howard played forward at times) before playing collegiately at St. Bonaventure University and Wake Forest University.
“My family are really excited about the opportunity to move to New York," Vartughian said in the statement. "I’m a Yankee fan, so for me to have this opportunity to be part of a team playing at Yankee Stadium will be really special.”
