Curt Onalfo (born November 19, 1969) is an American former soccer player and coach who currently serves as technical director of Major League Soccer club

New England Revolution The New England Revolution is an American professional soccer club based in the Greater Boston area that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), in the Eastern Conference of the league. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having compe ...

. As a player, he played two seasons in France, two in the

USISL United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues currently organized are the ...

, one in Mexico and four in Major League Soccer, achieving his most success with the

Los Angeles Galaxy LA Galaxy, also known as the Los Angeles Galaxy, are an American professional soccer club based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Galaxy competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), as a member of the Western Conference. The club began pla ...

and

D.C. United D.C. United is a professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. that competes in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer, the top tier of American soccer. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Supp ...

. He also earned one

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

with the United States national team. He has an extensive coaching résumé, having served as head coach of three MLS clubs. Following a five-game losing streak with the Galaxy, Onalfo was removed from his role as head coach of the team on July 27, 2017.

Youth and amateur

Onalfo was born in

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...

, Brazil, but grew up in the United States in

Ridgefield, Connecticut Ridgefield is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. Situated in the foothills of the Berkshire Mountains, the 300-year-old community had a population of 25,033 at the 2020 census. The town center, which was formerly a borough ...

, and played high school soccer at Ridgefield High School. He went on to play four years of

college soccer College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. It is very prominent in United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and the Philippines. The United K ...

at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...

under

Bruce Arena Bruce Arena (born September 21, 1951) is an American soccer coach who is the head coach and sporting director of the New England Revolution. He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame and the NJCAA Lacrosse Hall of Fame. Arena has had ...

- an association that would serve him well in his later coaching career.

Playing career

Professional

His first professional experience came at

La Ciotat La Ciotat (; oc, label= Provençal Occitan, La Ciutat ; in Mistralian spelling ''La Ciéutat''; 'the City') is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southern France. It is the southeasternmost ...

, in the French fifth division, but a six-month battle with Hodgkin's Disease in 1993 disrupted his career and almost ended his life."Curt Onalfo" (Bio)
, ''Curt Onalfo Soccer'', 2004, retrieved December 3, 2006. After extensive chemotherapy, the cancer went into remission and Onalfo recovered, going on to play for the

Connecticut Wolves The Connecticut Wolves were an American soccer club that was founded by the Clifton Onolfo, the Onolfo Family, and several investors including Tony DiCicco. The Club's inaugural match was attended by 5,200 plus fans and competed in the United Soc ...

of the

in 1994 and 1995. In 1995, he signed with Major League Soccer which was planning to begin its first season that year. When the league was forced to delay its first season until 1996, the league sent Onalfo on loan with Tampico Madero of the Mexican

second division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

. He met and married his wife in Tampico and his family still maintain a home there; Onalfo also speaks fluent Spanish."Pre-Game Notes: U.S. MNT vs. Mexico - Sept. 2, 2005"
''USsoccer.com'', September 2, 2005, retrieved December 3, 2006. In February 1996, the

selected Onalfo in the eight round (seventy-fourth overall) in the inaugural draft. He would feature in almost half of the Galaxy's games that year, as well as the first

MLS Cup The MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Cup Playoffs. The game is held in November and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Conferen ...

. He went on to play for the San Jose Clash (later the Earthquakes) in the next season, and then for

in 1998 and 1999, winning the

with United in his last year. In 1999, United sent Onalfo on loan to MLS Pro 40,

Virginia Beach Mariners The Virginia Beach Mariners were an American soccer club, who formerly played in the USL First Division of the United Soccer Leagues, the second division in the US Soccer hierarchy behind Major League Soccer. On March 30, 2007 the team folded due ...

and Maryland Mania.

International

In the late 80s and early 90s, Onalfo featured for the U.S. national teams on both youth and senior levels, co-captaining the U.S. U-20 national team at the

1989 FIFA World Youth Championship The 1989 FIFA World Youth Championship took place in Saudi Arabia between 16 February and 3 March 1989. The 1989 championship was the 7th contested. The tournament took place across four cities: Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, and Ta'if. Qualification ...

, the gold-medal-winning team of the

1991 Pan American Games The 1991 Pan American Games were held in Havana, Cuba from August 2 to August 18, 1991. There were 4,519 athletes from 39 countries of the PASO community, with events in 33 different sports. The main stadium was the Estadio Panamericano, a mul ...

, and also the U.S. squad at the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

. In sum, he played over 100 games for the United States at various levels, though he was capped only once for the senior team. That cap came in a 1-0 victory over Costa Rica on June 14, 1988.

Coaching career

After retiring, Onalfo continued to work with youth soccer in training, coaching, and technical director roles, as he had done throughout his playing days – for McLean Youth Soccer in Virginia, various teams in Ridgefield, CT, and for his own company, Curt Onalfo Soccer. His first managerial job in professional soccer came when he was hired as assistant coach to

Thomas Rongen Thomas Eddy Rongen (born 31 October 1956) is a Dutch American football coach who has spent the majority of his playing and coaching career in the United States. In December 2016, he was named Chief Scout of the United States Men's National Team. ...

– later replaced by

Ray Hudson Raymond Wilfred Hudson (born 24 March 1955) is an English former professional football player and manager who currently works as a radio host for SiriusXM FC 157. He started playing professionally at 17, in 1973, with Newcastle United. Fans nic ...

– at

, a position he occupied from 2001 through 2002. In the latter year, Onalfo left to become an assistant to Bruce Arena during the 2002–2006 stretch of Arena's tenure as coach of the U.S. national team. In 2005, Onalfo was included among the final three candidates for the top job at the

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 1995, as part of the Anschutz Corporation, lat ...

, eventually being passed over for

Fernando Clavijo Fernando Caetano Clavijo Cedrés (January 23, 1956 – February 8, 2019) was a Uruguayan-American soccer defender and former head coach of the New England Revolution and Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer. He played three seasons in the ...

. In November 2006, Onalfo was appointed as head coach of the Kansas City Wizards, replacing interim coach

Brian Bliss Brian Boyer Bliss (born September 28, 1965) is a retired American soccer defender and front office executive. He also serves as an assistant coach for the United States U-20 national team. Bliss played professionally in Europe and the United S ...

. He pledged to install an attacking style as a coach for the Wizards, who had finished poorly in their previous season and failed to make the playoffs. Wizards technical director

Peter Vermes Peter Joseph Vermes (; born November 21, 1966) is an American professional soccer coach and former player. He is currently the head coach of Sporting Kansas City in Major League Soccer. As of 2022, Vermes is currently the longest-tenured head c ...

cited Onalfo's skill as a communicator, leadership, scouting, and talent evaluation in announcing the hire. With the Wizards in sixth place in MLS's Eastern Conference with a 5–6–7 record and coming off a 6–0 road loss to

FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes as a member of the Western Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). The franchise began play in 1996 as a charter club of the le ...

two nights earlier, Onalfo was dismissed on August 3, 2009. He finished with a 27–29–22 record with the club. He was hired as the head coach of

in December 2009. On August 4, 2010, after D.C. United started the season with a record of 3-12-3, Onalfo was dismissed as head coach of D.C. United. On January 27, 2011, Onalfo was named assistant coach for the Los Angeles Galaxy, reuniting with head coach Bruce Arena, with whom he formerly coached for the U.S. National Team and played for at D.C. United in 1998. He was also named head coach of the Galaxy's reserve team the same day. Onalfo continued serving as reserve coach when the reserve team entered the

United Soccer League United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues currently organized are the ...

as a full club. Following the departure of Arena to coach the United States national team, Onalfo was promoted to first team head coach for the 2017 season. However, once again, this tenure lasted less than a full season, with Onalfo being fired on July 27, 2017 after a 6-10-4 record. On June 2, 2019, Onalfo was named as technical director of

References

External links

Kansas City Wizards head coach profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Onalfo, Curt 1969 births Living people American soccer coaches American soccer players American expatriate soccer players Connecticut Wolves players D.C. United coaches D.C. United players Soccer players from Connecticut LA Galaxy players Major League Soccer players Maryland Mania players San Jose Earthquakes players Sporting Kansas City coaches Virginia Beach Mariners players Virginia Cavaliers men's soccer players Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in football Footballers at the 1992 Summer Olympics Olympic soccer players of the United States United States men's international soccer players USISL players United States men's under-20 international soccer players United States men's under-23 international soccer players MLS Pro-40 players Tampico Madero F.C. footballers Expatriate footballers in Mexico Expatriate footballers in France USL Second Division players A-League (1995–2004) players San Jose Earthquakes draft picks LA Galaxy non-playing staff Association football defenders LA Galaxy coaches LA Galaxy II coaches ES La Ciotat players Footballers at the 1991 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1991 Pan American Games American expatriate sportspeople in France