Jason Clarence Kreis (born December 29, 1972) is an American

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

coach and former player who currently serves as an assistant coach for

MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

club

Inter Miami CF Club Internacional de Fútbol Miami, known as Inter Miami CF or simply Inter Miami, is an American professional soccer club based in the Miami metropolitan area. Established in 2018, the club began play in Major League Soccer (MLS) in the 2020 ...

and as head coach of the United States under-23 team. He coached

Orlando City SC Orlando City SC is an American professional soccer club in Orlando, Florida, that competes as a member of the Eastern Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). Orlando City SC began play in 2015 as the 21st franchise in MLS, succeeding the USL ...

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

and was previously an assistant coach under

Jürgen Klinsmann Jürgen Klinsmann (, born 30 July 1964) is a German professional football manager and former player. Klinsmann played for several prominent clubs in Europe including VfB Stuttgart, Inter Milan, Monaco, Tottenham Hotspur, and Bayern Munich. He ...

for the

United States men's national soccer team The United States men's national soccer team (USMNT) represents the United States in men's international soccer competitions. The team is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and is a member of FIFA and CONCACAF. The U.S. team ha ...

. Prior to that he was the head coach of

New York City FC New York City Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in New York City that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), the highest level of American soccer, as a member of the league's Eastern Conference. The club is co-owned ...

and

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake, often shortened to RSL, is an American professional soccer franchise based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes as a member club of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the Western Conference. RSL began play in 20 ...

. Kreis spent the majority of his playing career in

in the United States, initially with the Dallas Burn, and later with Real Salt Lake. In total he made over 300 professional appearances, was Major League Soccer MVP in 1999, and is currently tied for the fifth highest scorer in MLS regular season history, with 108 goals. He also earned fourteen international caps for the

United States national team The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...

. At one point in his playing career, he was the all-time leading scorer in MLS.

Early life

Kreis played for the Gladiator Soccer Club in his hometown of

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

, where his parents were among the pioneers who established this first premier/select club within the state. As a freshman at Burke High School in Omaha, Kreis was selected First Team All-State. He remains the only freshman selected to the first team. Following his freshman year, Kreis and his family moved to

Mandeville, Louisiana Mandeville is a city in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, United States. Its population was 11,560 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 U.S. census, and 13,192 at the 2020 United States census. Mandeville is located on the north shore of Lake Pontc ...

, where he led

Mandeville High School Mandeville High School is a public high school located in Mandeville, Louisiana, United States, a suburban city located thirty miles north of New Orleans. It is part of the St. Tammany Parish Public Schools system. Mandeville High School is a coe ...

to several Class 5A state soccer tournaments, but never won a state title, losing to Lafayette High, led by stars Shammi Gupta and Wayne Shullaw, in the quarterfinals his senior year. While at Mandeville, he was also a standout performer for the Baton Rouge United Jags, a U-19 Select team that finished as national runner-up in 1991 and won the prestigious Capital Cup tournament in Washington, D.C. He played collegiately at

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

Durham, North Carolina Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County, North Carolina, Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County, North Carolina, Orange County and Wake County, North Carol ...

. A first team All-America pick in 1993 and 1994, Kreis finished his college career with 39 goals and 38 assists, ranking fifth all-time in scoring.

Club career

Minor leagues

In 1993, Kreis played during the summer for the Raleigh Flyers of 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 ...

. In the summer of 1994, he returned to Louisiana to play for the

New Orleans Riverboat Gamblers New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

, also of the USISL. After finishing his collegiate eligibility in 1994, Kreis signed his first professional contract with the Raleigh Flyers in the spring of 1995.

Dallas Burn

On August 1, 1995, Kreis signed a contract with

as the league prepared for its inaugural season. Kreis was drafted forty-third overall by the

Dallas Burn Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

in the fifth round of the

MLS Inaugural Draft The MLS Inaugural Player Draft, held before Major League Soccer's initial 1996 season, distributed players to the league's ten inaugural teams. The Inaugural Player Draft occurred on February 6 and 7, 1996 after each team was allocated four marq ...

. He scored the first goal in Burn history. In 1999, Kreis was the first American-born player to be named league MVP after he led the league in points and

goals A goal is an objective that a person or a system plans or intends to achieve. Goal may also refer to: Sport * Goal (sports), a method of scoring in many sports, or the physical structure or area where scoring occurs ** Goals, the goal frame in ...

, and also registered the first 15-goal, 15-assist season in league history. The five-time all-star led his team in goals five times and in points four times. On June 26, 2004, Kreis scored his eighty-ninth league goal against

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 ...

, moving past

Roy Lassiter Roy Lee Lassiter (born March 9, 1969) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a forward. He played the first few years of his professional career in Costa Rica. He returned to the United States to play in Major League Soc ...

to the top of the league's all-time goal-scoring chart. Kreis remained the MLS all time goalscoring leader for more than three years until Jaime Moreno surpassed his record on August 22, 2007. He ended his ninth MLS season with career totals of 91 goals and 65 assists for 247 points, plus added four goals and two assists in the playoffs. He remains Dallas' all-time leader in games played (247), goals (91), assists (65), and points (247).

Real Salt Lake

On November 17, 2004, Kreis was traded to expansion team

, becoming the first player in the club's history. Kreis scored the first goal in Salt Lake's history in its second match, a 3–1 loss to 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 play ...

. In doing so, he became the first player in league history to do so for two different teams, as he scored the inaugural goal for Dallas in 1996 as well. On August 13, 2005, he became the first player in MLS history to score 100 career league goals, during a 4–2 loss to the

Kansas City Wizards Sporting Kansas City, often shortened to Sporting KC, is an American men's professional soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The administrative offices are located in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and the team clubhouse and ...

. The achievement was unexpected from observers, especially out of a 1996 class that included other candidates like

Eric Wynalda Eric Boswell Wynalda (born June 9, 1969) is an American soccer coach, television commentator, and retired player. He was formerly an analyst and color commentator for soccer coverage on Fox Sports 1 and ESPN. Previously, he served as head coach ...

Brian McBride Brian Robert McBride (born June 19, 1972) is an American former soccer player who played as a forward for Columbus Crew, Fulham and Chicago Fire. He is the fifth-highest all-time leading goalscorer for the United States national team. For mu ...

, or

Joe-Max Moore Joe-Max Moore (born February 23, 1971) is an American former soccer player. He played professionally for clubs in Germany, England and the United States. He finished his career with the New England Revolution of Major League Soccer. In additio ...

; Kreis had never been considered a particularly dangerous goalscorer and had only lead the league in scoring once, in 1999. Kreis was left unprotected in the 2006 MLS Expansion Draft by Real Salt Lake and subsequently chosen by

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BMO ...

. He was reacquired by Salt Lake on November 17, 2006, with the club sending partial

allocation money Allocation money, in Major League Soccer, represents an amount of money that teams may use to sign players and/or allocate to their salaries to get under the salary cap. Reasons for obtaining MLS teams receive general allocation money for these r ...

to Toronto in exchange. He retired as a player on May 3, 2007, to take over as head coach, finishing with 108 career goals.

International career

With only 14 international appearances, Kreis was never able to translate his club success into one with the U.S. national team. He received his first

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 ...

on August 30, 1996, against

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...

at the

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (also known as the L.A. Coliseum) is a multi-purpose stadium in the Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Conceived as a hallmark of civic pride, the Coliseum was commissioned in 1921 as a mem ...

. Kreis scored his only international goal on September 8, 1999, in a 2–2 draw against Jamaica in Kingston.

International goals

, - , 1. , September 8, 1999 ,

National Stadium Many countries have a national sport stadium, which typically serves as the primary or exclusive home for one or more of a country's national representative sports teams. The term is most often used in reference to an association football stadiu ...

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley Inter ...

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Coaching career

Real Salt Lake

On May 3, 2007, Kreis retired from professional competition and was announced as the new head coach of

, retiring as a player and taking over the coaching reins from

John Ellinger John Ellinger (born October 4, 1951) is a former American soccer coach of the Under-17 United States men's national soccer team, and former head coach of Real Salt Lake of Major League Soccer. Ellinger played collegiately at Frostburg State Univ ...

. At the time of his hire, Kreis became the youngest active head coach in MLS at 34 years and 127 days. He led Real Salt Lake to its first-post season playoff appearance in 2008 and in 2009 he coached the team to its 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 Conference ...

championship. Kreis is the youngest coach in MLS history to win the MLS Cup. Following the

2009 MLS Cup MLS Cup 2009 was the 14th edition of the MLS Cup, the championship match of Major League Soccer (MLS). The soccer match took place on November 22, 2009, at Qwest Field in Seattle, Washington, and was contested between the Los Angeles Galaxy a ...

win, Kreis would lead Real Salt Lake to playoff appearances in every subsequent season through 2013, including an appearance in the 2013 MLS Cup, which RSL lost to

Sporting Kansas City Sporting Kansas City, often shortened to Sporting KC, is an American men's professional Association football, soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The administrative offices are located in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and t ...

in dramatic fashion on penalty kicks. Kreis also guided Real Salt Lake to a very good

CONCACAF Champions League The CONCACAF Champions League, known officially as the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons, is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONCACAF. The tournament is contested by clubs from North Ameri ...

campaign in 2011. Real Salt Lake won Group A and made it all the way to the 2011 CONCACAF Champions League Finals, only to lose to 3–2 on aggregate to

C.F. Monterrey Club de Fútbol Monterrey, often known simply as Monterrey or their nickname Rayados, is a Mexican professional football club based in Monterrey, Nuevo León which currently plays in Liga MX, the top tier of Mexican football. Founded on 28 ...

. Real Salt Lake signed Kreis to a contract extension on March 24, 2011, that kept him at the RSL helm through the 2013 season, after which he left RSL to become head coach of

. Real Salt Lake originally retired Kreis' number 9 jersey from his playing days, but has since reinstated the number with his permission.

New York City FC

On December 11, 2013, Kreis was announced as the first head coach of

, having reached the end of his contract at

and declining an extension offer from RSL so he could take the New York City FC position. The move came just four days after he missed out on lifting his second

with the

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

team, losing on penalty kicks to

. It was revealed in the announcement that his contract, starting on January 1, 2014, would see him begin by traveling to

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

in England to familiarize himself with the set-up of franchise-owners

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

. Kreis' inaugural season with NYCFC ended in disappointment. The club finished with a 10–17–7 record in the

regular season In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of Se ...

placing 8th in the Eastern Conference, failing to make the

2015 MLS Cup Playoffs The 2015 MLS Cup Playoffs (officially the Audi 2015 MLS Cup Playoffs for sponsorship reasons) was the 20th post-season tournament culminating the Major League Soccer regular season. The tournament began on October 28 with D.C. United defeating ...

. He and the club parted ways on November 2, 2015.

Orlando City SC

On July 19, 2016, Kreis was hired by

to replace outgoing inaugural coach

Adrian Heath Adrian Paul Heath (born 11 January 1961) is an English football manager and former player. He currently serves as head coach of Major League Soccer club Minnesota United FC. As a player, he is best known for his six seasons at Everton, where h ...

. At Orlando City, he reunited with two of his assistant coaches,

Miles Joseph Miles Joseph (born May 2, 1974) is an American association football, soccer coach and former player who earned three cap (sports), caps with the United States men's national soccer team, United States national soccer team. He spent six seasons in ...

and

C. J. Brown C. J. Brown (born June 15, 1975) is an American soccer manager and former player. He currently serves as an assistant coach for Chicago Fire FC in Major League Soccer. Early life Brown was born Charles James Brown in Eugene, Oregon. He is of ...

, and led the club to its first win in two months during his first game in charge. On June 15, 2018, Kreis was released by Orlando City.

United States U-23

On March 19, 2019, Kreis was named head coach of the United States men's national under-23 team.

Fort Lauderdale CF

On February 15, 2020, Kreis was hired by

, to coach their

USL League One USL League One (USL1) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that had its inaugural season in 2019. The Division III league is operated by United Soccer League, the same group that operates the Division II USL Championshi ...

affiliate

Fort Lauderdale CF Inter Miami Club de Fútbol II, commonly known as Inter Miami CF II, is an American professional soccer club based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, that plays in the MLS Next Pro, the third-tier of American soccer. The club was established on Feb ...

Inter Miami CF

On March 1, 2021, Inter Miami CF announced Kreis as an assistant coach under

Phil Neville Philip John Neville (born 21 January 1977) is an English football manager and former player, who is the head coach of MLS team Inter Miami CF. He is also the co-owner of Salford City, along with several of his former Manchester United teammate ...

Career statistics

Club

:''Source: MLS''

Coaching statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kreis, Jason 1972 births Living people American people of German descent People from Mandeville, Louisiana Sportspeople from Omaha, Nebraska Soccer players from Nebraska American soccer players Association football midfielders Duke Blue Devils men's soccer players All-American men's college soccer players Raleigh Flyers players New Orleans Riverboat Gamblers players FC Dallas players Real Salt Lake players USL Championship players Major League Soccer players Major League Soccer All-Stars Major League Soccer MVPs United States men's international soccer players American soccer coaches Real Salt Lake coaches New York City FC coaches Orlando City SC coaches Major League Soccer coaches

Early life

Club career

Minor leagues

Dallas Burn

Real Salt Lake

International career

International goals

Coaching career

Real Salt Lake

New York City FC

Orlando City SC

United States U-23

Fort Lauderdale CF

Inter Miami CF

Career statistics

Club

Coaching statistics

See also

References

External links