Marco Ferruzzi (born October 15, 1970 in San Antonio, Texas) 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 professional player, who is currently director of methodology for FC Dallas. Ferruzzi had a ten-year professional career playing as a midfielder in several indoor and outdoor leagues including

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 the USL First Division.

Youth

In 1987, Ferruzzi played in one game for the U.S. U-16 national team at the

1987 FIFA U-16 World Championship The FIFA U-16 World Championship 1987, the second edition of the tournament, was hosted by Canada and held in the cities of Montreal, Saint John, St. John's, and Toronto between 12 July and 25 July 1987. Players born after 1 August 1970 could p ...

In 1989, he entered the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he played on the men’s soccer team from 1989 to 1992.

Professional

In 1990, Ferruzzi spent the collegiate off season with the San Antonio Generals in the Southwest Independent Soccer League. In 1993, he turned professional when he signed with the

San Antonio Pumas The San Antonio Pumas were an American soccer team founded in 1988 as the San Antonio Heat in the original indoor SISL league. They became the San Antonio Generals before the 1989/90 indoor season and then the San Antonio Pumas before the 1993 out ...

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 ...

. He played for the Pumas through the 1995 season. In the fall of 1995, he signed with the

Tampa Bay Terror The Tampa Bay Terror is the name of an indoor soccer team based in the Tampa Bay, Florida area that competed in the defunct National Professional Soccer League (NPSL). The team existed for two seasons before folding: 1995–1996 and 1996–1997. ...

of the National Professional Soccer League. He spent only one season with the Terror before signing with the Tampa Bay Cyclones of the

in 1996. However, there are hints that he may have played for the Cyclones in 1995 as well. In February 1997, the Tampa Bay Mutiny selected Ferruzzi in the first round (sixth overall) of the

1997 MLS Supplemental Draft The 1997 Major League Soccer Supplemental Draft was held in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on February 2, 1997. Round 1 Round 1 trades Round 2 Round 2 trades Round 3 Round 3 trades References {{DEFAULTSORT:1997 Mls Supplemental Draft ...

. He spent the 1997 season in Tampa Bay, assisting on two goals in nineteen games. The Mutiny waived Ferruzzi on November 13, 1997. Ferruzzi returned to

the next year after the Los Angeles Galaxy picked him in the third round (30th overall) in the

1998 MLS Supplemental Draft The 1998 Major League Soccer Supplemental Draft was held on February 1, 1998, at the Airport Hilton in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Format Major League Soccer held a professional player combine in Fort Lauderdale the last week of January 1998. On Sat ...

. He never played for the team before being released but saw time in 19 games with the Charleston Battery in the USL A-League. In 1999, Ferruzzi signed with the

Richmond Kickers Richmond Kickers is an American professional soccer club based in Richmond, Virginia. The Kickers compete as a member of USL League One (USL-1). The club was established in 1993, and began play that same year as a United States Interregional S ...

, also of the USL A-League. He played four seasons in Richmond, going to the 2002 A-League championship where the Kickers fell to the

Milwaukee Rampage The Milwaukee Rampage are a former defunct professional American soccer team, that was located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which played in the A-League. History Founded in 1993 by Milwaukee area businessmen Dan Doucette and Jim Hock, the Rampage play ...

. On April 5, 2003, the Minnesota Thunder acquired Ferruzzi’s rights from the

. He played two seasons in Minnesota and went to the finals again in 2003, this time falling to his former team, the Charleston Battery. That season, he was also named to the USL All Star team. Ferruzzi retired following the 2004 season.

Coaching and management

In 2004, the Dallas Burn of

hired Ferruzzi as an assistant coach. Over the years, his responsibilities have included evaluating prospective players, overseeing the reserve team, and assisting in first team practices. On May 21, 2008, he was named the interim head coach after the team fired head coach

Steve Morrow Stephen Joseph Morrow (born 2 July 1970) is a Northern Irish former professional footballer and manager. He is currently The Football Association's head of player selection and talent strategy. As a player he played most of his career at lef ...

. After

Schellas Hyndman Schellas Hyndman (born November 4, 1951) is a retired soccer coach. He was previously head coach of FC Dallas in Major League Soccer. Despite having a limited career as a professional athlete, Hyndman is one of the most successful college socc ...

was named head coach, Ferruzzi resumed his duties as an assistant. FC Dallas announced in January 2012 that Ferruzzi would add the duties of head coach of FC Dallas Reserves in addition to serving as senior team assistant coach. Ferruzzi continued to serve as an assistant coach under

Óscar Pareja Óscar Alexander Pareja Gómez (born 10 August 1968) is a Colombian professional football manager and former player. He is currently the head coach of Orlando City in Major League Soccer. Pareja is nicknamed ''El Generalito'', the Little Gene ...

. After Pareja left, Ferruzzi became the director of soccer operations. Upon the firing of Luchi Gonzalez on September 19, 2021, Ferruzzi was once again named interim coach of FC Dallas. After the season, Ferruzzi was not made the permanent head coach but given a new role as director of methodology.

Coaching statistics

References

External links

FC Dallas Coaching Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferruzzi, Marcos 1970 births Living people American soccer coaches American men's soccer players Charleston Battery players FC Dallas coaches American people of Italian descent LA Galaxy players Tampa Bay Cyclones players Major League Soccer players Major League Soccer coaches Minnesota Thunder players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players North Carolina Tar Heels men's soccer players Richmond Kickers players San Antonio Pumas players Tampa Bay Terror players Tampa Bay Mutiny players USISL players United States men's youth international soccer players Tampa Bay Mutiny draft picks LA Galaxy draft picks USL Second Division players USISL Select League players A-League (1995–2004) players FC Dallas non-playing staff Men's association football midfielders