Bob Gansler (born July 1, 1941) is a Hungarian-born American soccer player and coach of German descent. He coached the U.S. National Team at the

1990 World Cup The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second time (the first being ...

, the team's first appearance at the tournament since

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 crashes in a snowstorm. All 19 ...

Playing career

As a player, Gansler made 25 appearances for the United States between 1963 and 1969, captaining the

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...

and 1968 Olympic qualifying teams and 1967 Pan American team. Of his 25 appearances, only 5, all in 1968, came in games considered full internationals. Gansler played for the Chicago Mustangs of the National Professional Soccer League in 1967. When the NPSL merged with the

United Soccer Association The United Soccer Association was a professional soccer league featuring teams based in the United States and Canada. The league survived only one season before merging with the National Professional Soccer League to form the North American S ...

to form the North American Soccer League, the Spurs likewise merged with the Chicago Mustangs, and Gansler played with the Mustangs of the NASL in 1968.

Coaching career

Gansler served in various coaching positions with the national teams beginning in 1975. In the late 1980s, he served as the coach of the U.S. U-20 national team while also coaching the

University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UW–Milwaukee, UWM, or Milwaukee) is a public urban research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is the largest university in the Milwaukee metropolitan area and a member of the University of Wiscon ...

men's soccer team. On January 16, 1989, the

United States Soccer Federation The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of the sport of soccer in the United States. Headquartered in Chicago, the federation is ...

hired him as the full-time coach 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 h ...

, replacing

Lothar Osiander Lothar Osiander (born November 8, 1939) is a German soccer coach who has served as head coach to the U.S. national and Olympic teams as well as the Atlanta Ruckus, Los Angeles Galaxy and San Jose Clash. Biography Osiander moved to the United ...

. Gansler's tenure during the 1990 FIFA World Cup was somewhat controversial, even though he led the United States to its first appearance in the final World Cup tournament in 40 years. He took a team made up primarily of college and amateur players, leaving professionals such as

Rick Davis Richard Dean Davis (born November 24, 1958) is an American former soccer midfielder, and former captain of the U.S. National Team for much of the 1980s. He is considered by fans the best U.S.-born player of the North American Soccer League er ...

and Hugo Perez off the roster. At the time, the United States did not have a top division outdoor soccer league, the North American Soccer League having folded in 1985. Most domestic professionals at the time played in indoor leagues, and Gansler felt that the skills required for indoor soccer conflicted with the outdoor game. In addition, the United States had been awarded the 1994 World Cup, and Gansler may have wanted to expose the core of the 1994 team to the World Cup experience. Not unexpectedly, the U.S. lost all three games, although the team won a moral victory of sorts by losing to host Italy 1–0; the Italians prevented the embarrassment of a draw thanks to goalkeeper

Walter Zenga Walter Zenga (; born 28 April 1960) is an Italian football manager and former player who last managed Serie A club Cagliari. He was a long-time goalkeeper for Inter Milan and the Italian national team. During his playing career, Zenga was pa ...

. Gansler went on to coach 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 ...

, winning the club's 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 ...

in 2000 and the U.S. Open Cup in 2004. He also coached 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 p ...

to the

A-League A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...

title in 1997. He stepped down from his coaching position with the Wizards on July 19, 2006. Gansler spent the

2007 MLS Season The 2007 Major League Soccer season was the 12th season in the history of Major League Soccer. The season began on April 7 and concluded with MLS Cup 2007 on November 18, 2007 at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Washington, D.C. For th ...

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as an assistant coach for

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 ...

Personal life

After leaving Toronto FC in 2007, he retired to spend more time with his wife, Nancy, four sons, and 11 grandchildren.

Coaching Positions

Marquette University High School Marquette University High School (MUHS) is a private, all-male, Jesuit, Roman Catholic school located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is accredited by the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement (NCA CASI), an acc ...

Varsity Soccer Team Head Coach (1970–1976) * United States U19 (1979–1982) * Homestead High School Varsity Soccer Coach (1982–1984) * UWM (1984–1988) * United States U20 (1987–1989) * U.S. National Team (1989–1991) *

(1996–1998) *

(1999–2006) *

(assistant coach) (2006–2007)

Honors

* Walt Chyzowych Award (2000) *

MLS Coach of the Year Award The Sigi Schmid Coach of the Year Award is given by Major League Soccer to the best manager (association football), coach in any given season. The award has been given since the league's inception in 1996 and is determined by a vote from players, c ...

(2000) *

MLS Supporters' Shield The Supporters' Shield is an annual award given to the Major League Soccer team with the best regular season record, as determined by the MLS points system. The Supporters' Shield has been annually awarded at the MLS Supporters' Summit since 1 ...

(2000) *

(2000) * Milwaukee Rampage Hall of Fame (inducted 2002) *

United Soccer Leagues United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two fi ...

Hall of Fame (inducted 2002) * U.S. Open Cup (2004) * Sporting Legends Inductee (2013)

References

External links

Info page when receiving the Walt Chyzowych AwardU.S. Soccer Hall of Fame page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gansler, Bob 1941 births Living people People from Tolna County Hungarian emigrants to the United States Hungarian people of German descent American soccer coaches United States men's international soccer players United States men's national soccer team managers National Professional Soccer League (1967) players Chicago Spurs players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Chicago Mustangs (1967–68) players Sporting Kansas City coaches American soccer players 1990 FIFA World Cup managers Milwaukee Panthers men's soccer coaches Toronto FC non-playing staff Association football defenders Pan American Games competitors for the United States Footballers at the 1967 Pan American Games National Soccer Hall of Fame members