Christopher Armas (born August 27, 1972) is an American professional

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. He is currently sharing interim head coach duties at

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...

with Michael Skubala and

Paco Gallardo Francisco "Paco" Gallardo León (born 13 January 1980) is a Spanish football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He is currently the u21 manager at Leeds United. Club career Sevilla Born in Seville, Andalusia, and a product of ...

after the sacking of Jesse Marsch.

Youth and college

Born in

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New ...

, New York City, Armas is of Puerto Rican descent and grew up in

Brentwood, New York Brentwood is a hamlet in the Town of Islip in Suffolk County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 62,387 at the 2020 Census, making it the most populous in Suffolk County and on all of Long Island outside of New York ...

. He graduated from St. Anthony's High School and then attended

Adelphi University Adelphi University is a private university in Garden City, New York. Adelphi also has centers in Manhattan, Hudson Valley, and Suffolk County. There is also a virtual, online campus for remote students. It is the oldest institution of higher ed ...

from 1990 to 1993, amassing 17 goals and 15 assists over his collegiate career. Armas was named an NCAA Division II First Team All-American his senior year.

Playing career

Professional

After graduating from college, Armas spent 1994 and 1995 playing for 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 ...

Long Island Rough Riders The Long Island Rough Riders are an American association football, soccer team based in South Huntington, New York, United States. Founded in 1994, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The team plays i ...

, being selected as a USISL All-Star. In 1995, the Rough Riders defeated the

Minnesota Thunder Minnesota Thunder was an American professional soccer team based in Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1990, the team played in the USL First Division (USL-1), the second tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2009. The team played its home ...

in the USISL's Pro League Championship. In 1996, Armas was drafted by

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 ...

in the first round of the Major League Soccer Supplemental Draft and played a significant role in their first and second seasons. Chicago Fire acquired Armas in a trade for their inaugural 1998 campaign. It was with the 1998 Fire team that Armas emerged as an exceptional player, helping them win their first MLS Championship that year. Between 1998 and 2001, Armas was named to the MLS Best XI four consecutive times, his streak only being broken by an ACL injury that kept him out of much of the 2002 campaign; Armas was named to his fifth Best XI after the 2003 MLS season, in addition to being named the MLS Comeback Player of the Year. He was named U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year in 2000. In ten years in MLS, he totaled 11 goals and 41 assists, plus added four goals and four assists in the playoffs. On April 19, 2007, Armas announced that the 2007 MLS season with the Chicago Fire would be his last, as he decided to retire. His retirement was made official on November 13, 2007, after spending 12 years in MLS.

International

Armas played for

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

in the

1993 Caribbean Cup The 1993 Caribbean Cup (known as the Shell Caribbean Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the fifth edition of the Caribbean Cup, the football championship of the Caribbean, one of the CONCACAF zones. The final stage was hosted by Jamaica. The two fi ...

. The competition was not then recognized by FIFA and so his five matches were classed as friendlies. He was therefore later allowed to switch his allegiance to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, for whom he made his debut November 6, 1998, against Australia. He went on to earn 66 caps. He did not break into the squad until soon after the 1998 FIFA World Cup, and his ACL injury came just before the

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial football world championship for men's national teams organized by FIFA. It was held from 31 May to 30 June 2002 at sites in South Korea an ...

, so he was never able to play for the United States in the World Cup. He was named as a standby player for the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host th ...

, and did not feature in the final squad.

Coaching career

After his retirement, he coached youth soccer and was a high school physical education teacher at St. Anthony's High School. Armas served as an assistant coach for the Chicago Fire in 2008 and was the head women's soccer coach at

between 2011 and 2015. On July 6, 2018, Armas was promoted to head coach of

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The club was established in October 1994 and be ...

after former manager Jesse Marsch departed the club to join RB Salzburg as an assistant. Armas helped the Red Bulls finish first in the regular season, winning the Supporters' Shield as a result. The Red Bulls were eliminated in the conference finals by

Atlanta United FC Atlanta United FC, commonly known as Atlanta United, is an American professional soccer club based in Atlanta that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference. Founded in 2014, Atlanta United began pl ...

. In 2019, the Red Bulls finished sixth in the Eastern Conference and were eliminated by the Philadelphia Union in the first round of the playoffs. The Red Bulls were then eliminated in the group stage of the

MLS is Back Tournament The MLS is Back Tournament took place during the 2020 Major League Soccer season to mark the league's return to action after being suspended as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Of the 26 Major League Soccer teams, 24 participated in the tourna ...

after they were defeated by

FC Cincinnati Football Club Cincinnati, commonly known as FC Cincinnati, is an American professional soccer club based in Cincinnati. The club plays in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The team succeeded the lower-division team of the ...

. The team was in the middle of a scoring slump when Armas parted ways with the club on September 4, 2020, the day after a 1–0 loss to

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 ...

. In 2021, Armas was hired as head coach of

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 BM ...

, replacing

Greg Vanney Greg Vanney (born June 11, 1974) is an American former professional soccer player and head coach of the LA Galaxy in Major League Soccer. A defender and one of MLS's original players, Vanney spent 10 seasons in the league and another three-and ...

, who departed the club at the end of his contract. On July 4, 2021, following a 7–1 loss to D.C. United, the largest loss in club history and a league record of 1 win, 8 losses, and 2 draws, the team announced he had been fired. On December 7, 2021, Armas was hired by Manchester United as assistant coach to work under interim manager

Ralf Rangnick Ralf Rangnick (; born 29 June 1958) is a German professional football coach, executive and former player who is currently the manager of the Austria national team. Rangnick began his coaching career in 1983, succeeding his career as a player, a ...

. He left the club in May 2022. In January 2023, it was confirmed that Armas had re-united with Jesse Marsch at

. Armas was named co-interim head coach alongside Michael Skubala and

following the sacking of Jesse Marsch in February, the trio overseeing a 2-2 draw at Old Trafford with Manchester United on 8 February 2023 and Skubala acting as solitary interim manager in the home loss against the same opponents four days later.

Personal life

Armas and his wife, Justine, have two sons, Christopher and Aleksei.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list the United States' goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Armas goal''.

Coaching

Honors

Player

Chicago Fire *

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 ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

* Supporters' Shield: 2003 * U.S. Open Cup:

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

, 2003, 2006 United States *

CONCACAF Gold Cup The CONCACAF Gold Cup ( es, Copa de Oro de la CONCACAF, french: Coupe D'or CONCACAF) is the main association football competition of the men's national football teams governed by CONCACAF, determining the continental champion of North Ameri ...

: 2002, 2005 * U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year:

Individual *

MLS Best XI The MLS Best XI is an annual acknowledgment of the best eleven players in Major League Soccer. Winners *Players in bold were awarded the Landon Donovan MVP Award for that season. Most appearances by a player The following players have appeared ...

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

, 2001, 2003 * MLS All-Star:

, 2001, 2003, 2004 * MLS Comeback Player of the Year: 2003 * Chicago Fire MVP: 2003

Coach

New York Red Bulls * Supporters' Shield:

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Armas, Chris 1972 births Living people American people of Puerto Rican descent American soccer players American soccer coaches United States men's international soccer players Puerto Rican footballers Puerto Rican football managers Puerto Rico international footballers Sportspeople from the Bronx Soccer players from New York City Association football midfielders Adelphi University alumni Adelphi Panthers men's soccer players Long Island Rough Riders players LA Galaxy draft picks LA Galaxy players Chicago Fire FC players USISL players USL Second Division players Major League Soccer players Dual internationalists (football) 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup players CONCACAF Gold Cup-winning players Major League Soccer All-Stars Chicago Fire FC non-playing staff Adelphi Panthers women's soccer coaches New York Red Bulls non-playing staff New York Red Bulls coaches Toronto FC coaches Major League Soccer coaches Manchester United F.C. non-playing staff Association football coaches