Josh Wolff (born February 25, 1977) is an American soccer coach and former player. He is currently the head coach of

Austin FC Austin FC is an American professional soccer club based in Austin, Texas. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 2018, the club began play in the 2021 season. Their home stadium is Q2 ...

in Major League Soccer.

Playing career

College

Born in

Stone Mountain, Georgia Stone Mountain is a city in DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The population was 6,703 according to the 2020 US Census. Stone Mountain is in the eastern part of DeKalb County and is a suburb of Atlanta that encompasses nearly 1.7 square mil ...

, Wolff played three 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 South Carolina, where he scored 21 goals and eight assists in 43 games. He played at South Carolina with future United States national team star

Clint Mathis Clint Mathis (born November 25, 1976) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a forward or midfielder. He appeared at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, scoring one goal. He also played in Major League Soccer for the MetroStars, wh ...

. In addition, Wolff played and captained varsity soccer at Parkview High School, Lilburn, Georgia.

Professional

After his junior season, Wolff left college and signed with Major League Soccer. MLS assigned Wolff to the Chicago Fire. He set the MLS rookie scoring record (together with

Jeff Cunningham Jeff Cunningham (born August 21, 1976) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a forward. He is Major League Soccer's third-all-time leader in regular-season goals scored with 134. Youth and college Cunningham was born ...

, since broken by Damani Ralph) by scoring eight goals, doing so in just 14 games with only four starts. Wolff played the following four seasons for the Fire, scoring 24 goals, but suffered through multiple injuries. Before the

2003 MLS Superdraft The 2003 MLS Superdraft was held January 17, 2003 in Kansas City, Missouri. It was the fifth annual SuperDraft held by Major League Soccer. Player selection Any player whose name is marked with an * was contracted under the Project-40 Generat ...

, the Fire traded Wolff, in a cost-cutting move, to the Kansas City Wizards in exchange for the third overall pick, which the Fire used to select

Nate Jaqua Jonathan "Nate" Jaqua (born October 28, 1981 in Eugene, Oregon) is an American former soccer player. Career High school Jaqua is a graduate of South Eugene High School, where he led his team to two Midwestern League titles and one co-championsh ...

. Wolff missed most of the 2003 season due to injuries. He rebounded in 2004 by scoring ten goals and seven assists during the season. Wolff scored his first career playoff goal on a

penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

during the

MLS Cup 2004 MLS Cup 2004 was the ninth edition of the MLS Cup, the championship match of Major League Soccer (MLS), which took place on November 14, 2004, at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California. It was contested between D.C. United and the Kansas ...

. He scored ten goals and ten assists in 2005. In September 2006, Wolff had a try out with English

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

club

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 188 ...

. The team was pleased enough with his performance to offer MLS a $500,000 transfer fee. However, British immigration officials denied Wolff a work permit based on the fact he had failed to play the required 75% of the U.S. national team's games in the previous two years. From England, Wolff traveled to Germany for a try out with

2. Bundesliga The 2. Bundesliga ( ) is the second division of professional football in Germany. It was implemented 11 years after the founding of the Fußball-Bundesliga as the new second division for professional football. The 2. Bundesliga is ranked below ...

club

1860 Munich , commonly known as TSV 1860 München (; lettered as ) or 1860 Munich, is a sports club based in Munich. The club's football team currently plays in the 3. Liga, the third tier of German football. 1860 Munich was one of the founding members of ...

. On December 6, 2006, 1860 Munich signed Wolff to a contract through the 2007–2008 season. Munich paid MLS a $191,000 transfer fee. Wolff joined the team during its January 2007 mid-winter training camp but was waived at the end of the 2008 season. Wolff signed with the Kansas City Wizards on June 30, 2008. At the end of the 2010 MLS season, after two and a half seasons back in Kansas City, Wolff's contract option was declined by the club. On December 15, 2010, Wolff was selected by

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 Stage 2 of the 2010 MLS Re-Entry Draft and immediately signed a one-year contract with a club option for 2012. Wolff announced his retirement on November 28, 2012, and became a full-time assistant coach with D.C. United.

International

Wolff has scored nine goals in fifty-two

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Ja ...

since his debut against

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

on September 8, 1999. He also starred for the US in the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

, scoring two goals and helping the team to a fourth-place finish. As with his club teams, however, Wolff has had trouble securing a definite spot because of continual injury problems. He did play for the United States in the

2002 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 ...

, assisting on the opening goal in the second-round win against

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. On May 2, 2006, Wolff was named to the US roster for the FIFA World Cup in Germany. Wolff played his last national team match versus Spain at Estadio El Sardinero on June 4, 2008.

International goals

Coaching career

After a season on the coaching staff at

, Wolff joined the

Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew, formerly known as Columbus Crew SC, is an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The Crew competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference and began play in 1996 as one ...

in November 2013, and remained an assistant coach until 2018. In 2018, Wolff joined the staff of the United States Men's National Team under

Gregg Berhalter Gregg Matthew Berhalter (, ; born August 1, 1973) is an American soccer coach and former player. He is also the current head coach of the United States men's national soccer team. Berhalter previously coached Columbus Crew SC in Major League Soc ...

. On July 23, 2019, Wolff was announced to be the first head coach of

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 ...

expansion team

, who began playing with the 2021 season. Austin FC had 9 wins, 21 defeats, and 4 draws in their expansion season under Wolff, finishing in 12th in the Western Conference, one point above

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

in last. Austin was eliminated from playoff contention on October 16 after a home defeat to

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, with five matches to spare. Wolff played with a 4-3-3 or a 4-2-3-1 formation in his first season, and his team was characterized as having high possession numbers, and for building out from the back. Despite having the fourth-highest average percent possession per game at 53.9%, Austin scored the fewest goals in the league at 35. The team went into their match on October 30 against

Dallas 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 ...

with a chance to win the first MLS Copa Tejas, but a 2–1 defeat meant that they finished in third. In his first season as a head coach, Wolff was questioned by the fans about his tactics and substitutions.

Personal life

Wolff's eldest son

Tyler Tyler may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tyler (name), an English name; with lists of people with the surname or given name * Tyler, the Creator (born 1991), American rap artist and producer * John Tyler, 10th president of the United ...

plays for

Atlanta United 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 ...

, and his younger son Owen plays for him at

Coaching statistics

Honors

Chicago Fire

Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in that country. The 2023 U.S. O ...

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 ...

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 ...

* Major League Soccer MLS Cup:

* Major League Soccer Western Conference Championship:

Kansas City Wizards

: 2004 * Major League Soccer Western Conference Championship: 2004

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

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wolff, Josh 1977 births Living people American soccer players American expatriate soccer players American expatriate sportspeople in Germany Chicago Fire FC players MLS Pro-40 players Sporting Kansas City players TSV 1860 Munich players D.C. United players Olympic soccer players of the United States CONCACAF Gold Cup-winning players Footballers at the 2000 Summer Olympics 2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2002 FIFA World Cup players 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2006 FIFA World Cup players United States men's international soccer players South Carolina Gamecocks men's soccer players Expatriate footballers in Germany Soccer players from Georgia (U.S. state) Sportspeople from DeKalb County, Georgia People from Stone Mountain, Georgia Major League Soccer players A-League (1995–2004) players Major League Soccer All-Stars 2. Bundesliga players United States men's under-20 international soccer players United States men's under-23 international soccer players D.C. United non-playing staff Columbus Crew non-playing staff Association football forwards Austin FC coaches