Former D.C. player is tabbed as new coach
For the first time D.C. United has turned to one of its former players, Curt Onalfo, who become the team’s sixth head coach in its 15-year history. The announcement comes two months after the club parted ways with Tom Soehn after missing the playoffs in consecutive seasons.
It will be the second Major League Soccer head-coaching job for Onalfo, 40, who was hired by Kansas City in 2007. Onalfo led the Wizards to the playoffs in both of his first two seasons, but was fired in August following a 5-7-6 opening to the 2009 campaign. His career record stands at 27-29-22.
Onalfo also was not the first choice of United, which had been strongly linked with University of Akron head coach Caleb Porter until he signed a contract extension with the Zips earlier this month.
“This has been a lengthy process but at the end of it we believe Curt Onalfo will be an outstanding leader for D.C. United,” said United president and CEO Kevin Payne in a statement. “Our first priority was to find someone who shares the club’s long-standing philosophy of attacking soccer — and Curt absolutely does.”
Onalfo has strong ties to Washington, where he was both a player and an assistant coach from 1998-2002. From there the former University of Virginia star, who has also been active in youth soccer in McLean, went on to become an assistant coach for the U.S. men’s national team under then-head coach Bruce Arena.
