Sampson to Join Local Club

Steve Sampson, who coached the United States to a last-place finish in the World Cup and then quit, says his next job in soccer will be at the local level.

In a news conference Wednesday at Beverly Hills, Sampson said he will become technical director of the Las Virgenes Soccer Club in Westlake Village. He has yet to sign a contract.

Sampson also is seeking to be hired as director of the U.S. Soccer Federation’s Project 2010, whose aim is to have the Americans win the World Cup within 12 years.

Sampson’s affiliation with the Las Virgenes Club is an outgrowth of his original idea to start a youth team near his Agoura Hills home. After discussion with Las Virgenes officials, he decided it would be better to work with an existing club. “I contacted them about six months ago,” Sampson said. “This was underway well in advance of the World Cup. If I stayed on as U.S. coach, it would allow me a way to maintain my sharpness as a coach during the week, because you get very little time to coach with the national team.”

At the news conference, USSF and Major League Soccer spokesmen said future games against Iran were likely.