DiCicco Says It’s Time to Go Home
They won’t have Tony DiCicco to kick around with anymore.
The most successful coach in American soccer history, the coach who in the last five years led the U.S. women’s national team to Olympic and world championships, resigned Wednesday.
DiCicco, 51, said he was doing so in order to spend more time with his wife, Diane, and their four sons. During his 10-year tenure with the national team, he has been away from their Wethersfield, Conn., home more often than not. Enough was finally enough.
“I didn’t see how I could possibly enrich my life more than by spending time with my wife and boys,” DiCicco said. “The things I’ll miss the most are the players, what they taught me, what we learned together and how they made me feel. And how much fun it was to go after something great together.”
DiCicco stepped down with a 103-8-8 mark and a winning percentage of .899, both U.S. records.
In addition to the 1996 Olympic gold medal and the 1999 Women’s World Cup titles, his team also won a bronze medal at the 1995 Women’s World Cup in Sweden, a gold medal at the 1998 Goodwill Games and five consecutive U.S. Women’s Cup championships.
“He has won every trophy in sight and done it with grace and style,” said Robert Contiguglia, the president of U.S. Soccer. “He has been an integral part of the team’s success since our first World Cup championship in 1991, and he has met every challenge head on.
“We respect, understand and admire his desire to share his life with his family.”
The reaction from the U.S. players was one of similar understanding, tinged with sadness. Some, such as team co-captains Julie Foudy and Carla Overbeck, have been with DiCicco since he became the team’s goalkeeper coach and assistant coach a decade ago.
“Obviously, it’s a sad day for the team because we all have tremendous respect for Tony as a coach, a person and friend,” Foudy said. “He’s put in a lot of years with us, and spent many hours away from his family for us, and sacrificed a lot for the team.”
Added Overbeck: “Being a mother myself, I totally empathize with him wanting to be at home with his family. We will always cherish the successes we achieved, and we will miss him tremendously as a coach and friend.”
In an interview with Soccer America magazine a month ago, DiCicco said that spending as much as 250 days a year away from his family had been difficult and that resolving that problem would weigh heavily in his decision on whether to sign a new contract.
There is a possibility that DiCicco might be in line for a coaching position in Major League Soccer. Both the New England Revolution and the New York/New Jersey MetroStars are seeking a coach, and DiCicco’s Connecticut home puts him in proximity of each.
Hank Steinbrecher, the executive director of U.S. Soccer, said no timetable has been set for hiring a replacement for DiCicco. One is likely to be in place by the end of the year, however.
The most logical successor is assistant coach Lauren Gregg, who has been with the team since 1989 and also has 10 years coaching experience at the University of Virginia. Gregg, 39, led the U.S. Under-21 women’s national team to the gold medal in the Nordic Cup in Denmark in 1997 and again in Iceland in August.
Also likely to be considered is Jay Hoffman, an assistant on the 1999 World Cup team. Hoffman coached the U.S. Under-18 women’s national team to the gold medal at the Pan American Games in Canada in August.
Additionally, there are at least two players from the U.S. team that won the first world championship in China in 1991 who will be interviewed.
One is April Heinrichs, 35, the team’s former captain and now coach of both Virginia and the U.S. Under-16 women’s national team. The other is Sharon Higgins Cirovski, 31, the U.S. Under-18 women’s national team coach and the coach of Maryland.
Perhaps the most intriguing scenario, however--and one that has been talked about--involves a double switch.
Clive Charles, coach of the U.S. men’s Under-23 national team now preparing for the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, would give up that position and take over from DiCicco.
Charles, 48, is the men’s and women’s coach at the University of Portland, where he helped develop such U.S. women’s stars as Tiffeny Milbrett, Shannon MacMillan and Michelle French.
His position as Olympic coach would be taken by Bob Bradley, who led the Chicago Fire to the MLS championship last year. Bradley is a former assistant to U.S. national team Coach Bruce Arena, who apparently wants him back at his side by the time the U.S. team begins qualifying for the 2002 World Cup in October.
