List of MLS Cup winning head coaches
Encyclopedia
This is a list of MLS Cup winning soccer head coaches.
Presently, Bruce Arena
, Dominic Kinnear
, Sigi Schmid
and Frank Yallop
have jointly won the most MLS Cup titles, tied at two apiece.
Being such a young soccer league, only one head coach has won the playoffs as either a player or head coach. Piotr Nowak
, played for Chicago Fire during their 1998 MLS Cup title, in which he was named the Man of the Match. Nowak subsequently led D.C. United
to their fourth MLS Cup title in 2004
. Today, Nowak manages Philadelphia Union. The next closest head coach to such an achievement is Scottish-American, Dominic Kinnear
. Kinnear was on the Colorado Rapids squad that lost the 1997 MLS Cup final; however, he led Houston Dynamo
to two straight MLS Cup titles in 2006
and 2007
. He is still the present manager of the club.
To date, only one head coach had led two different clubs to the league title: Sigi Schmid
with Los Angeles Galaxy
in 2002
and Columbus Crew
in 2008
. He is currently the head coach of Seattle Sounders FC
.
Presently, Bruce Arena
Bruce Arena
Bruce Arena is a former coach of the United States men's national soccer team as well as a former professional soccer and lacrosse player...
, Dominic Kinnear
Dominic Kinnear
Dominic Kinnear is a Scottish-born American former soccer player. He is currently the head coach of Houston Dynamo in Major League Soccer.As a player, he began his professional career with Scottish club St...
, Sigi Schmid
Sigi Schmid
Siegfried "Sigi" Schmid is a German-American soccer coach. Born in Tübingen, West Germany, he moved to the United States with his family when he was a child. He played college soccer from 1972 to 1975 at the University of California, Los Angeles , where he was a starting midfielder in each...
and Frank Yallop
Frank Yallop
Frank Walter Yallop is an English-born Canadian former professional association football player. He is currently the head coach of San Jose Earthquakes in Major League Soccer....
have jointly won the most MLS Cup titles, tied at two apiece.
Being such a young soccer league, only one head coach has won the playoffs as either a player or head coach. Piotr Nowak
Piotr Nowak
Piotr Nowak is a Polish former professional soccer player. He is currently the head coach of the Philadelphia Union in Major League Soccer.Nowak enjoyed a successful playing career in Europe, playing for Polish clubs such as Zawisza Bydgoszcz and Widzew Łódź, before going on to play in Turkey,...
, played for Chicago Fire during their 1998 MLS Cup title, in which he was named the Man of the Match. Nowak subsequently led D.C. United
D.C. United
D.C. United is an American professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having competed in the league since its inception, in 1996.Over the...
to their fourth MLS Cup title in 2004
MLS Cup 2004
The 2004 MLS Cup was a soccer match that took place at 12:30 EST on November 14, 2004 at The Home Depot Center in Carson, California to determine the champion of the 2004 Major League Soccer season. D.C. United defeated the Kansas City Wizards 3-2. The winning goal for United came from an own goal...
. Today, Nowak manages Philadelphia Union. The next closest head coach to such an achievement is Scottish-American, Dominic Kinnear
Dominic Kinnear
Dominic Kinnear is a Scottish-born American former soccer player. He is currently the head coach of Houston Dynamo in Major League Soccer.As a player, he began his professional career with Scottish club St...
. Kinnear was on the Colorado Rapids squad that lost the 1997 MLS Cup final; however, he led Houston Dynamo
Houston Dynamo
The Houston Dynamo is an American professional soccer club, based in Houston, Texas, that plays in Major League Soccer, the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. Founded in 2005 as Houston 1836, the team name was renamed to Houston Dynamo following protests from Hispanic...
to two straight MLS Cup titles in 2006
MLS Cup 2006
The 2006 MLS Cup was the championship game of the 2006 Major League Soccer season, played on November 12, 2006 at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas between the New England Revolution and the Houston Dynamo. Houston won 4-3 on penalty kicks, after a 1-1 draw following extra time...
and 2007
MLS Cup 2007
The 2007 MLS Cup was the 12th edition of the MLS Cup championship game. The match was played on November 18, 2007 between the New England Revolution and the Houston Dynamo — a rematch of the 2006 MLS Cup final. For the second straight year, the Dynamo defeated the Revolution, this time by a 2-1...
. He is still the present manager of the club.
To date, only one head coach had led two different clubs to the league title: Sigi Schmid
Sigi Schmid
Siegfried "Sigi" Schmid is a German-American soccer coach. Born in Tübingen, West Germany, he moved to the United States with his family when he was a child. He played college soccer from 1972 to 1975 at the University of California, Los Angeles , where he was a starting midfielder in each...
with Los Angeles Galaxy
Los Angeles Galaxy
The Los Angeles Galaxy are an American professional soccer team, based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California, which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, and the league's second...
in 2002
MLS Cup 2002
The 2002 MLS Cup was the championship game of the 2002 Major League Soccer season. The game was played on October 20, 2002, at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. The Los Angeles Galaxy beat the host New England Revolution 1-0 in the second overtime on a sudden-death goal from regular...
and Columbus Crew
Columbus Crew
The Columbus Crew is an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada...
in 2008
MLS Cup 2008
The 2008 MLS Cup was the championship match of the 2008 Major League Soccer season. The final was played at The Home Depot Center in Carson, California on November 23, 2008. The match was contested by the Columbus Crew and the New York Red Bulls, marking the debut of both teams in the final after...
. He is currently the head coach of Seattle Sounders FC
Seattle Sounders FC
Seattle Sounders FC is an American professional soccer club based in Seattle, Washington. The club competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. Sounders FC was established in November 2007 as a MLS expansion team, making it the 15th team in...
.
Winning head coaches
| Final | Winning head coach | Nationality | Club | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 |  United States |
D.C. United D.C. United D.C. United is an American professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having competed in the league since its inception, in 1996.Over the... |
||
| 1997 | United States |
D.C. United D.C. United D.C. United is an American professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having competed in the league since its inception, in 1996.Over the... |
||
| 1998 | United States |
Chicago Fire | ||
| 1999 |  Netherlands |
D.C. United D.C. United D.C. United is an American professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having competed in the league since its inception, in 1996.Over the... |
||
| 2000 MLS Cup 2000 The 2000 MLS Cup was the championship game of the 2000 Major League Soccer season. The game was played on October 15, 2000, at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. between the Kansas City Wizards and the Chicago Fire. Kansas City took advantage of an early breakdown by Chicago to net the game's only goal... |
United States |
Kansas City Wizards | ||
| 2001 MLS Cup 2001 The 2001 MLS Cup was the championship game of the 2001 Major League Soccer season. The game was played on October 21, 2001, at Columbus Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. The San Jose Earthquakes won their first title, defeating the Los Angeles Galaxy 2-1 in overtime... |
 Canada |
San Jose Earthquakes San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes professional soccer team is located in the San Jose, California, United States suburb of Santa Clara, and participates in Major League Soccer , the top level soccer league in the United States and Canada.... |
||
| 2002 MLS Cup 2002 The 2002 MLS Cup was the championship game of the 2002 Major League Soccer season. The game was played on October 20, 2002, at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. The Los Angeles Galaxy beat the host New England Revolution 1-0 in the second overtime on a sudden-death goal from regular... |
 Germany |
Los Angeles Galaxy Los Angeles Galaxy The Los Angeles Galaxy are an American professional soccer team, based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California, which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, and the league's second... |
||
| 2003 MLS Cup 2003 The 2003 MLS Cup was a soccer match that took place on November 23, 2003 at the The Home Depot Center in Carson, California to determine the champion of the 2003 Major League Soccer season. The San Jose Earthquakes defeated the Chicago Fire 4 - 2 with a goal from Richard Mulrooney in the 50th... |
Canada |
San Jose Earthquakes San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes professional soccer team is located in the San Jose, California, United States suburb of Santa Clara, and participates in Major League Soccer , the top level soccer league in the United States and Canada.... |
||
| 2004 MLS Cup 2004 The 2004 MLS Cup was a soccer match that took place at 12:30 EST on November 14, 2004 at The Home Depot Center in Carson, California to determine the champion of the 2004 Major League Soccer season. D.C. United defeated the Kansas City Wizards 3-2. The winning goal for United came from an own goal... |
 Poland |
D.C. United D.C. United D.C. United is an American professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having competed in the league since its inception, in 1996.Over the... |
||
| 2005 MLS Cup 2005 The 2005 MLS Cup was the championship game of the 2005 Major League Soccer season. It was played on November 13, 2005 at the new soccer-specific stadium, Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas. In a rematch of the 2002 final, the Los Angeles Galaxy again beat the New England Revolution 1-0 in overtime,... |
United States |
Los Angeles Galaxy Los Angeles Galaxy The Los Angeles Galaxy are an American professional soccer team, based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California, which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, and the league's second... |
||
| 2006 MLS Cup 2006 The 2006 MLS Cup was the championship game of the 2006 Major League Soccer season, played on November 12, 2006 at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas between the New England Revolution and the Houston Dynamo. Houston won 4-3 on penalty kicks, after a 1-1 draw following extra time... |
 Kingdom of Scotland |
Houston Dynamo Houston Dynamo The Houston Dynamo is an American professional soccer club, based in Houston, Texas, that plays in Major League Soccer, the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. Founded in 2005 as Houston 1836, the team name was renamed to Houston Dynamo following protests from Hispanic... |
||
| 2007 MLS Cup 2007 The 2007 MLS Cup was the 12th edition of the MLS Cup championship game. The match was played on November 18, 2007 between the New England Revolution and the Houston Dynamo — a rematch of the 2006 MLS Cup final. For the second straight year, the Dynamo defeated the Revolution, this time by a 2-1... |
Kingdom of Scotland |
Houston Dynamo Houston Dynamo The Houston Dynamo is an American professional soccer club, based in Houston, Texas, that plays in Major League Soccer, the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. Founded in 2005 as Houston 1836, the team name was renamed to Houston Dynamo following protests from Hispanic... |
||
| 2008 MLS Cup 2008 The 2008 MLS Cup was the championship match of the 2008 Major League Soccer season. The final was played at The Home Depot Center in Carson, California on November 23, 2008. The match was contested by the Columbus Crew and the New York Red Bulls, marking the debut of both teams in the final after... |
Germany |
Columbus Crew Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew is an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada... |
||
| 2009 MLS Cup 2009 The 2009 MLS Cup was the championship match of the 2009 Major League Soccer season, the 14th season of the league. The final was played at Qwest Field in Seattle, Washington on November 22, 2009. The match was contested by Eastern Conference champion Real Salt Lake and Western Conference champion... |
United States |
Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake is an American professional soccer club based in Sandy, Utah, a suburb of Salt Lake City. The team competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. They currently play their home games at Rio Tinto Stadium. Real Salt Lake won... |
||
| 2010 MLS Cup 2010 The MLS Cup 2010 was the fifteenth edition of the MLS Cup championship game and the final match of the 2010 MLS season. The championship was played at BMO Field in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on Sunday, November 21, 2010... |
 Kingdom of England |
Colorado Rapids Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional soccer club based in the Denver suburb of Commerce City, Colorado which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having competed in the league... |
||
| 2011 MLS Cup 2011 The 2011 MLS Cup Final was the sixteenth edition of the MLS Cup championship match held in the United States and Canada. The match was played on Sunday, November 20, 2011 at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California... |
United States |
L.A. Galaxy |
By nationality
| Nation | Head Coaches | Total |
|---|---|---|
| 7 | 10 | |
| 1 | 2 | |
| 1 | 2 | |
| 1 | 2 | |
| 1 | 1 | |
| 1 | 1 | |
| 1 | 1 | |