Lothar Osiander
Encyclopedia
Lothar Osiander is a U.S.-German soccer coach who has served as head coach to the U.S. national
and Olympic teams as well as the Atlanta Ruckus, Los Angeles Galaxy
and San Jose Clash.
Osiander moved to the United States with his family in 1958, settling in the San Francisco area. He attended Mission High School
. After graduating from high school, he first attended the City College of San Francisco
, then the University of San Francisco
where he played on the men’s soccer team under legendary coach Steve Negoesco. In 1966, the Dons won the NCAA Men's Soccer Championship
. Osiander graduated with degrees in physical education and Spanish in 1968. By that time he had become a U.S. citizen, gaining his citizenship in 1965.
Osiander was an assistant coach with the California Surf
of the North American Soccer League
(NASL).
Osiander eventually returned to San Francisco, becoming a waiter at Graziano’s, a local restaurant, while playing and coaching in the city’s highly competitive soccer leagues. In 1985, he coached a semi-pro club, the San Francisco Greek-Americans, to the U.S. Open Cup
title.
By that time, Osiander was well known on the national coaching scene. Back in 1974, the United States Soccer Federation
(USSF) had hired Osiander as part of its coaching staff. At the time Walter Chyzowych
was the U.S. head coach and in that capacity would travel the country putting on coaching clinics. Osiander traveled as part of Chyzowich’s team and became known as an excellent teacher and coach. In 1978, the U.S. Olympic committee inaugurated a National Sports Festival, hiring Osiander as the West team soccer coach. He continued in this position for the next ten years.
By 1986, Osiander’s success with the Olympic Festivals and the Greek Americans led Chyzowich, now head of USSF, to hire Osiander to replace fired Alkis Panagouliasas as the head coach of the U.S. national team
. The team was in the middle of rebuilding following its failure to qualify for the 1986 FIFA World Cup
. As the International Olympic Committee
(IOC) allowed countries outside of Europe and South America to field their full national teams in the Olympics, Osiander turned his attention to qualification for the 1988 Summer Olympics
to be held in Seoul, South Korea. The qualification campaign nearly ended as soon as it began when Canada
defeated the U.S. 2-0 in the first leg of their home and away first round series. At the time, series winners were decided on goal differential with away goals counting for two points and home goals only one. In other words, the U.S. needed to win the follow-up game 3-0. If it let Canada gain even one goal in the game in the U.S., then the score would need to be 5-1 for the U.S. to make the next round. On May 30, 1987, Osiander’s team rose to the challenge and shutout Canada, while scoring the three needed goals. The U.S. went on a tear in the second round, going undefeated against Trinidad and El Salvador, outscoring its opponents 13 to 4, and winning a spot in Seoul. In those games, the U.S. underachieved, running to a 1-1-1 record and failing to make the second round. On January 16, 1989, USSF released Osiander when it announced the hiring of Bob Gansler
as the full time national team coach. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE1DF1230F934A25752C0A96F948260 By this time Osiander had set the U.S. national team back on track. In addition to the marvelous Olympic qualification campaign, Osiander led the team through a successful first round of World Cup qualification with a scoreless away tie with Jamaica
followed by a 5-1 crushing of the Reggae Boyz. Osiander compiled a 13-7 record with the team in full internationals during his tenure as coach.
While he left the senior national team in 1989, Osiander continued to coach the U.S. B Team and eventually the U.S. U-23 national team. After the 1988 Olympics, USSF began signing U.S. players to national team contracts. These players formed an A team while fringe or up and coming players spent time with the B Team. Additionally, the IOC had decided to make the Olympic soccer tournament an U-23 competition. In 1991, Osiander coached the U.S. U-23 team to a gold medal at that year’s Pan American Games
, held in Cuba. That year, Osiander also began preparing the team for the 1992 Summer Olympics
to be held in Barcelona, Spain. The team easily ran through qualification and had high hopes for success in Spain. In one of the many inexplicable moments in U.S. soccer history, Osiander benched his leading scorer, Steve Snow
, for the team's first Olympic match. Snow had led the U.S. team at the Pan American games with four goals, then bagged eleven more in nine games of Olympic qualifying. However, Osiander did not fail to mask his dislike for Snow, calling him a “cocky twerp”.http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10617FF3D540C728EDDAE0894DA494D81 But without Snow, the U.S. offense stalled and the team lost 2-1 to Italy. Osiander played Snow in the next two games. While Snow scored in both, a win and a tie, it was not enough and the U.S. failed to make the second round. USSF president Alan Rothenberg
fired Osiander after the Olympics, based largely on Osiander’s refusal to play Snow in the game with Italy.http://www.socceramerica.com/article.asp?Art_ID=1128
When not coaching, Osiander had continued to work at Graziano’s, rising from waiter to maitre d’. However, in 1992, the restaurant was sold to new management who let Osiander go. Out of work, he turned to coaching the Palo Alto Firebirds
of the USISL. While working at Graziano's, he had spent time as an assistant coach with the San Francisco Bay Blackhawks
of the American Professional Soccer League
(APSL) before it folded in 1992. He also continued coaching the San Francisco Greek-Americans. In 1994, he took the Greek-Americans to its second U.S. Open Cup
title. In all likelihood this team will remain the last amateur or semi-pro team to win the Open Cup. For decades amateur and semi-pro teams had dominated the Open Cup, but beginning in 1996, professional U.S. clubs began entering, and winning the annual competition.
As he no longer had a job either with Graziano’s or the national team and since semi-pro or assistant coaches rarely earn much, Osiander was forced into full time professional coaching. In 1995, the expansion Atlanta Ruckus of the A-League
hired Osiander as its first coach. Despite finishing the regular season fourth out of six, the Ruckus made it to the A-League championship series, only to fall to the Seattle Sounders
. For his efforts Osiander was honored as A-League coach of the year.
Osiander’s success with the Greek-Americans and Ruckus brought him to the attention of the newly created Major League Soccer
club Los Angeles Galaxy
which hired him as its first coach. The Galaxy began the first MLS season with 12 straight victories, finishing with a 19-13 record. The Galaxy went to the championship game only to fall to the Bruce Arena
-coached D.C. United
, 3-2 in overtime. However, in 1997, the Galaxy began 3-9 and on June 10, 1997, the team fired Osiander.http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE1DA1E3CF932A25755C0A961958260&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fSubjects%2fS%2fSoccer
In January 1998, the Tampa Bay Mutiny
hired Osiander as an assistant coach. When John Kowalski
, head coach of the Mutiny, was fired in 1999, some observers thought Osiander would serve as interim coach.http://archive.southcoasttoday.com/daily/05-98/05-11-98/d13sp121.htm Instead, he left the Mutiny and was hired as head coach of the MLS Project 40 team. On September 1999, the San Jose Clash hired Osiander to replace Brian Quinn
near the end of the 1999 season. At the time, Osiander was leading the Project 40 team into the United Soccer League
playoffs where it lost in the semifinals to the Minnesota Thunder
.http://www.sover.net/~spectrum/usl3.html#1999 Once the Project 40 team was eliminated from the playoffs, Osiander joined the Clash, taking the team to a 2-1 record in his three games to close out the 1999 season. Despite the good start at the end of the 1999, Osiander could do little better than his predecessors when it came to a full season. In 2000, he took the team to a 7-17-8 record and on January 12, 2001, the Earthquakes fired Osiander.http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9802EEDA143DF930A25752C0A9679C8B63
Since leaving MLS, he returned to his position as coach of the San Francisco Greek-Americans. He also coaches local Bay area youth teams, including the U-17 Ballistic Boys which won the 2003 State Cup as an U-16 team. Finally, he is the head coach of San Ramon United, an U-17 team.
In 2007, the NSCAA
awarded Osiander the Walt Chzyowich Award.
In 2009 he was selected to be the coach of the U-16 Tri-Valley Boys. He is currently coaching them today.
United States men's national soccer team
The United States men's national soccer team represents the United States in international association football competitions. It is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and competes in CONCACAF...
and Olympic teams as well as the Atlanta Ruckus, 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...
and San Jose Clash.
Osiander moved to the United States with his family in 1958, settling in the San Francisco area. He attended Mission High School
Mission High School (San Francisco, California)
Mission High School is a public high school in the San Francisco Unified School District San Francisco, California.Serving grades 9-12, Mission is the oldest high school on its original site in San Francisco; it has been on 18th Street, between Dolores and Church, since 1896...
. After graduating from high school, he first attended the City College of San Francisco
City College of San Francisco
City College of San Francisco, or CCSF, is a two-year community college in San Francisco, California. The Ocean Avenue campus, in the Ingleside neighborhood, is the college's primary location...
, then the University of San Francisco
University of San Francisco
The University of San Francisco , is a private, Jesuit/Catholic university located in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1855, USF was established as the first university in San Francisco. It is the second oldest institution for higher learning in California and the tenth-oldest university of...
where he played on the men’s soccer team under legendary coach Steve Negoesco. In 1966, the Dons won the NCAA Men's Soccer Championship
NCAA Men's Soccer Championship
The NCAA began conducting a Men's Division I Soccer Championship tournament in 1959 with an eight-team tournament. Currently, the tournament field consists of 48 teams...
. Osiander graduated with degrees in physical education and Spanish in 1968. By that time he had become a U.S. citizen, gaining his citizenship in 1965.
Osiander was an assistant coach with the California Surf
California Surf
The California Surf were a soccer club based in Anaheim, California who played in the North American Soccer League from 1978 to 1981. Their home field was Anaheim Stadium.They originally were the St. Louis Stars...
of the North American Soccer League
North American Soccer League
North American Soccer League was a professional soccer league with teams in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984.-History:...
(NASL).
Osiander eventually returned to San Francisco, becoming a waiter at Graziano’s, a local restaurant, while playing and coaching in the city’s highly competitive soccer leagues. In 1985, he coached a semi-pro club, the San Francisco Greek-Americans, to the U.S. Open Cup
Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup
The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is a knockout tournament in American soccer. The tournament is the oldest ongoing American soccer competition and is presently open to all United States Soccer Federation affiliated teams, from amateur adult club teams to the professional clubs of Major League...
title.
By that time, Osiander was well known on the national coaching scene. Back in 1974, the United States Soccer Federation
United States Soccer Federation
The United States Soccer Federation is the official governing body of the sport of soccer in the United States. Its headquarters are located in Chicago, Illinois. It is a member of FIFA and is responsible for governing amateur and professional soccer, including the men's, women's, youth, futsal...
(USSF) had hired Osiander as part of its coaching staff. At the time Walter Chyzowych
Walter Chyzowych
Walter Chyzowych was a Ukrainian born soccer player who played for Philadelphia Ukrainian Nationals and Newark Sitch of the American Soccer League and was later a coach for theUnited States national soccer team....
was the U.S. head coach and in that capacity would travel the country putting on coaching clinics. Osiander traveled as part of Chyzowich’s team and became known as an excellent teacher and coach. In 1978, the U.S. Olympic committee inaugurated a National Sports Festival, hiring Osiander as the West team soccer coach. He continued in this position for the next ten years.
By 1986, Osiander’s success with the Olympic Festivals and the Greek Americans led Chyzowich, now head of USSF, to hire Osiander to replace fired Alkis Panagouliasas as the head coach of the U.S. national team
United States men's national soccer team
The United States men's national soccer team represents the United States in international association football competitions. It is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and competes in CONCACAF...
. The team was in the middle of rebuilding following its failure to qualify for the 1986 FIFA World Cup
1986 FIFA World Cup
The 1986 FIFA World Cup, the 13th FIFA World Cup, was held in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-team format. Colombia had been originally chosen to host the competition by FIFA but, largely due to economic reasons, was not able to do so and officially...
. As the International Olympic Committee
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president...
(IOC) allowed countries outside of Europe and South America to field their full national teams in the Olympics, Osiander turned his attention to qualification for the 1988 Summer Olympics
1988 Summer Olympics
The 1988 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad, were an all international multi-sport events celebrated from September 17 to October 2, 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. They were the second summer Olympic Games to be held in Asia and the first since the 1964 Summer Olympics...
to be held in Seoul, South Korea. The qualification campaign nearly ended as soon as it began when Canada
Canada men's national soccer team
The Canada men's national soccer team represents Canada in international soccer competitions at the senior men's level. They are overseen by the Canadian Soccer Association and compete in the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football .Their most significant...
defeated the U.S. 2-0 in the first leg of their home and away first round series. At the time, series winners were decided on goal differential with away goals counting for two points and home goals only one. In other words, the U.S. needed to win the follow-up game 3-0. If it let Canada gain even one goal in the game in the U.S., then the score would need to be 5-1 for the U.S. to make the next round. On May 30, 1987, Osiander’s team rose to the challenge and shutout Canada, while scoring the three needed goals. The U.S. went on a tear in the second round, going undefeated against Trinidad and El Salvador, outscoring its opponents 13 to 4, and winning a spot in Seoul. In those games, the U.S. underachieved, running to a 1-1-1 record and failing to make the second round. On January 16, 1989, USSF released Osiander when it announced the hiring of Bob Gansler
Bob Gansler
Bob Gansler is a Hungarian-born American soccer player and coach of German descent. He coached the US National Team at the 1990 World Cup, the team's first appearance at the tournament since 1950....
as the full time national team coach. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE1DF1230F934A25752C0A96F948260 By this time Osiander had set the U.S. national team back on track. In addition to the marvelous Olympic qualification campaign, Osiander led the team through a successful first round of World Cup qualification with a scoreless away tie with Jamaica
Jamaica national football team
The Jamaica national football team is the national team of Jamaica and is controlled by the Jamaica Football Federation. After decades in CONCACAF obscurity, they gained many fans throughout the world after they qualified for the 1998 FIFA World Cup...
followed by a 5-1 crushing of the Reggae Boyz. Osiander compiled a 13-7 record with the team in full internationals during his tenure as coach.
While he left the senior national team in 1989, Osiander continued to coach the U.S. B Team and eventually the U.S. U-23 national team. After the 1988 Olympics, USSF began signing U.S. players to national team contracts. These players formed an A team while fringe or up and coming players spent time with the B Team. Additionally, the IOC had decided to make the Olympic soccer tournament an U-23 competition. In 1991, Osiander coached the U.S. U-23 team to a gold medal at that year’s Pan American Games
Football at the 1991 Pan American Games
The eleventh edition of the Men's Football Tournament at the Pan American Games was held in Havana, Cuba from August 4 to August 13, 1991. Eight teams competed, with title holder Brazil missing...
, held in Cuba. That year, Osiander also began preparing the team for the 1992 Summer Olympics
1992 Summer Olympics
The 1992 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event celebrated in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, in 1992. The International Olympic Committee voted in 1986 to separate the Summer and Winter Games, which had been held in the same...
to be held in Barcelona, Spain. The team easily ran through qualification and had high hopes for success in Spain. In one of the many inexplicable moments in U.S. soccer history, Osiander benched his leading scorer, Steve Snow
Steve Snow
Stephen Leonard Snow is a retired American soccer forward who was a dominant goal scorer at the high school, college and junior national level. He played professionally in Belgium and in the United States. He also earned two caps with the U.S...
, for the team's first Olympic match. Snow had led the U.S. team at the Pan American games with four goals, then bagged eleven more in nine games of Olympic qualifying. However, Osiander did not fail to mask his dislike for Snow, calling him a “cocky twerp”.http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10617FF3D540C728EDDAE0894DA494D81 But without Snow, the U.S. offense stalled and the team lost 2-1 to Italy. Osiander played Snow in the next two games. While Snow scored in both, a win and a tie, it was not enough and the U.S. failed to make the second round. USSF president Alan Rothenberg
Alan Rothenberg
Alan I. Rothenberg is a graduate of the University of Michigan's law school, and an influential administrative figure in the history of North American soccer who is credited with greatly contributing to the growth of the game in the United States, and the namesake of the Alan I...
fired Osiander after the Olympics, based largely on Osiander’s refusal to play Snow in the game with Italy.http://www.socceramerica.com/article.asp?Art_ID=1128
When not coaching, Osiander had continued to work at Graziano’s, rising from waiter to maitre d’. However, in 1992, the restaurant was sold to new management who let Osiander go. Out of work, he turned to coaching the Palo Alto Firebirds
Willamette Valley Firebirds
Willamette Valley Firebirds were an American soccer team that played in Corvallis, Oregon.They began as the Palo Alto Firebirds based in Palo Alto, California. They moved to San Jose, California in 1994 and became the Silicon Valley Firebirds. They were renamed the Portland Firebirds after they...
of the USISL. While working at Graziano's, he had spent time as an assistant coach with the San Francisco Bay Blackhawks
San Francisco Bay Blackhawks
San Francisco Bay Blackhawks was a professional soccer team which came into existence in 1989 as a team in the Western Soccer League . The Blackhawks spent time in the American Professional Soccer League and the United States Interregional Soccer League...
of the American Professional Soccer League
American Professional Soccer League
The American Professional Soccer League is a former professional men's soccer league which featured teams from both the United States and Canada. It was the first outdoor soccer league to feature teams from throughout the United States since the demise of the original North American Soccer League...
(APSL) before it folded in 1992. He also continued coaching the San Francisco Greek-Americans. In 1994, he took the Greek-Americans to its second U.S. Open Cup
Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup
The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is a knockout tournament in American soccer. The tournament is the oldest ongoing American soccer competition and is presently open to all United States Soccer Federation affiliated teams, from amateur adult club teams to the professional clubs of Major League...
title. In all likelihood this team will remain the last amateur or semi-pro team to win the Open Cup. For decades amateur and semi-pro teams had dominated the Open Cup, but beginning in 1996, professional U.S. clubs began entering, and winning the annual competition.
As he no longer had a job either with Graziano’s or the national team and since semi-pro or assistant coaches rarely earn much, Osiander was forced into full time professional coaching. In 1995, the expansion Atlanta Ruckus of the A-League
A-League (1995–2004)
The A-League was a professional men's soccer league which featured teams from both the United States and Canada. The A-League emerged out of the restructured American Professional Soccer League in 1995 and operated until 2004, after which it was re-branded the USL First Division...
hired Osiander as its first coach. Despite finishing the regular season fourth out of six, the Ruckus made it to the A-League championship series, only to fall to the Seattle Sounders
Seattle Sounders (USL)
Seattle Sounders was an American professional soccer team founded in 1994 as a member of the American Professional Soccer League. In 1997, the team became a member of the USL First Division, the second tier of the United States soccer pyramid, until 2008, after which the majority of the team's...
. For his efforts Osiander was honored as A-League coach of the year.
Osiander’s success with the Greek-Americans and Ruckus brought him to the attention of the newly created Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
club 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...
which hired him as its first coach. The Galaxy began the first MLS season with 12 straight victories, finishing with a 19-13 record. The Galaxy went to the championship game only to fall to the 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...
-coached 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...
, 3-2 in overtime. However, in 1997, the Galaxy began 3-9 and on June 10, 1997, the team fired Osiander.http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE1DA1E3CF932A25755C0A961958260&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fSubjects%2fS%2fSoccer
In January 1998, the Tampa Bay Mutiny
Tampa Bay Mutiny
The Tampa Bay Mutiny was a charter franchise of Major League Soccer active from 1996 - 2001. They initially played in Tampa Stadium and were immediately successful, winning the first MLS Supporters' Shield behind MLS MVP Carlos Valderrama and high-scoring forward Roy Lassiter, whose 27 goals in...
hired Osiander as an assistant coach. When John Kowalski
John Kowalski
John Kowalski is a former coach of the professional United States soccer clubs Tampa Bay Mutiny , Pittsburgh Riverhounds and Pittsburgh Spirit...
, head coach of the Mutiny, was fired in 1999, some observers thought Osiander would serve as interim coach.http://archive.southcoasttoday.com/daily/05-98/05-11-98/d13sp121.htm Instead, he left the Mutiny and was hired as head coach of the MLS Project 40 team. On September 1999, the San Jose Clash hired Osiander to replace Brian Quinn
Brian Quinn
Brian Quinn, CBE is a Scottish economist and former football club chairman. He is an honorary Professor of economics at Glasgow University. He is best known for his spell as the Chairman of the Celtic Plc board.-Early life:...
near the end of the 1999 season. At the time, Osiander was leading the Project 40 team into the United Soccer League
United Soccer League
The United Soccer League was a professional soccer league in the United States in the mid-1980s.After the demise of the second incarnation of the American Soccer League in 1983, four ASL teams founded the USL...
playoffs where it lost in the semifinals to the Minnesota Thunder
Minnesota Thunder
Minnesota Thunder was an American professional soccer team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1990, the team played in the USL First Division , the second tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2009. The team played its home games at the National Sports Center in nearby...
.http://www.sover.net/~spectrum/usl3.html#1999 Once the Project 40 team was eliminated from the playoffs, Osiander joined the Clash, taking the team to a 2-1 record in his three games to close out the 1999 season. Despite the good start at the end of the 1999, Osiander could do little better than his predecessors when it came to a full season. In 2000, he took the team to a 7-17-8 record and on January 12, 2001, the Earthquakes fired Osiander.http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9802EEDA143DF930A25752C0A9679C8B63
Since leaving MLS, he returned to his position as coach of the San Francisco Greek-Americans. He also coaches local Bay area youth teams, including the U-17 Ballistic Boys which won the 2003 State Cup as an U-16 team. Finally, he is the head coach of San Ramon United, an U-17 team.
In 2007, the NSCAA
NSCAA
The National Soccer Coaches Association of America is an organization of American soccer coaches founded in 1941. The NSCAA has grown from a handful of college soccer coaches to more than 22,000 members, making it the largest coaching organization in the world. Its members coach at all levels of...
awarded Osiander the Walt Chzyowich Award.
In 2009 he was selected to be the coach of the U-16 Tri-Valley Boys. He is currently coaching them today.