Curt Onalfo developed a reputation as one of the best young coaches in MLS as he led Kansas City to consecutive playoff appearances in his first two years at the club.
A poor start to last season’s campaign saw Onalfo released by the Wizards, although his time away from the game would be short-lived as a club close to his heart came knocking.
I had the chance to catch up with the former U.S. International and talk to him about his success at K.C., how losing his job halfway through last season can make him a better coach, and his joy at retuning to D.C. United.
Here is what he had to say.
Keith Costigan: How happy are you to be back in MLS with D.C. United?
Curt Onalfo: It is really like a homecoming for me given all the time I have spent in D.C. I lived in there for 10 years prior to moving to K.C. and I really built my family here. I had played for the club and was the assistant coach for the club so moving back here was not difficult. I have a home here too and I am excited to rejoin a club that has such a rich tradition in MLS. I have a tremendous working relationship with Dave Casper and Kevin Payne so I am looking forward to this challenge.
K.C.: You had been at K.C. for a couple of years and I think most people would agree that you did a good job there so were you surprised at your exit from the team last year?
C.O.: I am very proud of what I accomplished in Kansas City. I inherited a team that had not made the playoffs in two years and we managed to make the postseason two years in a row, both times going out to the eventual MLS Cup winner. I was offered a four-year deal at the end of my second season and I turned it down so we probably were not on the same page coming into the year and that may have had something to do with the eventual outcome. That is over with now and I am very happy to be with D.C. and looking forward to the challenge ahead.
K.C.: Most coaches will tell you that losing your job can help you become a better coach in the long run. Do you agree with that assessment?
C.O.: I agree with that because I believe losing your job hardens you a little and you are forced to learn from the mistakes that you made. You have to be constantly evolving as a coach as the game is constantly changing and sometimes a spell away from the game can help you self-evaluate the job that you are doing and how to do it better. I am a very self-reflective guy and I will always look at what I can do better rather than point the finger at someone else when things go wrong.
K.C.: At Kanssas City you worked with a director of football. What are your thoughts on the role a director of football plays and as a coach are you comfortable working hand in hand with someone in this position?
C.O.: I think it is very difficult for a head coach to cover both roles at a club, as there is so much work to do day in and day out in building a team. The ideal situation is for a club to have the infrastructure where there are people working together and making things easier for each other and we have that here at D.C. It takes a real special individual to be able to do that job and do it well because you are essentially a facilitator for the head coach and I believe Dave Kasper is very good at that.
K.C.: Over the last few years this D.C. team has hugely underachieved given all the talent in the squad. Have you been surprised at their struggles and why do you believe the have struggled?
C.O.: I think the expectations in D.C. are always very high and that can play a part in it. It is always difficult to access on the outside looking in but I am excited to get closer to the squad. I think it is also worth pointing out that this team has had to play a lot of games throughout the season but at the end of the day they were a tiebreaker away from making the playoffs so things weren’t that far away from being completely different.
I always preach to my players that the difference between winning and losing is so slight and that is why you have to try and remain on an even keel throughout the year. You can’t get too high when things are going real well and you can’t get too down when things don’t go right. I don’t want to dwell on the past as I am really just looking forward to being a part of this club and working on the future.
K.C.: You have already begun to rebuild this squad by adding Troy Perkins and letting Fred and Luciano Emilio move on. What are your thoughts on these roster moves?
C.O.: We want to play a certain way and score a lot of goals but having said that this team has given up a lot of goals over the last few years. Priority number one was to get a consistent goalkeeper that can help us keep clean sheets because the less goals you give up the more chance you have of winning games. The decision to bring in Troy was made easier because Josh Wicks is injured and won’t be ready for the start of the season. We feel that adding Troy to the squad immediately makes us better as he is an excellent goalkeeper that has experience with the national team.
We still have other holes to fill in the squad but we have signed Danny Allsopp who is a proven goal-scorer and a very good target man that will add to the quality within the group. We are also excited about the addition of Cristian Castillo who adds some flair to the attack. We also still have Jaime Moreno, Santino Quaranta and Chris Pontius so the list of options we have just goes on and on. We will continue to look at our squad as we move forward but we feel very confident about where we are despite the loss of a few players.
K.C.: With the addition of Philadelphia to the Eastern Conference do you believe it is now harder than ever to make the playoffs?
C.O.: It gets harder to make the playoffs ever year in MLS. We now have 16 teams and only 8 will make it to the postseason so there will be some good teams that miss out. We are just focusing on our job, which is to rebuild this team and get us back to where we belong.
K.C.: Other coaches that I have spoken with in MLS soccer feel that while it is a good thing to add these new teams, it does mean that the strength in depth of squads within the league are hurt because of it. Do you agree with this assessment?
C.O.: It is a valid statement and it does force clubs in the league to work harder to make sure they keep up the level of talent in the squad. Every year we lose a player or two through the expansion draft and we as coaches have to find replacements but it is not always as easy to do that.
K.C.: D.C. is certainly a bigger market than K.C. so does that mean there is more pressure on you now as coach of D.C. United than there was at the Wizards?
C.O.: I am used to pressure because I put it on myself everyday to succeed in what I am doing. I am fully aware of the pressure that comes with being the head coach of United and I will approach this job in a professional manner. I will make sure that I take every challenge here head-on and give this franchise every opportunity to succeed.
K.C.: There has been a lot of talk about the future of this club in MLS so can you tell us just how important you feel D.C. is to this league?
C.O.: This club has some of the best fans in MLS, a superb owner, president and a great infrastructure on the technical side so for me it is a wonderful organization. D.C. is a very important market for this league because of these things and I am excited at the prospect of working with this team.
Keith Costigan covers MLS and U.S. Soccer for FoxSoccer.com.
