The youngest coach to win a MLS Cup will be NYCFC’s first head coach.
From the release:
New York City FC is today delighted to announce that it has appointed Jason Kreis as its Head Coach. The team, which will begin playing in its inaugural season in 2015, was announced as Major League Soccer’s 20th Expansion Club in May this year.
More after the jump.
It’s the second and paragraphs that stood out to me, though:
The role, which formally begins in January 2014, will see Kreis first travel to England to spend time at English Premier League associate club Manchester City FC. There, he will work closely with Head Coach Manuel Pellegrini, World Cup winner Patrick Vieira and Txiki Begiristain, the club’s Director of Football, Champions League winner, and former Director of Football at FC Barcelona.
During this time, Kreis will be immersed in all aspects of Manchester City FC, observing in particular, the club’s approach to coaching, training, and player development, with the goal of applying similar approaches to New York City FC. (emphasis added)
While Kreis is likely one of the best coaches in MLS — he led RSL to within 1 game of being the first MLS team to win the CONCACAF Champions League, among other things — there is no doubt that he could use the additional training that will come from being by the side of Manuel Pellegrini. Pellegrini is an outstanding manager, probably the least-known great manager working in the game today. For Kreis, having the opportunity to learn from Pellegrini will be invaluable.
This is an excellent hire by NYCFC. I’m excited to see what Kreis does as head coach.
