Could Sasho Cirovski (left) be a candidate for the D.C. United job? Photo by Jaclyn Borowski/The Diamondback
It seems like a long shot, but Terrapin men’s soccer coach Sasho Cirovski’s name has been put out there as a possible replacement for Tom Soehn, who yesterday told United officials he did not want to seek a contract extension.
Soehn had just finished the final year of his current deal. United missed the MLS playoffs for the second straight season.
On his Soccer Insider blog today, the Washington Post’s Steven Goff put up a poll: Who should D.C. United hire? Cirovski’s name was included among 10 other options.
In the past, meaning during last season’s National Championship run, Cirovski has intimated that his controlling, hands-on style might not work on the MLS level, where he would have to deal with a GM and front office making personnel decisions.
Obviously, that’s not the case now. Cirovski has his choice of which players to recruit and he typically gets a number of the best high school prospects in the country in each class.
Cirovski has also said he wants to spend the rest of his career with the Terps.
But the two-time NCAA Championship winner does have close ties to United. He lobbied for a soccer-specific stadium to be built in P.G. County for United. Last spring, the Terps played an exhibition match against Wake Forest at RFK Stadium, before a United game.
Dave Kasper, United’s GM, played at Maryland in the ’80’s and has added a number of former Terps to the roster. It’s also not uncommon for college coaches to make the jump to MLS.
Bruce Arena famously left Virginia for United in the mid-’90’s. Schellas Hyndman, the longtime former SMU coach and a coaching friend of Cirovski’s, took the FC Dallas job in June of 2008.
We’ll see if this goes anywhere in the coming weeks.
Aaron Kraut is The Diamondback’s sports editor. He can be reached at akrautdbk@gmail.com.