Former U.S. U-20 coach Rongen takes over as head of TFC Academy

Thomas Rongen

On the one-year anniversary of Aron Winter being named Toronto FC’s Head Coach and Technical Director, the former Dutch international made a quiet announcement about another addition to club’s personnel.

It was almost an afterthought as most media gathered at a press conference Friday morning to discuss TFC’s CONCACAF Champions League match as well as the MLS Combine and SuperDraft. Winter had to interject and matter-of-factly announce that the club had just hired Thomas Rongen as the new Academy Director.

Rongen may not be a household name in Canadian soccer circles, but he is very well known in MLS and the U.S.. Not many questions were raised about the hiring — and it may be seen now by some as a low-key addition — but he could have quite the impact on the team in the years to come. He brings considerable coaching experience but it’s his background and familiarity with the league and the North American game that will prove most beneficial for the Reds.

The 55-year-old has coached for four different MLS clubs, including the now defunct Tampa Bay Mutiny in the league’s inaugural season. That year he led the team to first place with a 20-12 record and earned the honours of MLS Coach of the Year. The next season he joined the New England Revolution for two seasons before experiencing his next big success of his coaching career. In 1999, Rongen succeeded Bruce Arena at D.C. United and guided the team to a MLS Cup title with a victory over Los Angeles Galaxy. He also briefly coached Chivas USA in its inaugural season in 2005.

He also coached the U.S. U-20 team. His biggest achievements were leading the team to successive World Cups in 2007 and 2009. He coached the U.S. team that was eliminated by Austria in 2007 on the then-FieldTurf at BMO Field. Rongen has most recently served as the head coach of the national team of American Samoa. He led the tiny territory to its first victory in 17 years with a win over Tonga in a World Cup qualifier in November.

His most recent experience may not seem very impressive but his resume in the MLS and with the U.S. Soccer Federation is what Winter considered an important asset for TFC.

“For me the position first of all when you’re going to hire a new academy director then it’s important,” said Winter. “You need a guy first of all with personality but also knows the league, all the rules, who has also worked with the youth and got a lot of experience also how you have to work with young players, with trainers and everything that was involved with the academy program.

“He was one of the guys that fit. Also, on the other hand, the way how he wants to develop the youth, what he wants to reach and that’s why I’m very happy that in the end he’s coming and we came to hire him for the position.”

Rongen and Winter also know each other very well from their playing days in the Netherlands. The new Academy Director played with Ajax, where he spent four seasons, but also spent time with the national team. Rongen eventually left to play soccer in the U.S. starting with the Los Angeles Aztecs of the North American Soccer League and also spent time with various clubs until he retired as a player in 1988.

But it was a chance meeting last year that Rongen and Winter connected again.

“I know Thomas very well from the past,” said Winter. “In ‘94 with the national team, the World Cup in the United States, he was a part of our team…he was working for us.

“Last year I met him for the first time after a while in the combine, in the draft. At that moment we kept in touch. At a certain moment, I phone him and if he was interested in doing something for Toronto FC.”

The move definitely raises eyebrows and makes the case that perhaps Winter is planning for another move in future. Considering Rongen’s background, it would not come as much of a surprise if Winter was eventually promoted upstairs and placed his Dutch counterpart as his successor.

For now Winter has chosen a more than adequate replacement for the recently departed Stuart Neely who resigned from the position late last year. Under Neely’s watch, many academy players made the jump to the first team, most notably Ashtone Morgan and Matt Stinson.

Make no mistake, Winter his leaving his mark all over TFC and this is just the next step in the evolution and re-building that he talked so much about last season. Only time will tell as to what impact Rongen will have on the academy, but one thing is certain, he will continue to mould young players to Winter’s vision and the Dutch system of “Total Football.”