Jason Kreis

Jason Kreis

Kreis as Head Coach of New York City FC
Personal information
Full name Jason Clarence Kreis
Date of birth (1972-12-29) December 29, 1972
Place of birth Omaha, Nebraska, United States
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Playing position Midfielder, forward
Youth career
1991–1994 Duke Blue Devils
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
1993 Raleigh Flyers
1994 New Orleans Storm
1995 Raleigh Flyers (10)
1996–2004 Dallas Burn 247 (91)
2005–2007 Real Salt Lake 58 (17)
Total 305 (108)
National team
1996–2000 United States 14 (1)
Teams managed
2007–2013 Real Salt Lake
2015 New York City FC
2016– United States assistant

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

† Appearances (goals)

Jason Clarence Kreis (born December 29, 1972) is an American soccer manager and former player. He was most recently the head coach of New York City FC in Major League Soccer. Prior to that, Kreis was the head coach of Real Salt Lake.

Kreis spent the majority of his playing career in MLS in the United States, initially with the Dallas Burn, and later with Real Salt Lake. In total he made over 300 professional appearances, was Major League Soccer MVP in 1999, and is currently tied for the fifth highest scorer in MLS regular season history, with 108 goals. He also earned fourteen international caps for the United States national team.

Early life

Kreis played for the Gladiator Soccer Club in his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska, where his parents were among the pioneers who established this first premier/select club within the state. As a freshman at Burke High School in Omaha, Kreis was selected First Team All-State.[1] He remains the only freshman selected to the first team. Following his freshman year, Kreis and his family moved to Mandeville, Louisiana, where he led Mandeville High School to several Class 5A state soccer tournaments, but never won a state title, losing to Lafayette High in the quarterfinals his senior year. While at Mandeville, he was also a standout performer for the Baton Rouge United Jags, a U-19 Select team that finished as national runner-up in 1991 and won the prestigious Capital Cup tournament in Washington, D.C. He played collegiately at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.

Club career

Minor leagues

In 1993, Kreis played during the summer for the Raleigh Flyers of the USISL.[2] In the summer of 1994, he returned to Louisiana to play for the New Orleans Riverboat Gamblers, also of the USISL.[3] After finishing his collegiate eligibility in 1994, Kreis signed his first professional contract with the Raleigh Flyers in the spring of 1995.

Dallas Burn

On August 1, 1995, Kreis signed a contract with Major League Soccer as the league prepared for its inaugural season.[4] Kreis was drafted forty-third overall by the Dallas Burn in the fifth round of the MLS Inaugural Draft. He scored the first goal in Burn history. In 1999, Kreis was the first American-born player to be named league MVP after he led the league in points and goals, and also registered the first 15-goal, 15-assist season in league history. The five-time all-star led his team in goals five times and in points four times.

On June 26, 2004, Kreis scored his eighty-ninth league goal against D.C. United, moving past Roy Lassiter to the top of the league's all-time goal-scoring chart. Kreis remained the MLS all time goalscoring leader for more than three years until Jaime Moreno surpassed his record on August 22, 2007. He ended his ninth MLS season with career totals of 91 goals and 65 assists for 247 points, plus added four goals and two assists in the playoffs. He remains Dallas' all-time leader in games played (247), goals (91), assists (65), and points (247).

Real Salt Lake

On November 17, 2004, Kreis was traded to Real Salt Lake, becoming the first player in the club's history. Kreis scored the first goal in Salt Lake's history in its second match, a 3–1 loss to the Los Angeles Galaxy. In doing so, he became the first player in league history to do so for two different teams, as he scored the inaugural goal for Dallas in 1996 as well. On August 13, 2005, he became the first player in MLS history to score 100 career league goals. He retired as a player early in the 2007 season, finishing with 108 career goals.

International career

With only 14 international appearances, Kreis was never able to translate his club success into one with the U.S. national team. He received his first cap on August 30, 1996, against El Salvador. Kreis scored his only international goal on September 8, 1999 in a 2-2 draw against Jamaica.[5]

International goals

Goal Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition Ref.
1. September 8, 1999 National Stadium, Kingston, Jamaica  Jamaica 1 – 0 2 – 2 Friendly

Coaching career

Real Salt Lake

On May 3, 2007 Kreis retired from professional competition and was announced as the new head coach of Real Salt Lake, retiring as a player and taking over the coaching reins from John Ellinger.[6] At the time of his hire, Kreis became the youngest active head coach in MLS at 34 years and 127 days. He led Real Salt Lake to its first-post season playoff appearance in 2008 and in 2009 he coached the team to its first MLS Cup championship. Kreis is the youngest coach in MLS history to win the MLS Cup. Following the 2009 MLS Cup win, Kreis would lead Real Salt Lake to playoff appearances in every subsequent season through 2013, including an appearance in the 2013 MLS Cup, which RSL lost to Sporting Kansas City in dramatic fashion on penalty kicks. Kreis also guided Real Salt Lake to the CONCACAF Champions League knockout round in the 2010-11 season by winning Group A.

Real Salt Lake signed Kreis to a contract extension on March 24, 2011 that kept him at the RSL helm through the 2013 season, after which he left RSL to become head coach of New York City FC. Real Salt Lake has retired Kreis' number 9 jersey from his playing days.[7]

New York City FC

On December 11, 2013, Kreis was announced as the first head coach of New York City FC, having reached the end of his contract at Real Salt Lake and declining an extension offer from RSL so he could take the New York City FC position.[8] The move came just four days after he missed out on lifting his second MLS Cup with the Utah team, losing on penalty kicks to Sporting Kansas City. It was revealed in the announcement that his contract, starting on January 1, 2014, would see him begin by travelling to Manchester in England to familiarise himself with the set-up of franchise-owners Manchester City.[8]

Kreis' inaugural season with NYCFC ended in disappointment. The club finished with a 10-17-7 record in the regular season placing 8th in the Eastern Conference, failing to make the 2015 MLS Cup Playoffs. He and the club proceeded to part ways on November 2, 2015.[9]

Coaching style

Kreis is known for his single-minded focus to soccer, admitting to being obsessive about game preparation. Real Salt Lake midfielder Kyle Beckerman said about him in a 2011 interview, "I don't think he watches other sports. He just met Jimmer Fredette[10] the other day, and he didn't know who Jimmer was."[11]

Career statistics

Club career statistics

Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
USA League Open Cup League Cup North America Total
1996FC DallasMLS31130021003314
1997328204100389
19983092021003410
199932181161003920
200027113120003212
2001257103000297
200227133031003314
2003187100000197
2004255100000265
2005Real Salt Lake249000000249
2006308000000308
20074000000040
Total USA 30510814222500341115
Career total 30510814222500341115

Coaching record

As of November 3, 2015
Team From1 To2 Record3
GWLDWin %
Real Salt Lake May 3, 2007 Dec 10, 2013 239 102 77 60 42.68
New York City January 1, 2014 November 2, 2015 35 10 18 7 28.57
Total 274 112 95 67 40.88

See also

References

  1. ↑ NEBRASKA USA TODAY - Wednesday, June 8, 1988
  2. ↑ Flyers top Dynamo 2-1 in a shootout The News & Observer - Wednesday, June 9, 1993
  3. ↑ KREIS LEADS GAMBLERS' ROUT, 5-1 Times-Picayune, The (New Orleans, LA) - Saturday, July 9, 1994
  4. ↑ Flyers' Kreis signs deal with Major League Soccer The News & Observer - Wednesday, August 2, 1995
  5. ↑ ' Late goal gives U.S. tie with Jamaica' http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/soccer/news/1999/09/08/us_jamaica_ap/
  6. ↑ Real Salt Lake captain Jason Kreis retires, named head coach
  7. ↑ Davis, Randy (March 25, 2011). "Real Salt Lake extend Kreis' contract through '13". MLSSoccer.com. Retrieved April 24, 2011.
  8. 1 2 "Jason Kreis named as Head Coach". nycfc.com. December 11, 2013. Retrieved December 11, 2013.
  9. ↑ "New York City part ways with head coach Jason Kreis". mlssoccer.com. November 2, 2015. Retrieved November 2, 2015.
  10. ↑ Fredette, who completed his college basketball career at nearby Brigham Young University in 2011, was the consensus college player of the year in the 2010–11 season.
  11. ↑ Wahl, Grant (April 25, 2011). "A Real Kick Up". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved April 24, 2011.

External links

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