Tony DiCicco, who led the United States women’s national team to the gold medal at the ’96 Olympics and first place at the ’99 Women’s World Cup, has resigned as head coach, effective at the end of the year. DiCicco took over the U.S. team from Anson Dorrance at the beginning of 1995 and guided the United States to a third-place finish at the 1995 Women’s World Cup in Sweden. “I can’t think of anyone more deserving of the attention and praise brought on by the U.S. women’s national team’s success and popularity than Tony DiCicco,” said U.S. Soccer president Bob Contiguglia. “He has won every trophy in sight and done it with grace and style. He has been an integral part of the team’s success since our first World Cup championship in 1991, and he has met every challenge head on. We respect, understand and admire his desire to share his life with his family.”
A family decision
DiCicco said he made the decision to spend more time with his wife and four sons, ages 8, 12, 14, and 17. DiCicco began his career with the women’s team in 1990 as the goalkeeper coach, and was an assistant on the 1991 Women’s World Cup championship team, before taking over the head job from Dorrance in 1995. “The main reason I’m stepping down is that it’s more important for me to be a world-class husband and father than a world-class coach,” said DiCicco. “When I looked at the generous financial opportunities available to me next year, I didn’t see how they could possibly enrich my life more than spending time with my wife and boys. The things I’ll miss the most are the players, what they taught me, what we learned together and how they made me feel. And how much fun it was to go after something great together.” DiCicco finishes with a 103-8-8 record in full international matches and a winning percentage of .899, both U.S. records. DiCicco’s teams won five straight U.S. Women’s Cups, and during his tenure, he saw Mia Hamm break the international record for goals scored and Kristine Lilly break the record for most appearances. “U.S. Soccer gave me a tremendous privilege and opportunity when they hired me for the head coaching position,” added DiCicco. “When I took over the team, I might not have been the first choice in many people’s minds. But Alan Rothenberg and Hank Steinbrecher thought I would develop into a coach that would win for them, and I did. Isincerely appreciate the chance U.S. Soccer gave me. I think together we brought women’s soccer to a whole new level both in America and globally.”
Reaction on his departure
“Tony DiCicco has been a model of professionalism as the head coach of our U.S. women’s national team,” said Steinbrecher, secretary general of U.S. Soccer. “He will be sorely missed. I honestly believe he was the Phil Jackson of soccer coaches, bringing a sense of unity and team to a squad of veteran players who have been together for over a decade. This was clearly a decision from the heart and we respect that more than any other. He has said all along that spending time with his real first team, his family, was critical to him coming out of the Women’s World Cup.” “Tony is no doubt one of the best women’s soccer coaches in the world,” said Carla Overbeck, who served as team captain during the majority of DiCicco’s tenure. “Being a mother myself, I totally empathize with him wanting to be at home with his family. We will always cherish the successes we achieved, and we will miss him tremendously as a coach and friend.” “Obviously, it’s a sad day for the team because we all have tremendous respect for Tony as a coach, a person and friend,” said Julie Foudy, who co-captained the team with Overbeck. “But we understand his commitment to his family and his desire to spend more time with his wife and sons. He’s put in a lot of years with us, and spent many hours away from his family for us, and sacrificed a lot for the team. We’ll always be proud of the things we accomplished together. It will very difficult to replace him, but we look forward to working with a new coach in our goal to win the Olympics.”
Leading candidates: Charles and Gregg
“For U.S. Soccer, the focus now turns to finding a replacement,” added Steinbrecher. “Within the coming weeks we will begin to identify candidates and then begin the interview process, but no timetable has been set at this time.” The leading candidates are believed to be University of Portland men’s and women’s coach Clieve Charles and Gregg. The new coach will have the task of leading the United States in its defense of its Olympic gold medal. Its first match is Sept. 14 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. U.S. Soccer is in discussions with DiCicco to continue in an advisory capacity. DiCicco will also be pursuing a range of new business interests. He will also continue to conduct clinics and speaking engagements as well as run his highly successful summer soccer camp business.
