Omid Namazi
Namazi in Iran training in 2013
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | December 8, 1965 | ||
| Place of birth | Provo, Utah, United States | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||
| Playing position | Defender | ||
| Club information | |||
|
Current team
|
United States men's U-18 (head coach) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1984–1987 | West Virginia Mountaineers | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1988–1989 | Washington Diplomats | ||
| 1990 | Hershey Impact (Indoor) | ||
| 1990–1991 | Maryland Bays | ||
| 1992 | Ft. Lauderdale Strikers | 14 | (1) |
| 1992–1993 | Reading | ||
| 1993–1994 | Los Angeles Salsa | ||
| 1994–1996 | Baltimore Spirit (Indoor) | 65 | (10) |
| 1996 | Delaware Wizards | ||
| 1996 | → MetroStars (Loan) | 1 | (0) |
| 1996–2002 | Philadelphia KiXX (Indoor) | ||
| 1997 | New Jersey Stallions | ||
| 1997 | Carolina Dynamo | ||
| 1998 | Staten Island Vipers | ||
| 2001 | South Jersey Barons | 4 | (0) |
| 2003–2005 | Cleveland Force (Indoor) | ||
| National team | |||
| 2002–2003 | United States futsal | ||
| Teams managed | |||
| 1999–2002 | Philadelphia KiXX | ||
| 2002–2003 | San Diego Spirit | ||
| 2004–2005 | Cleveland Force | ||
| 2005–2006 | St. Louis Steamers | ||
| 2007–2009 | New Jersey Ironmen | ||
| 2009 | Ironbound SC (assistant) | ||
| 2010 | Chicago Red Stars | ||
| 2010–2011 | Steel Azin (assistant) | ||
| 2011–2014 | Iran (assistant) | ||
| 2014 | United States women (assistant) | ||
| 2014–2016 | United States U-20 (assistant) | ||
| 2016– | United States U-18 | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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Omid Namazi (Persian: امید نمازی) is a retired Iranian-American soccer defender and currently head coach of the United States men's national under-18 soccer team. Namazi played professionally in the American Soccer League, American Professional Soccer League, Major League Soccer, USISL and National Professional Soccer League where he was the 2001 Defender of the Year. He is a two-time Coach of the Year in the Major Indoor Soccer League and coached in the Women's United Soccer Association. As assistant coach of Iran, he led the team to qualification to the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2015 AFC Asian Cup.
Namazi was born in Provo, Utah when his father, Mehdi Namazi, was attending Brigham Young University to study for a master's degree. The family returned to Iran where Namazi grew up in Tehran. When he was eighteen, his father moved the family back to the United States after the fall of the Shah. They settled in Washington, D.C. Namazi attended West Virginia University where he played on the men's soccer team from 1984 to 1987. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in exercise philosophy.
In 1988, Namazi turned professional with the Washington Diplomats of the American Soccer League. He spent two seasons with the Dips. Namazi played a handful of games with the Hershey Impact of the American Indoor Soccer Association during the 1989–1990 season before being released on January 13, 1990. In 1990, he moved to the Maryland Bays of the American Professional Soccer League. The Bays won the league championships that season. He played the 1991 season in Maryland before moving to the Fort Lauderdale Strikers for the 1992 season. Namazi played for Reading F.C. during the winter of 1992–1993. In April 1993, he signed with the Los Angeles Salsa of the APSL and played two seasons with them. In December 1994, he signed with the Baltimore Spirit of the National Professional Soccer League. In 1995, he was selected as Second Team All Rookie. In April 1995, the Seattle SeaDogs selected Namadi in the Continental Indoor Soccer League draft, but he declined to sign with them. In 1996, he moved outdoors with the Delaware Wizards of the USISL. He played with the MetroStars of Major League Soccer on loan from the Spirit on July 4, 1996. In June 1996, the Philadelphia KiXX selected Namazi in the NPSL expansion draft. In 1997, he was the USISL Defender of the Year with the New Jersey Stallions. In August 1997, he joined the Carolina Dynamo late in the season. In 1998, he played for the Staten Island Vipers. Namazi continued to play for the KiXX until he left four games into the 2002–2003 season. He was the 2001 NPSL Defender of the Year and won the 2002 MISL championship with the KiXX. In 2001, he played four games for the South Jersey Barons of the USISL. In December 2003, the Cleveland Force traded Steve Klein to the KiXX in exchange for the rights to Namazi. He played for the Force until 2005. In 2002 and 2003, Namazi played for the United States national futsal team.
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