D.C. United has announced that the club and Head Coach Ben Olsen have agreed on a multi-year contract extension. Olsen, the seventh head coach in club history, has compiled a 46-64-33 record in five seasons and has the Black-and-Red in first place in the Eastern Conference with a 14-9-6 record this season.
“We are proud of the job that Ben has done leading the team, and we are excited about securing his future with D.C. United,” said D.C. United Managing General Partner Jason Levien. “Proving himself as a coach just as he did as a player, he has kept the group together through adversity, and he has the club poised for immediate and future success.”
“Ben has re-established a winning culture at D.C. United, and I'm very pleased that he has reached a multi-year agreement with the club to continue his excellent work,” said D.C. United General Manager Dave Kasper. “He has forged a playing style that is very effective in MLS, and fostered an identity that ‘the team is the star,’ one that our fans in the D.C. metropolitan area are very proud of. I look forward to continuing a strong working relationship with Ben with the goal of adding more silverware to our trophy case.”
“Close to half my life I've been a part of this proud club,” said Olsen. “D.C. United has become my family and my identity. It is where I belong and thankfully, with this extension, it is a place I'm going to be for several more years. My commitment to winning and having a team that our fans and community are proud of will continue to be my priority.”
Following his retirement as a player after the 2009 season, Olsen launched his coaching career in 2010 as an assistant under Curt Onalfo. He was named Interim Head Coach on August 4, 2010, following Onalfo’s departure. In 2012, he guided the team to the Eastern Conference finals, in the process ending the club’s four-year absence from the playoffs.
Arguably the most popular player in D.C. United history, Olsen was among the club’s all-time leaders in several categories at the time of his retirement – second in games played (221), minutes played (17,098) and game-winning goals (13), third in assists (49) and seventh in goals (29). He won eight total trophies with D.C. United, including two MLS Cups (1999 & 2004). He was also a two-time All-Star (1998 & 1999), the 1998 MLS Rookie of the Year, the 1999 MLS Cup MVP, the 2003 USSF Humanitarian of the Year and was named to the MLS Best XI in 2007.
Olsen also had an illustrious career with the U.S. Men’s National Team, earning 37 caps and scoring six goals. He was a member of the 2006 World Cup team and part of the team that reached the bronze medal game at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Olsen made his full international debut against Australia on November 6, 1998, and scored his first goal against Chile on February 21, 1999.
Prior to his professional career, from 1995-1997, Olsen spent three seasons at the University of Virginia, during which the Cavaliers posted a 56-8-8 record. He compiled 34 goals and 41 assists, starting every game (69) of his collegiate career, and in 1997 he was named the 1997 Soccer America Player of the Year and a finalist for the MAC Hermann Trophy.
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