Greg Vanney (born June 11, 1974) is an American former professional soccer player and head coach of the LA Galaxy in Major League Soccer. A defender and one of MLS's original players, Vanney spent 10 seasons in the league and another three-and-a-half in the French First Division playing for Sporting Club de Bastia between 2002 and 2005. He also earned 36

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Ja ...

, scoring one goal, with the U.S. national team between 1996 and 2006. In 2017, as coach of

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BM ...

, Vanney won the

domestic treble A treble in association football is achieved when a club team wins three trophies in a single season. A ''continental treble'' involves winning the club's national league competition, main national cup competition, and main continental trophy. A ...

by winning the

MLS Cup The MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Cup Playoffs. The game is held in November and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Conferen ...

, Supporters' Shield and the Canadian Championship.

Playing career

High school and college

Vanney played soccer for

Marcos de Niza High School Marcos de Niza High School is a high school located in Tempe, Arizona. It was founded in 1971 and it has an enrollment of approximately 1,500 students. The school's mascot is the Padre. The school is a part of the Tempe Union High School Distric ...

in Tempe, Arizona, and led the team to three consecutive state championship titles in 1990, 1991, and 1992. Vanney holds the school record for most assists by one player in a season with 13 for the 1990–1991 season, and also holds the school record for most goals by one player in a single season with 33 goals for the 1991–1992 season. He was also named the 5A player of the year for the 1991–1992 season, Gatorade Player of the Year,

NSCAA The United Soccer Coaches (formerly known as the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)) is an organization of American soccer coaches founded in 1941. It is the largest soccer coaches organization in the world, with more than ...

and Parade All-America in 1992. Greg Vanney played

college soccer College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. It is very prominent in United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and the Philippines. The United K ...

for

Florida International University Florida International University (FIU) is a public research university with its main campus in Miami-Dade County. Founded in 1965, the school opened its doors to students in 1972. FIU has grown to become the third-largest university in Florid ...

in 1992, and for

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

from 1993 to 1995. In 1995, Vanney was named All-America honorable mention and finished his senior season with 8 goals and 10 assists.

Professional

Vanney was drafted 17th overall in the

1996 MLS College Draft The 1996 Major League Soccer College Draft was held on March 4, 1996, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. History As Major League Soccer prepared for its first season, the league began stocking teams with players. As the teams were being created at the s ...

by the

Los Angeles Galaxy LA Galaxy, also known as the Los Angeles Galaxy, are an American professional soccer club based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Galaxy competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), as a member of the Western Conference. The club began pla ...

. The team sent him on loan to the Sacramento Scorpions of

USISL United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues currently organized are the ...

for three games at the beginning of the season where he netted three goals in three games including two game winners. Vanney played for the Galaxy for six years, from 1996 to 2001, and was consistently one of the best defenders in MLS, leading the Galaxy to three

Finals and two CONCACAF Champion's Cup Finals. He was named to the

MLS Best XI The MLS Best XI is an annual acknowledgment of the best eleven players in Major League Soccer. Winners *Players in bold were awarded the Landon Donovan MVP Award for that season. Most appearances by a player The following players have appeared ...

in both 2000 and 2001, and an MLS All-Star in 2001. After the 2001 MLS season, Vanney transferred to the French First Division club

SC Bastia Sporting Club Bastiais ( co, Sporting Club di Bastia, commonly referred to as SC Bastia or simply Bastia) is a Corsican association football club based in Bastia on the island of Corsica. The club plays in Ligue 2, the second tier of French f ...

. In the first six months with Bastia, Vanney helped lead the French club to its first appearance in the

Coupe de France The Coupe de France, formerly known as the Coupe Charles Simon, is the premier knockout cup competition in French football organized by the French Football Federation (FFF). It was first held in 1917 and is open to all amateur and profession ...

Final in over 20 years. He left the club in 2005, coming back to MLS and signing with

FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes as a member of the Western Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). The franchise began play in 1996 as a charter club of the le ...

. After two seasons with the Hoops, and two All-Star selections, Vanney was traded to

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

on January 12, 2007. On June 29, 2007, he was traded from the Rapids to

D.C. United D.C. United is a professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. that competes in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer, the top tier of American soccer. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Supp ...

. On February 15, 2008, the rights for Vanney were transferred to his first club, the

. Vanney announced his retirement from the professional game on October 26, 2008; his last game against his former club

International

Vanney also spent 11 years as a member of the United States national team, debuting December 21, 1996 against Guatemala, and played 36 games and scored one goal (September 2005). Vanney participated in three

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

qualifying cycles for the United States (1998, 2002 and 2006). He was originally named as an alternate for the

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial football world championship for men's national teams organized by FIFA. It was held from 31 May to 30 June 2002 at sites in South Korea an ...

but initially replaced the injured Chris Armas on the roster after the midfielder picked up an ACL injury in a warm-up friendly against Uruguay on May 12, 2002. Vanney was himself injured in the next warm-up friendly on May 16, 2002, against

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

and was replaced on the roster by Steve Cherundolo. Vanney also was a member of the 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup Championship team and was featured in the early part of

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host th ...

qualifying for the United States.

Coaching career

Early career

Vanney has more than 15 years experience in youth soccer: coaching, directing and consulting. He holds a USSF "A" Coaching License and has been actively involved with the U.S. Soccer Development Academy as a scout and other programming. Vanney was a member of the U.S. Soccer Education Staff that traveled to Spain in March 2010. Vanney was an Academy Director for

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake, often shortened to RSL, is an American professional soccer franchise based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes as a member club of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the Western Conference. RSL began play in 2 ...

from 2008 to 2011. Vanney and his staff, with the support of Grande Sports World and

, established the first

MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

Residential Academy in the United States in fewer than 8 months. The U-18 and U-16 boys teams began play in Fall 2010. Greg Vanney moved back to Arizona in 2008. For some time, he held two titles: (1.) Director of Soccer Operations at Grande Sports World in Casa Grande, Arizona and (2.) Director of the

-Arizona Youth Academy. As Director of Soccer Operations, Vanney oversaw program and event development at the Grande Sports World facility featuring 8 professional quality fields; state-of-the-art performance center with 4 stadium quality locker rooms; weight room, physical therapy and 16 classrooms. In the first year, Vanney has help attract four professional teams (

, Seattle Sounders FC,

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 1995, as part of the Anschutz Corporation, lat ...

, and

Vancouver Whitecaps FC Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Vancouver. They compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The MLS iteration of the club was established on March ...

) to the facility to host their preseason camps. In January 2011, Vanney joined

Chivas USA Chivas USA (pronounced ''CHEE-vahs'') was an American professional soccer team based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California. The club played from 2005 to 2014 in Major League Soccer (MLS) and was a subsidiary of Mexican club C.D. G ...

as an assistant coach.

Toronto FC

Vanney got his first head coaching job in Major League Soccer when he became the ninth head coach for

after

Ryan Nelsen Ryan William Nelsen (born 18 October 1977) is a former New Zealand professional football player and former head coach of Major League Soccer side Toronto FC. Nelsen commonly played as a defender, and his professional career began in 1995. He ...

was dismissed on August 31, 2014, with 10 games remaining in the 2014 regular season. He inherited a 9–9–6 record. In his debut match, Toronto lost 1–0 to the Philadelphia Union. His first win came in a match that finished 3–0 against

. He finished off the 2014 season in seventh place in the Eastern Conference with a record of two wins, six losses and two ties. Toronto were eliminated from the Canadian Championship during the 2015 season, although they qualified for the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eit ...

for the first time that season, after finishing sixth in the Eastern Conference. The club's

rivals A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant ...

Montreal Impact eliminated Toronto in the knockout round. During the 2016 season, Toronto won the Canadian Championship and qualified for the playoffs after finishing in third place in the Eastern Conference. They got to the MLS Cup final where they lost in shoot-out 5–4 to

Seattle Sounders Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club was established on November 13, 2007, and began ...

following a goalless draw after extra-time. The arrival of Spanish playmaker Victor Vázquez in midfield at the beginning of the 2017 season saw less responsibility placed on the club's star forward Sebastian Giovinco and captain Michael Bradley to create Toronto's goalscoring opportunities, and this in turn freed up the Italian, enabling him to focus more on his attacking game; furthermore, Greg Vanney's switch in tactics from a

4–4–2 In association football, the formation of a team refers to the position players take in relation to each other on a pitch. As association football is a fluid and fast-moving game, a player's position (with the exception of the goalkeeper) in a ...

diamond Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, ...

to a 3–5–2 formation benefitted Giovinco's and

Jozy Altidore Josmer Volmy "Jozy" Altidore ( ; born November 6, 1989) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a striker for Major League Soccer club New England Revolution. Altidore made his professional debut in 2006, at the age of 16, with ...

's attacking partnership: by playing closer together, and with Vázquez now supporting them as the team's main creator, the attacking duo began to demonstrate a deeper understanding and an increased awareness of each other's movements, which improved their link-up play, and saw an increase in Altidore's goalscoring output throughout the season. On June 27, Toronto defeated Montreal 2–1 at home in the second leg of the

2017 Canadian Championship The 2017 Canadian Championship was a soccer tournament hosted and organized by the Canadian Soccer Association. It was the tenth edition of the annual Canadian Championship. The 2017 edition saw the introduction of a rule that required three pla ...

final to capture the title for the second consecutive season, edging Montreal 3–2 on aggregate. On September 30, 2017, Toronto FC captured the Supporters' Shield with a 4–2 home win over

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The club was established in October 1994 and be ...

, to clinch top of the league with the most points that season. On November 27, 2017, Vanney won the

MLS Coach of the Year The Sigi Schmid Coach of the Year Award is given by Major League Soccer to the best coach in any given season. The award has been given since the league's inception in 1996 and is determined by a vote from players, club personnel, and members of th ...

award. On December 9, 2017, Vanney led Toronto FC to

victory in a 2–0 victory against Seattle. Greg Vanney was also named CONCACAF Coach of the Year. Following an early round play-off elimination, Vanney resigned as coach of Toronto FC on December 1, 2020.

LA Galaxy

In January 2021, Vanney was named as head coach of the LA Galaxy, his former club, where he played for seven seasons. After narrowly missing the playoffs in 2021, Vanney's Galaxy finished fourth in the Western Conference (ninth overall) in the 2022 season, the highest positions for the club since 2016. LA beat Nashville 1–0 in the first round, but fell to rivals Los Angeles FC 3–2 in the conference semifinals.

Personal life

Vanney is the uncle of LA Galaxy defender

Eriq Zavaleta Eriq Anthony Zavaleta (born August 2, 1992) is a professional footballer who plays as a center-back for Major League Soccer club LA Galaxy. Born in the United States, he represents the El Salvador national team. Youth and college Zavaleta p ...

Broadcasting

In 2009, Greg Vanney provided color commentary with play-by-play announcer

Kevin Calabro Kevin Paul Calabro (born June 27, 1956) is an American sportscaster based in Seattle, Washington. The longtime voice of the former Seattle SuperSonics NBA franchise, Calabro has primarily called NBA basketball but has also announced collegiate fo ...

for Seattle Sounders FC games on FSN Northwest and

KONG-TV KONG (channel 16) is an independent television station licensed to Everett, Washington, United States, serving the Seattle area. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside NBC affiliate KING-TV (channel 5). Both stations share studios at the Home Pla ...

and radio.

Other

Vanney participates on the U.S. Soccer Professional Referee Committee as well as being a representative on the U.S. Soccer Athlete's Council.

Coaching statistics

Honors

Player

International

;United States *

CONCACAF Gold Cup The CONCACAF Gold Cup ( es, Copa de Oro de la CONCACAF, french: Coupe D'or CONCACAF) is the main association football competition of the men's national football teams governed by CONCACAF, determining the continental champion of North Ameri ...

: 2005

Club

;Los Angeles Galaxy * Supporters' Shield:

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

* CONCACAF Champions' Cup:

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

* U.S. Open Cup: 2001 * Western Conference (playoffs) (3): 1996, 1999, 2001 ;D.C. United * Supporters' Shield: 2007

Individual

: 2000, 2001

Coach

Toronto FC

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

* Eastern Conference (Playoffs):

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

* Canadian Championship:

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

* Supporters' Shield:

* Trillium Cup: 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019

Individual

: 2017 *

CONCACAF The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football,, ; french: Confédération de football d'Amérique du Nord, d'Amérique centrale et des Caraïbes, . Dutch language, Dutch uses the English name. abbreviated as CON ...

Coach of the Year:

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vanney, Greg 1974 births 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup players American expatriate sportspeople in France American expatriate soccer players American soccer coaches American soccer players Association football defenders Chivas USA non-playing staff Colorado Rapids players CONCACAF Gold Cup-winning players D.C. United players Expatriate footballers in France Expatriate soccer managers in Canada FC Dallas players FIU Panthers men's soccer players LA Galaxy draft picks LA Galaxy non-playing staff LA Galaxy players Ligue 1 players Living people Major League Soccer broadcasters Major League Soccer players Major League Soccer All-Stars People from South Boston, Virginia Real Salt Lake non-playing staff Soccer players from Virginia Soccer players from Arizona Sacramento Scorpions players SC Bastia players Sportspeople from Tempe, Arizona Toronto FC coaches UCLA Bruins men's soccer players United States men's international soccer players USISL Select League players