Craig Waibel (born August 21, 1975, in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

) is a former American

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player who spent eleven seasons in

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

. He was hired as the

sporting director A sporting director, or director of sport, is an executive management position in a sports club. The role is well known as a manager role for European football clubs, which are sometime also "sports clubs", offering many types of sports. The ...

Seattle Sounders FC Seattle Sounders FC is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The club was established on ...

in April 2021 and became their

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

in 2022.

Playing career

Amateur and college

Waibel was born in

, and spent several years in

Coeur d'Alene, Idaho Coeur d'Alene ( ; ) is a city and the county seat of Kootenai County, Idaho, United States. It is the most populous city in North Idaho and the principal city of the Coeur d'Alene Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 54,628 at th ...

, before his family moved to

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south o ...

. There, he played for a youth team that traveled to statewide competitions and later Lewis and Clark High School, where Waibel graduated in 1994. During his senior year at Lewis and Clark, he chose to play college soccer at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

ahead of several other college programs in the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...

. Waibel played for four years with the

Washington Huskies The Washington Huskies are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Washington, located in Seattle. The school competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) N ...

and captained them for two seasons as the team made consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. He scored his first collegiate goal from a

penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

in a 1998 Nike Classic match against the

Wisconsin Badgers The Wisconsin Badgers are the College athletics in the United States, athletic teams representing the University of Wisconsin–Madison. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I ...

, which the Huskies won 5–1. In 1996, Waibel was injured playing for the Spokane Shadow in the USISL Premier League, forcing him to miss his junior college season. Despite that setback, Waibel continued to play for the Shadow in 1997 and 1998.

Professional

Upon graduating, Waibel was not selected in the 1999 MLS College Draft. The Seattle Sounders picked him 17th overall in the 1999

A-League A-League Men, also known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional soccer league in Australia and New Zealand and the highest level of the Australian soccer league system. Established in 2004 as the A-League by the ...

draft. He earned a brief call up to the

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

in the early part of the 2000 season, but played 27 matches for the Sounders, scoring three goals. Waibel was selected by the

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional association football, soccer club based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Origin ...

in the

2001 MLS SuperDraft The 2001 Major League Soccer MLS SuperDraft, SuperDraft was held on February 5, 2001, at the Signature Grand in Davie, Florida. Player selection ;Key Round 1 Round 1 trades Round 2 Round 2 trades Round 3 Round 3 t ...

with the 31st overall pick but then waived a month later. The

Los Angeles Galaxy The Los Angeles Galaxy are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Gal ...

signed him soon after as a discovery player. Waibel was part of the Galaxy's run to win the 2002 MLS Cup, making 12 appearances for the eventual champions. In addition to playing for the Galaxy, Waibel went on loan to the Sounders in both 2001 and 2002. The following year, Waibel was waived by the Galaxy and was selected again by the San Jose Earthquakes in the 2002 Waiver Draft. He won his second straight MLS Cup in 2003, this time with the Quakes. For the 2004 season, Waibel stayed with the Earthquakes and scored his first professional goal, as well as a goal in the 2004 MLS Cup Playoffs. His 2005 season was cut short after knee injury he picked up against

Santa Clara University Santa Clara University is a private university, private Jesuit university in Santa Clara, California, United States. Established in 1851, Santa Clara University is the oldest operating institution of higher learning in California. The university' ...

in an exhibition game. The Earthquakes relocated and became the

Houston Dynamo Houston Dynamo Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Houston. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Established on December 15, 2005, the club was founded after their fo ...

before the 2006 season. During the season, Waibel made 28 appearances and scored a career-high five goals. Waibel notched his first career two-goal game in the October 14 season finale against Colorado. Waibel became a fan-favorite player for the Houston Dynamo also starting the 'Waibel's Warriors' charity group to benefit local foundations. With four championships, Wabiel is tied fifth among players for the most MLS Cups won. In July 2010, Waibel was released by the Dynamo.

Coaching and administration career

Waibel served as an assistant coach for the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

in 2011. He was then announced as an assistant coach for the Washington Huskies men's soccer program for the 2012 season. After serving as an assistant coach for

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake (RSL) is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Fou ...

during the 2014 season he was promoted to technical director for the 2015 season. In August 2015, he was promoted to general manager for the club. In September 2019, Real Salt Lake and Waibel parted ways. On April 1, 2021,

announced their hiring of Waibel as

, working alongside former Real Salt Lake general manager Garth Lagerwey. He was reunited with his former youth coach

Brian Schmetzer Brian Thomas Schmetzer (born August 18, 1962) is an American soccer coach and former professional player. He is the head coach of Seattle Sounders FC of Major League Soccer (MLS), having been assistant coach for the team until Sigi Schmid's depa ...

, now head coach of the Sounders. After Lagerwey left for

Atlanta United FC Atlanta United FC is an American professional soccer club based in Atlanta. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Domestically, the club has won one MLS Cup, one U.S. Open Cup, and one Eastern ...

, the Sounders appointed Waibel as general manager on November 30, 2022.

Personal life

Waibel's twin brother, Chad, is an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

coach in

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

. His older brother

Mario Mario (; ) is a Character (arts), character created by the Japanese game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the star of the ''Mario (franchise), Mario'' franchise, a recurring character in the ''Donkey Kong'' franchise, and the mascot of the Ja ...

was a professional

lacrosse Lacrosse is a contact team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game w ...

player and later coach.

Honors

;Los Angeles Galaxy * Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup (1):

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

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

(1):

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

Supporters' Shield The Supporters' Shield is an annual award given to the Major League Soccer team with the best regular season record, as determined by the MLS points system. The Supporters' Shield has been annually awarded at the MLS Supporters' Summit since 199 ...

(1):

* Western Conference Championship (1):

;San Jose Earthquakes *MLS Cup (1):

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

*Supporters' Shield (1):

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

*Western Conference Championship (1):

;Houston Dynamo *MLS Cup (2):

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

*Western Conference Championship (2):

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Waibel, Craig 1975 births Living people American men's soccer players American soccer coaches Soccer players from Portland, Oregon Spokane Shadow players Colorado Rapids players LA Galaxy players San Jose Earthquakes players Houston Dynamo FC players Seattle Sounders (1994–2008) players A-League (1995–2004) players Major League Soccer executives Major League Soccer players University of Washington alumni Washington Huskies men's soccer players San Jose Earthquakes draft picks Men's association football defenders Seattle Sounders FC non-playing staff 20th-century American sportsmen