Greg Vanney (born June 11, 1974) is an American former professional

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 and head coach of the

LA 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 ...

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 ...

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

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matc ...

, Vanney won the domestic treble by winning the

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 ...

, Supporters' Shield and the Canadian Championship.

Playing career

High school and college

Vanney played soccer for Marcos de Niza High School 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 for

Florida International University Florida International University (FIU) is a public research university with its main campus in Westchester, Florida, United States. Founded in 1965 by the Florida Legislature, the school opened to students in 1972. FIU is the third-largest univ ...

in 1992, and for

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

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 by 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 ...

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

USISL The United States Interregional Soccer League (USISL) was a semi-professional men's outdoor soccer league that played six seasons from 1989 to 1994. It was the first outdoor league to be operated by the organization known today as the United ...

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. The selection is determined by a collection of media, players, and MLS club technical staffs. Winners Appearances by player The following players ...

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. 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 (), also known in English language, English as the French Cup or less commonly as the France Cup, is the premier Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in French football organised by the French Football Fed ...

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 Association football, soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The franchise be ...

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

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

on January 12, 2007. On June 29, 2007, he was traded from the Rapids to D.C. United. 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 Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

, and played 36 games and scored one goal (September 2005). Vanney participated in three

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

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 Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

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 in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

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

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 co-founded Arizona Futbol Club, a youth soccer club, in 1997 using a business plan Vanney started as a class assignment while attending UCLA. The club was later merged into Sereno Soccer Club. 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 (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 ...

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 professional 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 sanctioned by the United ...

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 Casa Grande (O'odham language, O'odham: ''Wainom Wo:g'') is a city in Pinal County, Arizona, Pinal County, approximately halfway between Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona, Tucson, in the U.S. state of Arizona. According to the 2020 ...

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 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 ...

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 ...

, and

Vancouver Whitecaps FC Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Vancouver. The Whitecaps compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The MLS ite ...

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

Chivas USA Chivas USA (pronounced ''CHEE-vahs'') was an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The club competed in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conf ...

as an assistant coach.

Toronto FC

Vanney got his first head coaching job in

when he became the ninth head coach for

after Ryan Nelsen 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 The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the Union began ...

. 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 eithe ...

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 Social group, 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 ...

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

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

diamond Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Diamond is tasteless, odourless, strong, brittle solid, colourless in pure form, a poor conductor of e ...

to a 3–5–2 formation benefitted Giovinco's and Jozy Altidore'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 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 association football, 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 (MLS), Eastern Conferenc ...

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

, 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 Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Los Angeles. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. It was establi ...

3–2 in the conference semifinals. In 2024, Vanney led the Galaxy to its highest points total since 1998 (64, on par with the 2014 MLS Cup-winning side). The Galaxy would win MLS Cup against the

, 2-1, thus giving Vanney his second MLS Cup as a coach and the Galaxy's first in exactly 10 years.

Personal life

Vanney is the uncle of LA Galaxy defender Eriq Zavaleta.

Broadcasting

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

games on FSN Northwest and KONG-TV 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

Los Angeles Galaxy * Western Conference (Playoffs): 1996, 1999, 2001 * 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 Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

* U.S. Open Cup:

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 ...

CONCACAF Champions' Cup The CONCACAF Champions Cup, formerly known as CONCACAF Champions League (2008–2023), is an international association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for clubs from North America, Central America, a ...

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

D.C. United * Supporters' Shield:

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 ...

United States * CONCACAF Gold Cup:

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 ...

Individual *

MLS All-Star The Major League Soccer All-Star Game is an annual Association football, soccer game held by Major League Soccer featuring selected players from the league against an international club or selected players from another league. MLS initially ado ...

: 2000, 2001

Coach

Toronto FC *

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

* Eastern Conference (Playoffs):

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

* Supporters' Shield:

* Canadian Championship:

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

* Trillium Cup: 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019 LA Galaxy *

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

* Western Conference (Playoff):

Individual * MLS Coach of the Year: 2017 *

CONCACAF The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football, abbreviated as CONCACAF ( ; typeset for branding purposes since 2018 as Concacaf), is one of FIFA's six continental governing bodies for association football. Its 4 ...

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 men's soccer players American soccer coaches American men's soccer players Men's association football defenders Chivas USA non-playing staff Colorado Rapids players CONCACAF Gold Cup–winning players D.C. United players Expatriate men's footballers in France Expatriate soccer coaches 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 Sacramento Scorpions players SC Bastia players Sportspeople from Tempe, Arizona Soccer players from Maricopa County, Arizona Toronto FC head coaches UCLA Bruins men's soccer players United States men's international soccer players USISL Select League players CONCACAF Champions Cup–winning players 20th-century American sportsmen