Manuel "Manny" Lagos (born June 11, 1971) 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 who played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. He is the former head coach of

Minnesota United FC Minnesota United Football Club, often shortened to MNUFC, is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the W ...

Club career

Early career

Born in St. Paul,

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

"Columbus sends draft pick to San Jose"
''ESPN'', January 13, 2004, retrieved December 30, 2007. Lagos played college soccer for the NCAA Division-I Milwaukee Panthers from 1990 to 1992,"Crew Acquires Midfielder Manny Lagos from San Jose for Draft Pick"
''Our Sports Central'', January 13, 2004, retrieved December 30, 2007. and was named an NSCAA First-Team All-American in 1991. During and after college, from 1990 to 1996, Manny played for his father with the

Minnesota Thunder Minnesota Thunder was an American professional association football, soccer team based in Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1990, the team played in the USL First Division (USL-1), the second tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2009. T ...

, first as an amateur and a founding member of the club, and later as a professional. Amidst his Thunder days, he also had short stints with Clermont Foot in the French Third Division, and in Spain's lower divisions with

Lleida Lleida (, ; ; '' see below'') is a city in the west of Catalonia, Spain. It is the capital and largest town in Segrià county, the Ponent region and the province of Lleida. Geographically, it is located in the Catalan Central Depression. It ...

. In 1994, the Thunder's last year as an all-amateur side, Lagos led the team through a near-perfect season and was awarded the USL MVP award, having scored 18 goals and 9 assists."2006 USL Hall of Fame Inductees Announced"
, ''USLsoccer.com'', October 25, 2006, retrieved December 30, 2007. Upon leaving the club for MLS in 1996, he was inducted into the Thunder Hall of Fame with career totals of 29 goals and 12 assists; his brother and teammate, Gerard Lagos (who played for the team from 1990 through 2001) is also an inductee."Thunder Hall of Fame"
, ''MNThunder.com'', 2002, retrieved December 30, 2007. In 2006, Manny was elected to the USL Hall of Fame.

MLS

In 1996, midway through the inaugural MLS season, Lagos was signed by the MetroStars. He impressed right away,MetroFanatic
"Obscure Metro Files: Manny Lagos and Ezra Hendrickson"
''Metrofanatic.com'', June 2, 2006, retrieved December 30, 2007. but his season was cut short after he tore his left-knee's ACL, MCL, and LCL in a single horrific injury just six games in. Lagos made a comeback in the next season, playing in 15 league matches, but still impaired and less effective than before. Frustrated with his injuries, the Metros exposed Manny in the 1997 MLS Expansion Draft, where he was taken by the Chicago Fire. Nowhere near fully recovered and considering retirement, he only played one game for 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 ...

champions in 1998, and went on to make only 9 appearances in 1999, always as a substitute, excluded from the first eleven due to his unreliable health and the Fire's surplus of attacking players."Manny Lagos"
, ''MLSnet.com'', retrieved December 30, 2007. Lagos' vagabond MLS career took him to the

Tampa Bay Mutiny The Tampa Bay Mutiny were an American professional soccer team based in Tampa, Florida. The club competed in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The Mutiny were a charter member of MLS, playing from 1996 to 2001. Th ...

with Ritchie Kotschau on August 2, 1999, part of a trade for Sam George and Paul Dougherty. He came back swinging, scoring 4 goals in 10 games and earning Player of the Week honors."Manny Lagos" (bio)
, ''MLSnet.com'', retrieved December 30, 2007. Lagos continued his momentum in 2000, when he scored 8 goals and added 7 assists in 1500 minutes, making him the league's tenth-place leader in points per game,"2000 MLS Regular Season Statistics"
, ''MLSnet.com'', 2000, retrieved December 30, 2007. but he would eventually request a trade for personal reasons, as his wife disliked Tampa and wished to pursue her law career elsewhere. He was dealt to 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 January 2001 on a draft-day trade for second-round and third-round picks,Page, Rodney
"Mutiny get help in front, back"
''St. Petersburg Times'', February 6, 2001, retrieved December 30, 2007. and played for the Earthquakes from 2001 through 2003, starting regularly in every season and winning MLS Cups in the bookend years. He enjoyed what was likely his best season in 2001, playing a key role in the Earthquakes' playoff run by adding 3 goals and 2 assists to regular season totals of 8 and 8.
''USA Today'', June 23, 2005, retrieved December 30, 2007. After his tenure with the 'Quakes, Lagos was traded to the

Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew are an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team began play in 1996 as one of the 10 cha ...

for a third-round draft pick, and was reunited there with long-time friend and youth soccer, college soccer, and Thunder teammate Tony Sanneh after Sanneh signed with the Crew late in 2004."Sanneh, Tony, Defender"
, ''Ussoccerplayers.com'', retrieved December 30, 2007. Manny played 18 games and scored 1 goal for the Crew that year, but never really recovered from the last of his many knee surgeries,Quarstad, Brian
"An interview with Manny Lagos"
''Blue Sky Soccer'', April 24, 2007, retrieved December 30, 2007. seeing his playing time dwindle to 5 appearances in 2005. He was waived by Columbus that May to make room for Chris Henderson"Columbus acquires veteran Henderson"
''ESPN'', May 26, 2005, retrieved December 30, 2007. and retired in June. In his nine years in MLS, Lagos scored 27 goals and added 36 assists, plus 4 goals and 4 assists in the postseason. Though right-footed, he spent much of his career on the left side of midfield. Noted for his gangly legs and long, awkward strides,Hipps, Jay

, ''Soccer Silicon Valley'', October 25, 2006, retrieved December 30, 2007. Lagos possessed an unusual style on the ball where his technical skill"MLS Notebook"
''CNNSI.com'', July 24, 2001, retrieved December 30, 2007. and knack for dribbling past opponents
''ESPN'', 2001, retrieved December 30, 2007. belied his superficially clumsy appearance.Ford, Dan

''Mathling.com'', 2002, retrieved December 30, 2007. He is remembered as a talented player who was dogged by knee injuries throughout his career.

International career

Lagos began his international career in the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994 ...

, when he scored the second goal in a 3–1 win over Kuwait, the team's only victory.Riding, Alan
"Kuwait Proves Friendly Despite Loss to Americans"
''New York Times'', July 28, 1992, retrieved December 30, 2007. His first full cap for the senior national team did not come until over nine years later, on December 9, 2001, against

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

. He earned three caps for the US from 2001 to 2003, scoring no goals."U.S. Men's National Team Player Registry"
, ''National Soccer Hall of Fame'', retrieved December 30, 2007.

Managerial career

In January 2006, Lagos was named the Director of Soccer Operations for the Minnesota Thunder.
, ''USLsoccer.com'', January 12, 2006, retrieved December 30, 2007. In this role, he has placed particular emphasis on youth development, community relations, and the team's stadium search. Manny has also done some sporadic work in broadcasting, serving as a color commentator for XM Radio during the 2006 World Cup. On February 10, 2010, Lagos was appointed as the head coach of newly expansion NSC Minnesota Stars following the implosion of the Thunder. Lagos led the Stars to victory in the 2011 NASL Soccer Bowl, and to a runner up finish in the 2012 Soccer Bowl. After a disappointing 2013 season at the helm of the rebranded

, Lagos led the Loons to the spring and regular season titles in 2014. He was named the NASL Coach of the Year in 2011 and in 2014, the only coach to have won the award twice. At the conclusion of the 2014 season and the firing of

Tampa Bay Rowdies The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Championship in the second tie ...

coach Ricky Hill, Lagos became the longest tenured coach in the NASL. In five seasons with Minnesota, Lagos has a coaching record of 54-47-38 (W-L-D). Upon the move of

to MLS, he transitioned to a role as Sporting Director of the club.

Personal life

He is the son of

Buzz Lagos Buzz Lagos is the former head coach of the Minnesota Thunder. Until he retired in 2005, he was the only coach in team history. He coached the Thunder for 16 years with an impressive overall record of 324-148-46, and led the team to four A-league C ...

, an American soccer coach at both the college and professional levels, and the youngest of eight children.Mahoney, Ridge
"Back on the right foot"
PDF), ''Soccer America'', October 1, 2001, retrieved December 30, 2007.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lagos, Manny 1971 births Living people American men's soccer players American expatriate men's soccer players United States men's international soccer players New York Red Bulls players Chicago Fire FC players Tampa Bay Mutiny players San Jose Earthquakes players Columbus Crew players Olympic soccer players for the United States Footballers at the 1992 Summer Olympics 2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup players CONCACAF Gold Cup–winning players UE Lleida players Clermont Foot players USISL players Minnesota Thunder players Milwaukee Panthers men's soccer players Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in France Soccer players from Saint Paul, Minnesota Major League Soccer players Major League Soccer All-Stars United States men's under-23 international soccer players North American Soccer League (2011–2017) coaches Men's association football midfielders Minnesota United FC head coaches Minnesota United FC non-playing staff All-American college men's soccer players American soccer coaches Footballers at the 1991 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1991 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in football 20th-century American sportsmen