Marco Ferruzzi (born October 15, 1970, in

San Antonio, Texas San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...

) is an 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 ...

coach and former professional player, who is currently director of methodology for

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 ...

. Ferruzzi had a ten-year professional career playing 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 ...

in several indoor and outdoor leagues including

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 ...

and the

USL First Division The USL First Division (USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It was organized by the United Soccer League as its premier league for men from 1996 to 2010, above the USL Second ...

Youth

In 1987, Ferruzzi played in one game for the U.S. U-16 national team at the

1987 FIFA U-16 World Championship The 1987 FIFA U-16 World Championship, the second edition of the tournament, was hosted by Canada and held in the cities of Montreal, Saint John, St. John's, and Toronto between 12 and 25 July 1987. Players born after 1 August 1970 could partici ...

In 1989, he entered the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

where he played on the men's soccer team from 1989 to 1992.

Professional

In 1990, Ferruzzi spent the collegiate off season with the San Antonio Generals in the

Southwest Independent Soccer League 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 ...

. In 1993, he turned professional when he signed with the San Antonio Pumas of the

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 ...

. He played for the Pumas through the 1995 season. In the fall of 1995, he signed with the

Tampa Bay Terror The Tampa Bay Terror is the name of an indoor soccer team based in the Tampa Bay, Florida area that competed in the defunct National Professional Soccer League (NPSL). The team existed for two seasons before folding: 1995–1996 and 1996–1997. ...

of the National Professional Soccer League. He spent only one season with the Terror before signing with the Tampa Bay Cyclones of the

in 1996. However, there are hints that he may have played for the Cyclones in 1995 as well. In February 1997, 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 ...

selected Ferruzzi in the first round (sixth overall) of the 1997 MLS Supplemental Draft. He spent the 1997 season in Tampa Bay, assisting on two goals in nineteen games. The Mutiny waived Ferruzzi on November 13, 1997. Ferruzzi returned to

the next year after 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 ...

picked him in the third round (30th overall) in the 1998 MLS Supplemental Draft. He never played for the team before being released but saw time in 19 games with the

Charleston Battery The Charleston Battery are an American professional association football, soccer club based in Charleston, South Carolina, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 1993, the Battery are the oldest continuously operating professional socc ...

in the

USL A-League The USL First Division (USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It was organized by the United Soccer League as its premier league for men from 1996 to 2010, above the USL Second Di ...

. In 1999, Ferruzzi signed with the

Richmond Kickers Richmond Kickers is an American professional soccer club based in Richmond, Virginia. The Kickers compete as a member of USL League One (USL1). The club was established in 1993, and began play that same year as a United States Interregional S ...

, also of the USL A-League. He played four seasons in Richmond, going to the 2002 A-League championship where the Kickers fell to the

Milwaukee Rampage The Milwaukee Rampage is a former professional United States, American soccer team, that was located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which played in the A-League (1995-2004), A-League. History Founded in 1993 by Milwaukee area businessmen Dan Doucette a ...

. On April 5, 2003, 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 ...

acquired Ferruzzi's rights from the

. He played two seasons in Minnesota and went to the finals again in 2003, this time falling to his former team, the

. That season, he was also named to the USL All Star team. Ferruzzi retired following the 2004 season.

Coaching and management

In 2004, the

Dallas Burn Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

hired Ferruzzi as an assistant coach. Over the years, his responsibilities have included evaluating prospective players, overseeing the reserve team, and assisting in first team practices. On May 21, 2008, he was named the interim head coach after the team fired head coach

Steve Morrow Stephen Joseph Morrow (born 2 July 1970) is a Northern Irish former professional footballer and manager. He was The Football Association's head of player selection and talent strategy until 2023. As a player he played most of his career at lef ...

. After

Schellas Hyndman Schellas Hyndman (born November 4, 1951) is a retired soccer coach. He was previously head coach of FC Dallas in Major League Soccer. Despite having a limited career as a professional athlete, Hyndman is one of the most successful college socc ...

was named head coach, Ferruzzi resumed his duties as an assistant. FC Dallas announced in January 2012 that Ferruzzi would add the duties of head coach of FC Dallas Reserves in addition to serving as senior team assistant coach. Ferruzzi continued to serve as an assistant coach under

Óscar Pareja Óscar Alexander Pareja Gómez (born 10 August 1968) is a Colombian Association football, professional football manager and former player. He is currently the head coach of Orlando City SC in Major League Soccer. Pareja is nicknamed ''El Genera ...

. After Pareja left, Ferruzzi became the director of soccer operations. Upon the firing of

Luchi Gonzalez Luis Aquilino Gonzalez (born July 14, 1980) is an American soccer coach and former player who was recently the head coach of San Jose Earthquakes in MLS. Youth and college Gonzalez was born in Hialeah, Florida, to a Peruvian father and an Amer ...

on September 19, 2021, Ferruzzi was once again named interim coach of FC Dallas. After the season, Ferruzzi was not made the permanent head coach but given a new role as director of methodology.

Coaching statistics

References

External links

FC Dallas Coaching Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferruzzi, Marcos 1970 births Living people American soccer coaches American men's soccer players Charleston Battery players FC Dallas head coaches American people of Italian descent LA Galaxy players Tampa Bay Cyclones players Major League Soccer players Major League Soccer head coaches Minnesota Thunder players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players North Carolina Tar Heels men's soccer players Richmond Kickers players San Antonio Pumas players Tampa Bay Terror players Tampa Bay Mutiny players USISL players United States men's youth international soccer players Tampa Bay Mutiny draft picks LA Galaxy draft picks USL Second Division players USISL Select League players A-League (1995–2004) players FC Dallas non-playing staff Men's association football midfielders 20th-century American sportsmen