Ross Ongaro (born September 9, 1959) is a retired Canadian

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 earned one

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

each with the Canada U-20 men's national soccer team and Canadian Olympic soccer team. He played professionally in the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

, Major Indoor Soccer League,

Western Soccer Alliance The Western Soccer Alliance was a professional soccer league featuring teams from the West Coast of the United States and Western Canada. The league began in 1985 as the Western Alliance Challenge Series. In 1986, it became the Western Soccer ...

and

American Indoor Soccer Association American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

. He has coached extensively at the professional level and was the head coach of the Canadian Beach Soccer and Futsal Teams until September 2011. He has been hired by the Chinese Football Association to become their National Beach Soccer Head Coach.

Player

Professional

In 1980, Ongaro signed with the Edmonton Drillers in the North American Soccer League (NASL). In the fall of 1981, he moved to the Cleveland Force of the Major Indoor Soccer League where he played two seasons. In the summer of 1983, he played for the Edmonton Eagles of the Canadian Professional Soccer League. The Eagles went undefeated, winning the CPSL championship as Ongaro led the league in scoring. In the fall of 1983, he joined the Memphis Americans for the 1983–1984 MISL season. In the fall of 1984, he joined the

Milwaukee Wave The Milwaukee Wave are an American professional indoor soccer team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that competes in the Major Arena Soccer League (MASL). Founded in 1984, they have been the oldest continuously operating professional indoor footbal ...

of the

where he served as both an assistant coach and player. He was the league's second leading goal scorer and finished second on the points list during 1985–1986. In 1986, he played for the

Edmonton Brick Men The Edmonton Brick Men (also Edmonton Brickmen) were a Canadian soccer team in Edmonton, Alberta that competed in the Canadian Soccer League and the Western Soccer Alliance. During their time in the WSA and the CSL, the team played at both John ...

in the

National team

From 1977 to 1979, Ongaro played for the Canada U-20 men's national soccer team. He was on the roster of the team at the

1979 FIFA World Youth Championship The 1979 FIFA World Youth Championship, the second staging of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, FIFA World Youth Championship, was held in Japan from 26 August to 7 September 1979. It was the first FIFA tournament played in Asia. The tournament took place i ...

. Ongaro also played one Olympic qualifying match in 1979. He Started vs Bermuda in Ottawa.

Coach

His coaching experience began as a Player – Assistant Coach with the

(WSA/CSL) from 1985 to 1987. In 1990, he spent one season as head coach of the Brick Men. In 1996, the Chicago Power of the National Professional Soccer League came under new ownership which moved the team to Edmonton. The team was renamed the Edmonton Drillers and hired Ongaro as head coach. He was the 1997 and 1999 NPSL Coach of the Year. In 2004, he coached the Edmonton F.C. of 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 ...

. On August 14, 2003, Ongaro was named by the Canadian Soccer Association as head coach for the Canadian National

Futsal Futsal is a variant of association football played between two teams of five players each on a court smaller than a football pitch. Its rules are based on the Laws of the Game (association football), Laws of the Game of association football, and i ...

team. In his first competition he led the Canadian team to a bronze medal in the LA classic tournament. The first CONCACAF series of games under his tenure was a two-legged tie vs Panama, with the winner moving on to the CONCACAF Futsal Final Round. The CSA did not allow a home game. Canada had to play both games in Panama. After winning the first game 5–4 Panama defeated Canada in the second game and thus an 11:6 on aggregate (5–4, 1–7). Ongaro is now joining the Chinese Football Association as Head Coach of their Beach Soccer Team. He has led the Chinese Men's National team to a Silver Medal in the 2012 Asia Beach Games and a Gold Medal in the Gold Cup 2013. Every professional team Ongaro has coached has gone on to the play-offs. The Canadian National Beach team went on to finish 7 th in the 2006 World Cup in Brazil. In Three years as the Chinese National team Head coach he has moved the program from 80 th ranked to presently 20 th in the World. He has been rewarded with a new 2-year contract. He is the Only Canadian Coach in History to lead a National Soccer program and qualify for a World Cup Final 8 position at a Senior men's competition. Ross became a FIFA instructor after leading the Canadian National Beach Soccer team to a 7th place quarter-final finish in the 2006 World Cup in Brazil. He has represented Canada as a FIFA Instructor in 5 continents. He has also been on the FIFA World Cup Technical Study group for the 2008, 2009, 2011, 2015 and 2017. He has been the national coach for the Chinese Men's National Team for the past 5 years. He led them to a silver medal in the Asia Beach Games and a gold Medal in the Asia Cup competition. Both firsts for China at the men's level.

Personal

In 2019 his nephew, Easton Ongaro, was a professional soccer player as well.

References

External links

NASL/MISL stats
*
Inter SC profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ongaro, Ross 1959 births Living people National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players Canada men's youth international soccer players Canadian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Canadian expatriate men's soccer players Canadian Professional Soccer League (original) players Canadian soccer coaches Canadian Soccer League (1987–1992) players Canadian men's soccer players Cleveland Force (original MISL) players Edmonton Drillers (1979–1982) players Edmonton Eagles players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players Memphis Americans players Milwaukee Wave players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Soccer players from Edmonton USL First Division coaches Western Soccer Alliance players Men's association football forwards Futsal coaches 20th-century Canadian sportsmen