Soehn Being Considered For Vancouver Job

Vancouver Whitecaps officials reportedly held a meeting with Tom Soehn last week, raising the possibility that the former D.C. United skipper could find himself employed by the soon-to-be expansion franchise by the end of the year, according to a report in The Province. The report suggests Soehn is being considered for the role of technical director for the Whitecaps, who will join Major League Soccer for the start of the 2011 season. Vancouver officials have stated that they would like the position to be filled by the end of the year.


Soehn, 43, took the reins of Major League Soccer's most successful franchise in December 2006, guiding the club to the Supporters Shield in his first year in charge. However, D.C. was disappointingly eliminated in the first round of the 2007 MLS Cup playoffs by the Chicago Fire and failed to make the playoffs altogether in both '08 and '09. It wasn't all disappointing in Soehn's three-year run as head coach, though, as United claimed the 2008 U.S. Open Cup and made it to the tournament's final in this past season as well. He ended his tenure in the nation's capital with a 36-30-24 record.

Soehn's name has also been bandied about in connection with several of the current head coaching openings in MLS, most prominently the Chicago Fire, where Soehn played from 1998-2000 and then was an assistant coach from 2001-2003. He is reportedly also under consideration for the job in New York, though team officials are thought to be looking more for a big-name foreign coach to turn the Red Bulls around.