Jason Kreis

Jason Kreis

Kreis during his time with Real Salt Lake
Personal information
Full name	Jason Clarence Kreis
Date of birth	(1972-12-29) December 29, 1972
Place of birth	Omaha, Nebraska, United States
Height	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Playing position	Midfielder/Forward
Club information
Current club	New York City FC (head coach)
Youth career
1991–1994	Duke Blue Devils
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1993	Raleigh Express
1994	New Orleans Storm
1995	Raleigh Express		(10)
1996–2004	Dallas Burn	247	(91)
2005–2007	Real Salt Lake	58	(17)
Total		305	(108)
National team
1996–2000	United States	14	(1)
Teams managed
2007–2013	Real Salt Lake
2015–	New York City FC
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Jason Clarence Kreis (born December 29, 1972) is an American soccer manager and former player. He is currently the head coach of New York City FC in Major League Soccer, a team which will begin play in the 2015 MLS season. Prior to joining New York City FC, Kreis was the head coach at Real Salt Lake.

Kreis spent the majority of his playing career in MLS in the United States, initially with FC Dallas, and latterly with Real Salt Lake. In total he made over 300 professional appearances, was Major League Soccer MVP in 1999, and is currently the third highest scorer in MLS regular season history. He also earned fourteen caps for the United States.

Early life

Kreis played for the Gladiator Soccer Club in his hometown of Omaha, where his parents were among the pioneers who established this first premier/select club within the state. As a freshman at Burke High School in Omaha, Kreis was selected First Team All-State.^[1] He remains the only freshman selected to the first team. Following his freshman year, Kreis and his family moved to Mandeville, Louisiana, where he led Mandeville High School to several Class 5A state soccer tournaments, but never won a state title, losing to Lafayette High in the quarterfinals his senior year. While at Mandeville, he was also a standout performer for the Baton Rouge United Jags, a U-19 Select team that finished as national runner-up in 1991 and won the prestigious Capital Cup tournament in Washington, D.C. He played collegiately at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.

Club career

Minor leagues

In 1993, Kreis played during the summer for the Raleigh Flyers of the USISL.^[2] In the summer of 1994, he returned to Louisiana to play for the New Orleans Riverboat Gamblers, also of the USISL.^[3] After finishing his collegiate eligibility in 1994, Kreis signed his first professional contract with the Raleigh Flyers in the spring of 1995.

FC Dallas

On August 1, 1995, Kreis signed a contract with Major League Soccer as the league prepared for its inaugural season.^[4] Kreis was drafted forty-third overall by the FC Dallas in the fifth round of the MLS Inaugural Draft. He scored the first goal in Burn history. In 1999, Kreis was the first American-born player to be named league MVP after he led the league in points and goals, and also registered the first 15-goal, 15-assist season in league history. The five-time all-star led his team in goals five times and in points four times.

On June 26, 2004, Kreis scored his eighty-ninth league goal against DC United, moving past Roy Lassiter to the top of the league's all-time goal-scoring chart. Kreis remained the all time goalscoring leader for more than three years until Jaime Moreno surpassed his record on August 22, 2007. He ended his ninth MLS season with career totals of 91 goals and 65 assists for 247 points, plus added four goals and two assists in the playoffs.

Real Salt Lake

On November 17, 2004, Kreis was traded to Real Salt Lake, becoming the first player in the club's history. He left Dallas as the franchise's all-time leader in games played (247), goals (91), assists (65), and points (247). Kreis scored the first goal in Salt Lake's history in its second match, a 3–1 loss to the Los Angeles Galaxy. In doing so, he became the first player in league history to do so for two different teams, as he scored the inaugural goal for Dallas in 1996 as well. On August 13, 2005, he became the first player in MLS history to score 100 career league goals. He retired as a player early in the 2007 season, finishing with 108 career goals.

International career

With only 14 international appearances, Kreis was never able to translate his club success into one with the U.S. national team. He received his first cap on August 30, 1996, against El Salvador. Kreis scored his only international goal on September 8, 1999 in a 2-2 draw against Jamaica.^[5]

International goals

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	September 8, 1999	National Stadium, Kingston, Jamaica	Jamaica	1 – 0	2 – 2	Friendly

Coaching career

Real Salt Lake

On May 3, 2007 Kreis retired from professional competition and was announced as the new head coach of Real Salt Lake, retiring as a player and taking over the coaching reins from John Ellinger.^[6] At the time of his hire, Kreis became the youngest active head coach in MLS at 34 years and 127 days. He led Real Salt Lake to its first-post season playoff appearance in 2008 and in 2009 he coached the team to its first MLS Cup championship. Kreis is the youngest coach in MLS history to win the MLS Cup. Following the 2009 MLS Cup win, Kreis would lead Real Salt Lake to playoff appearances in every subsequent season through 2013, including an appearance in the 2013 MLS Cup, which RSL lost to Sporting Kansas City in dramatic fashion on penalty kicks. Kreis also guided Real Salt Lake to the CONCACAF Champions League knockout round in the 2010-11 season by winning Group A.

Real Salt Lake signed Kreis to a contract extension on March 24, 2011 that kept him at the RSL helm through the 2013 season, after which he left RSL to become head coach of New York City FC. Real Salt Lake has retired Kreis' number 9 jersey from his playing days.^[7]

New York City FC

On December 11, 2013, Kreis was announced as the first head coach of New York City FC, having reached the end of his contract at Real Salt Lake and declining an extension offer from RSL so he could take the New York City FC position.^[8] The move came just four days after he missed out on lifting his second MLS Cup with the Utah team, losing on penalty kicks to Sporting Kansas City. It was revealed in the announcement that his contract, starting on January 1, 2014, would see him begin by travelling to Manchester in England to familiarise himself with the set-up of franchise-owners Manchester City.^[8]

Coaching style

Kreis is known for his single-minded focus to soccer, admitting to being obsessive about game preparation. Real Salt Lake midfielder Kyle Beckerman said about him in a 2011 interview, "I don't think he watches other sports. He just met Jimmer Fredette^[9] the other day, and he didn't know who Jimmer was."^[10]

Career statistics

Club career statistics

Coaching record

As of July 5, 2013

• 1.^ Date hired.
• 2.^ Date fired or indication he is the current head coach.
• 3.^ Includes league, U.S. Open Cup, MLS Cup Playoffs and CONCACAF Champions League games.

See also

• List of current MLS coaches

References

External links

• MLS player profile