| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Thomas Dennis Dooley | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1961-05-12)May 12, 1961 (age 64) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Bechhofen,West Germany | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Defensive midfielder | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Current team | The Cong-Viettel (technical director) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| –1979 | TuS Eintracht 1912 Bechhofen | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1979–1981 | TuS Landstuhl | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1981–1983 | FK Pirmasens | 40 | (17) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1983–1988 | FC Homburg | 121 | (20) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1988–1993 | 1. FC Kaiserslautern | 128 | (14) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1994–1995 | Bayer Leverkusen | 21 | (3) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1995–1997 | Schalke 04 | 28 | (3) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1997–2000 | Columbus Crew | 73 | (7) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2000–2001 | MetroStars | 22 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 433 | (64) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1992–1999 | United States | 81 | (7) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2002–2003 | 1. FC Saarbrücken | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2014 | United States (assistant)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2014–2018 | Philippines | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019–2020 | Viettel (sporting director) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021 | Sri Pahang | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022 | Philippines | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023–2024 | The Cong-Viettel FC | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2025– | Guyana | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Thomas Dennis Dooley (born May 12, 1961) is a formersoccer player and coach. He played as adefender anddefensive midfielder and was a long-time member and former captain of theUnited States national team. Dooley currently is the technical director ofThe Cong-Viettel, playing inV.League 1.
Dooley was born inBechhofen, West Germany to a German mother and a father who served in theU.S. Army.[2]
Dooley played as a forward with amateur teamFK Pirmasens. He started his professional career in 1984 with third division clubFC Homburg. He moved to midfield with Homburg and helped the team move steadily up the German leagues, until they finally reached theBundesliga.[3]
He moved to1. FC Kaiserslautern in 1988 and helped them to theGerman Cup in 1990 and the Bundesliga title in 1991. He also played as they won the1991 DFB-Supercup.[4] After the 1994 World Cup, he moved toBayer Leverkusen, and toSchalke 04 a year after that, helping them to the1997 UEFA Cup title.
At the end of the season, he moved toMajor League Soccer (MLS), signing with theColumbus Crew. Dooley spent three seasons in Columbus and was named to theMLS Best XI in both 1997 and 1998. In 2000, Thomas was traded to theMetroStars forMike Duhaney, partially to help supportLothar Matthäus' adjustment to the United States. Dooley played one year for the Metros before retiring from playing football/soccer.
As U.S. Soccer started to look abroad for players eligible to play for its national team in advance of its hosting the1994 FIFA World Cup, Dooley was discovered. He made his first international appearance on May 30, 1992, againstIreland. Dooley became a regular for the U.S. almost immediately, being namedU.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year in 1993 and then playing every minute at the 1994 World Cup, including the match againstColombia which the U.S. won 2–1. AfterJohn Harkes was dismissed from the U.S. national team, Dooley was named captain for the1998 World Cup, and started every game for the U.S.[5]
On February 21, 1999, Dooley was given a send-off match by the United States in a friendly againstChile.[6] He ended his international career with 81 caps and seven goals.[2]
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | June 9, 1993 | Foxborough, Massachusetts |  England | 1–0 | 2–0 | Friendly (1993 U.S. Cup) |
| 2 | June 13, 1993 | Chicago, Illinois |  Germany | 1–1 | 3–4 | Friendly (1993 U.S. Cup) |
| 3 | 3–4 | |||||
| 4 | July 14, 1993 | Dallas, Texas |  Panama | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1993 CONCACAF Gold Cup |
| 5 | June 18, 1995 | Washington, D.C. |  Mexico | 2–0 | 4–0 | Friendly |
| 6 | June 16, 1996 | Pasadena, California | Mexico | 2–2 | 2–2 | Friendly |
| 7 | November 10, 1996 | Richmond, Virginia |  Trinidad and Tobago | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1998 FIFA World Cup Qualifying |
After retiring, Dooley went back to Germany and became the head coach ofFC Saarbrücken in 2002, becoming the first American to coach a team in Europe.
Dooley was appointed byU.S. national team coachJürgen Klinsmann to be an assistant coach in the match against Mexico on August 10, 2011.[1]
In February 2014, Dooley signed a one-year deal with thePhilippine Football Federation to handle the Philippines national team.[7] His first match was a friendly againstMalaysia which ended 0–0,[8] and a few days later, narrowly lost to European sideAzerbaijan 1–0.[9] Dooley earned his first win for the Philippines after his charges defeatedNepal 3–0 in another friendly match in Qatar.[10]
Dooley earned national team coachDan Palami's praise after his first few matches in charge. Palami commended Dooley's ability to foster a better understanding of the game to his squad and give subs and reserves chances to step up in the absence of star players. "Our players have a better understanding of the role they have to play in their respective positions under Dooley's system that anyone can step up even if we don't have our stars playing," Palami said.[11]
The Philippine national team came close to qualifying to the2015 AFC Asian Cup. They failed to qualify after they lost 0–1 to Palestine in the final of the2014 AFC Challenge Cup.[12] Two months after the tournament,Stephan Schröck andDennis Cagara resigned from the national team over tensions with Dooley.[13] Schröck had disagreement with the setup of the national team under Dooley but has made amends with the coach in 2015 and briefly played once again for the Philippines though undisclosed issues surfaced in 2016.[14]
In his first match coaching the Philippines in aWorld Cup qualifier, Dooley's team defeated Bahrain 2–1.[15] After an impressive run in qualifying that included a 3–2 win overNorth Korea that was considered an upset, Dooley's contract was extended for two years.[16]
Dooley failed to get the Philippines past the group stage at the2016 AFF Championship, which the Philippines co-hosted with Myanmar. He managed to secure qualification for the Philippines for their first Asian Cup stint in the 2019 by winning 2–1 over Tajikistan in March 2018.[17] The coach's contract with the Philippines ended on March 31, 2018[18] after the historic match.[19][13] Dooley's contract was not renewed and the PFF announcedTerry Butcher as his successor in June 2018.[20]
In 2019, Dooley was appointed as sporting director ofV.League 1 clubViettel.[21][22] During his tenure, Viettel won the2020 V.League 1 title.
In January 2021, Dooley was appointed as head coach ofMalaysia Super League clubSri Pahang, replacingDollah Salleh.[23] Three months after his appointment, Dooley was sacked by Sri Pahang together with his assistant coach,Christophe Gamel and was replaced by former head coach Dollah Salleh. After being sacked, he was immediately appointed as adviser of Sri Pahang U21 team while Gamel was appointed as head coach.[24][25]
In May 2022, Dooley was reappointed as head coach of the Philippines national team ahead of the third round of2023 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers, replacingScott Cooper.[26][27][28] He signed a short-term deal with an option to extend depending on the qualification of the Philippines to the2023 AFC Asian Cup.[29]
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | ||||
| 1.FC Saarbrücken | | 18 January 2002 | 30 June 2002 | 15 | 4 | 2 | 9 | 16 | 39 | −23 | 026.67 |
| Philippines |  | 3 February 2014 | 31 March 2018 | 42 | 18 | 11 | 13 | 63 | 53 | +10 | 042.86 |
| Sri Pahang |  | 3 January 2021 | 14 March 2021 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | −4 | 000.00 |
| Philippines | | 25 May 2022 | 15 June 2022 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | −3 | 033.33 |
| Viettel FC (Caretaker) |  | 18 December 2023 | 7 January 2024 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 7 | −6 | 000.00 |
| Career Total | 65 | 23 | 15 | 27 | 82 | 108 | −26 | 035.38 | |||
FC Homburg
1. FC Kaiserslautern
FC Schalke 04
Individual
Media related toThomas Dooley at Wikimedia Commons
| Sporting positions | ||
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| Preceded by | United States captain 1998 | Succeeded by |
United States squads | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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