Crew technical director Brian Bliss has been named to the U.S. Under-20 Men’s National Team coaching staff by head coach Tab Ramos. The squad has convened in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., for a training camp that will run through Jan. 9, as preparations begin in earnest for the CONCACAF qualifying cycle that will precede the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Turkey.
Bliss retains his position with the Crew and will rendez vous with the Crew’s coaching staff at the MLS Combine in Ft. Lauderdale from Jan. 6-10 before accompanying it to Kansas City for the 2012 MLS SuperDraft on Jan. 12.
Bliss earned 33 caps with the U.S. National Team from 1984-95, during which he was a member of the historic 1990 U.S. World Cup team and 1995 Copa America squad. He also represented his country at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul.
“Having played for the national team, it is an honor to be asked to return and contribute in another way,” Bliss said. “Being involved with the national team program is always exciting and I’m really looking forward to the opportunity.”
Bliss holds a U.S. Soccer Federation ‘A’ Coaching License. His most recent coaching experience has come with Crew youth teams, having coached the Crew Juniors U-20s to back-to-back USL Super-20 National Championships (2010, 2011) and the U-19s to a USYS National Championship in 2010.
He previously served as an assistant coach for the Kansas City Wizards from 2000-06 and as interim head coach in 2006. He began his coaching career in 1999, after retiring as a player, as head coach of the Connecticut Wolves of the A-League. He was named the Crew’s first-ever technical director in January 2008.
