The New England Revolution announced Thursday that Curt Onalfo has been named sporting director.
Onalfo joined the Revolution in 2019 as technical director and became interim sporting director on Aug. 11 when former head coach and sporting director Bruce Arena was put under MLS investigation for “inappropriate and insensitive remarks.” Arena resigned on Sep. 9.
The Revolution ultimately fell from second place in the Eastern Conference to a first round exit in the MLS Playoffs.
Onalfo played under Arena in college and in the MLS, and he coached under Arena at the L.A. Galaxy and with the U.S. national team.
During his time as New England technical director, he oversaw Revolution II and the Revolution Academy, which produced 29 homegrown players who made their debuts for the club’s second team. The 2023 first team roster included five homegrown players. The Revolution Academy’s U19 squad are two-time defending champions of the MLS NEXT Cup.
“I am grateful to the Kraft family and Brian Bilello for the trust they have put in me to guide this proud and historic MLS club into a new era of success on the field,” Onalfo said in a statement. “Since I joined this club in 2019, I have dedicated myself fully to enhancing the club through every avenue available and will continue to commit all of my focus into building a winning on-field product for the Revolution and all of our supporters.”
New England has said they would hire a sporting director before a head coach so the sporting director could have control over the head coach hiring process. Richie Williams and Clint Peay both served as interim coaches after Arena’s departure.
The MLS deadline for exercising player contract options is Dec. 1. Multiple players, including designated player Gustavo Bou, are out of contract. Among the Revolution’s moves this week was exercising Argentinian forward Tomas Chancalay’s loan option and making him a designated player on a four-year contract.
99.7 WPRO’s Tommy Quinlan reported that Ricardo Moreira, assistant GM for Orlando City, and Les Ferdinand, former QPR manager, also interviewed for the job. This will be Onalfo’s first time holding the sporting director position. He has four previous stints as an MLS head coach, for D.C. United (2001, 2010), Sporting K.C. (2007-09) and L.A. Galaxy (2017).
“Curt has done an outstanding job playing a leading role in our sporting operations for the last five seasons, helping rebuild the Revolution into a trophy contender at every level of our program from the first team through the academy,” Revolution President Brian Bilello said in a statement. “The passion, energy and expertise Curt brings to the organization, all demonstrated throughout his time with the club, make him the right person to lead our sporting operation moving forward as we continue building toward our ultimate goal of delivering trophies to our fans.”
