MetroStars President and General Manager Alexi Lalas named Mo Johnston Head Coach today. Johnston has served as the team's First Assistant Coach since 2003, and was the club's interim Head Coach for the final five games (three regular season, two playoff) of the 2005 season after Bob Bradley was relieved of his head coaching duties on Tuesday, October 4.
"Maurice has been a revelation, on and off the field," said Lalas. "We've had a diamond in the rough and in the last month that diamond has started to shine. I'm excited to see Maurice guide a MetroStars team of his own making and I expect it to be entertaining and successful throughout the year. The fact that he's a fellow redhead only made my decision easier, I've been saying for years that we don't have enough of the mutant gene in MLS."
After taking over the MetroStars on October 4, Johnston led the team to a record of 2-0-1 over the team's final three regular season games. Johnston began his tenure with a 2-2 draw in Chicago, followed that up with a 2-1 victory over DC United at RFK Stadium and guided the club to a playoff-clinching 2-0 defeat of Chivas USA in the regular season finale. This record was good enough to earn the "Red and Black" the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, where they eventually fell to the number one seeded New England Revolution, 3-2, on aggregate.
Johnston, 40, retired from playing professionally in 2001 following six seasons in Major League Soccer, earning three MLS All-Star selections as a member of the Kansas City Wizards. Prior to joining MLS, Johnston played 15 seasons in Europe, scoring 310 goals in 529 games for Scottish clubs such as Partick Thistle, Hearts of Midlothian, Falkirk, Celtic and Rangers, as well as Watford (England), Everton (England) and Nantes (France).
"I am thrilled that my first head coaching job can come here in Major League Soccer with the MetroStars," said MetroStars head coach Mo Johnston. "Working with Alexi and moving into the new stadium in 2007, certainly make this job the best in MLS, and I am honored that I have been given this opportunity. Now, I am excited about getting to work to bring our great fans the championship that they want so badly."
Born in Glasgow, Scotland, the forward/midfielder also earned 30 caps with 15 goals in an international career that included the 1990 World Cup in Italy. Johnston scored six goals in eight games in helping his native Scotland qualify for the '90 World Cup.
In 1989, he returned to Scottish soccer from France to play for Rangers, becoming the first Catholic since World War II to play for the club, which he helped lead to consecutive league championships from 1990-93.
Contract terms between Johnston and the MetroStars will not be disclosed.
