By Graig Carbino - ALBANY, NY (June 1, 2009) USSoccerPlayers -- The Philadelphia Union won't kick a ball for real until the Spring of 2010. Their stadium is still early in the process of being constructed and they have yet to introduce their first player. Ownership still felt it important at this stage of the game to bring in a coach and start the groundwork of putting together a brand new team. Enter Peter Nowak.
The former Polish international, DC United manager, and US National Team assistant was introduced at a press conference last week. It will be his duty, along with Union CEO and Operating Partner Nick Sakiewicz to assemble a team capable of competing right away.
“Peter possesses the competitiveness, passion and discipline necessary to build a club from scratch and compete for a championship from day one,” said Union Chairman Jay Sugarman. Nowak certainly does not lack for passion and all that other stuff. He better have a lot of it too, because you don’t build a new stadium and hype the excitement in the greater Philly area and then go out and lose.
At least you don’t do it for very long, that’s for sure.
If we are to believe Bruce Arena, it’s easier to build an expansion franchise than it is to come into a new team that has been struggling. So Nowak should be just fine (wink). All kidding aside, the new coach will ultimately be the one who determines which players to scout, sign and/or trade for. At least in a club smart enough to trust the hire rather than deciding they need multiple high level 'soccer people.'
When Nowak took over for Ray Hudson in DC back in 2004 he had something ready-made. With Ryan Nelson in the back, Earnie Stewart down the wing and Jamie Moreno up front, that team would have won a bunch of games regardless of the coach. We can give him an “attaboy” for the Christian Gomez discovery, which was very important, but beyond that signing United was setup for a nice season before Nowak came on board.
In 2005, they were ousted in the first round of the playoffs before losing out to New England in the Eastern conference finals in 2006. Nowak ended up with a 42-27-25 record in three years with United, really not bad for a first time coach.
Still, there are some things about his tenure in the Nation’s Capital that didn’t end up going so well. The big thing that jumps out at you has to be his relationship with Freddy Adu. Not saying it is easy to work with a 14 year-old and help turn him into a professional, not at all.
That said, Nowak was charged with the task of working through Adu’s young struggles and, from an outsiders perspective, didn’t seem all that interested in the process. Development and integration of young players will be huge when building a squad from scratch. It's not just about working with your first eleven.
Sugarman added “His extensive domestic and international scouting network, coupled with a deep understanding of the game from being a world-class player, will be invaluable for our club. We were determined to find an individual who is well respected in the global soccer community, understands the unique structure of MLS and, most importantly, has demonstrated the ability to win.”
Let’s break that quote down and see what parts actually reflect something that we have seen from Nowak as coach. The first part about “extensive domestic and international scouting…” is probably true, but we really have not seen it in action. Gomez was on United’s radar well before Nowak came on board. He did well to blend him into the team, but cant take credit for the find.
He certainly knows the game from a “world-class player” perspective, which is important but not the be-all, end-all of actual managerial success. Nowak has the reputation of being a guy that is tough on players. He works them hard, which is fine, but there have been whispers that in the past he has expected the unattainable from his roster.
A perfectionist is probably more like it. Great players don’t always make great managers because they expect their players to perform as they once did. They don’t handle mistakes or errors well because they didn’t make those mistakes when they played.
Beyond all of that though, Nowak is certainly a respected figure in the global soccer world and you can see that his toughness and work-rate as a player is also present in his time as a coach. He has been a winner as a player and coach and that attitude will be important to a new team.
When all is said and done, Nowak will be judged on what he does from this point forward. His time with United was nice. He won a bunch of games with a talented team. Take nothing away from all those wins, because if he had lost with that sort of roster we surely would have pinned him with a good amount of the blame.
I'm Not sure though at this point if that time in DC really tells us what he truly has as a manager in the broader sense Philadelphia seems to want. This time he needs to mold a squad, develop his own players, mix in young with established and still try to win right from the first whistle. As it stands, he'll be the guy, without a director of soccer looking over player moves.
If things turn sour after a season or two he wont have that ready made and popular excuse used by the Carvers and Gullits of the World. He knows the League, knows it rules, knows it players and now just needs to go get it done. Nowak’s new adventure south of the City of Brotherly Love will be the true litmus test of his managerial pedigree.
Graig Carbino covers American Abroad and writes a weekly column for USSoccerPlayers. Contact him at graiger11@yahoo.com
