About this ebook
The authors have achieved coaching success at the top level of the game and share with you in this book not only several proven training sessions but also an inside look into the dynamics of coaching a professional soccer team.
About the author
Matt Driver
Originally hired to join Steve Nicol’s Revolution coaching staff as an interim assistant coach on June 6, 2002, Driver was elevated to assistant coach exactly five months later, securing his role with the team that he helped lead to MLS Cup 2002.
Driver had entered his sixth season as head coach of the South Jersey Barons (USL Pro Select League) in 2002 before coming to Foxboro. The Glasgow, Scotland native, who also served as technical director and chief operating officer for the Barons, holds a USSF “A” License, as well as an NSCAA Premier License and an NSCAA Advanced National Diploma. In addition, he carries a Brazilian “A” License and the Scottish Football Association “A” Introductory License. He was also the State Director of Coaching for the NSCAA and the Director of the Olympic Development Program for the state of Delaware.
As head coach of the Barons, Driver led the team to two regular season conference titles, one regular season national title and one appearance in the National Finals. Off the field, his leadership helped to elevate the South Jersey Barons into one of the most successful professional organizations in the United Soccer Leagues.
During his professional playing career, which began at the age of 17, Driver, a striker, played in three countries. In England he played with the Bury Football Club, formerly of the English third division, and Burnley Football Club, formerly of the English fourth division. Driver also enjoyed a stint with S.C. Herford, formerly of the second division of the German Bundesliga. He has also played in the United States with the Albany Capitals and the Boston Bolts of the American Soccer League.
Steve Nicol
Steve Nicol, one of the greatest players in Liverpool soccer history and the 2002 MLS Coach of the Year, enters his first full season as head coach of the New England Revolution. He signed a contract extension with the organization on November 6, 2002, which keeps him at the helm for the next two years.
Hired by the Revs as an assistant coach on January 10, 2002, Nicol took on the team’s head coaching duties in an interim capacity on May 23, upon the dismissal of Fernando Clavijo.
Nicol orchestrated a remarkable turnaround over the final two months of the season, including a pivotal 5-0-1 stretch to conclude the regular season. He was able to find the right mix of players for a team that had a tumultuous start, adding mid-season acquisitions Daouda Kante and Winston Griffiths into the lineup and watching first-year striker Taylor Twellman emerge as the league’s leading scorer. He guided the franchise to its first Eastern Conference Championship and first MLS Cup appearance at Gillette Stadium on October 20.
Nicol, who was born in Irvine, Scotland, was 18 years old when his professional career began with Ayr Utd in Scotland. He went on to make 467 appearances for English powerhouse Liverpool between 1981 and 1995, during which time Liverpool was one of the world’s top club teams. He was voted English Player of the Year in 1989. Nicol anchored the Liverpool defense that won four English League Titles, three English F.A. Cup Titles, and reached two European Championship Finals. In 1984, the team defeated Italian club Roma to capture the 1984 European Cup. Nicol made 27 appearances for the Scottish National Team, and started for Scotland in the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. He made his last appearance for the Scottish national side in 1992. He also played with Sheffield Wednesday and with Doncaster Rovers in England. He served as player/coach for First Division club Notts County in England in 1995.
