The New England Revolution have made a significant hire for their post-Bruce Arena era, announcing Thursday that Curt Onalfo has been elevated to sporting director.
Onalfo spent the last four-plus seasons as New England’s technical director and served as interim sporting director after Arena resigned in early September.
In his new role, Onalfo will oversee the Revolution’s soccer operations, player personnel, scouting and player development. Previously, he played an important role in the organization’s personnel and scouting operations and helped steer their youth pathway.
“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 release.
“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.”
One of Onalfo’s first major decisions will be securing a head coach before the 2024 MLS season. Earlier this week, the club also filled a Designated Player spot by fully acquiring forward Tomás Chancalay from Racing Club in his native Argentina.
The foundation is in place for Onalfo to succeed, as New England earned the Eastern Conference’s No. 5 seed in the Audi 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs. Key players include Chancalay, midfielder Carles Gil, fullback DeJuan Jones and homegrown midfielder Noel Buck.
“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.
“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.”
In Onalfo’s previous role, the club launched their MLS NEXT Pro side. This season, Revolution II set team records for wins, points, and goals scored en route to a final-four finish.
Under Onalfo’s leadership, the Revolution Academy became the first and only back-to-back champions in MLS NEXT Cup history, having won the last two Under-19 national championships.
Before coming to New England, Onalfo coached Sporting Kansas City, D.C. United and LA Galaxy at various junctures. He is also a former US men's national team assistant coach.
