The Vancouver Whitecaps have added longtime Houston Dynamo FC midfielder Ricardo Clark to their staff as an assistant coach, the club announced Thursday.
Clark joins Vancouver head coach Marc Dos Santos as a first-team assistant after acting as the interim head coach with the Dynamo’s U-19 academy team and previously as head coach with the U-16 team. He's also worked as an assistant coach with the US U-20 men’s national team.
“We are very happy to welcome Ricardo to our coaching staff,” Dos Santos said in a release. “We wanted to bring into the staff someone who had been in the league, experience overseas and on the international stage, as well as a passion towards coaching and working with young players. Ricardo brings tremendous experience and we look forward to welcoming him to the team as he takes this next step in his coaching career.”
Clark was a linchpin for the Dynamo during his playing days, enjoying two separate lengthy stints with the club, first from 2006-09 and then from 2012-17, split up by time with Eintracht Frankfurt and Staebek overseas. He also played in MLS for the MetroStars, San Jose Earthquakes and Columbus Crew SC, accumulating over 29,000 minutes in the league before retiring in February 2020.
Clark won MLS Cups with Houston in 2006 and 2007, and was a three-time MLS All-Star, as well as an MLS Best XI selection in 2006. He accumulated 34 appearances with the US men's national team, scoring three goals.
“In addition to his responsibilities as a first-team coach on the pitch, a large part of Ricardo’s new role will include his one-on-one work with our young professional players and the integration with our performance team,” Axel Schuster, Vancouver's CEO and sporting director, said in a release. “We have a number of young players and his experience will be a great resource for these young men. We are very pleased to add Ricardo to our club."
