Austin FC Adds MLS coach & Former MLS and U.S. Men’s National Team Player
Austin FC joined Major League Soccer (MLS) as the 27th club in January 2019 and is the City of Austin’s first major league team. Austin FC will officially begin to play in 2021 in a new, 100% privately financed, $260 million, state-of-the-art soccer stadium, and public park in Austin.
MLS’ Austin FC announced today that Davy Arnaud will join the Club as Assistant Coach on August 1, 2020. Arnaud will work with Austin FC Head Coach Josh Wolff as a key member of the coaching staff.
As a player, forty-year-old Davy Arnaud (pronounced “ARR-no”) played for Sporting Kansas City (240 apps, 43 goals), Montreal Impact (57 apps, 5 goals), D.C. United (54 apps, 2 goals) and made 7 appearances and scored one goal on the U.S. Men’s National Team.
Born in Nederland, Texas and raised in the Lone Star State, Arnaud joins Austin FC from the Houston Dynamo where he served in a variety of coaching positions, including a recent appointment as Interim Head Coach for a nine (9) match period from August 14, 2019 to October 25, 2019.
Arnaud’s MLS coaching experience dates back to 2016 when he became an assistant coach at D.C. United, following his retirement as a player. In 2017, Arnaud returned to Texas, joining the Dynamo’s coaching staff as an assistant until August 2019 when he became interim Head Coach.
Arnaud and Austin FC Head Coach Wolff were teammates at Sporting KC where Arnaud played from 2002 – 2011.
Arnaud brings MLS expansion experience to Austin FC, having played for the Montreal Impact during their inaugural MLS season in 2012, scoring the Club’s first-ever MLS goal. Arnaud played 351 matches and scored 50 goals with 46 assists during his 15-season career in MLS.
“On behalf of Austin FC, we are pleased to welcome a talented and experienced coach like Davy to Austin FC,” commented Claudio Reyna, Austin FC Sporting Director. “Davy grew up playing the game in our home state and he brings a strong Texas perspective to our staff, in addition to bringing his experiences as a talented MLS coach and player.”
As the Austin FC first team develops, Arnaud will play a key role in the day-to-day preparation, training, and recuperation of Austin FC’s first team, while helping to develop the first team’s playing philosophy and culture.
Read: AUSTIN FC ANNOUNCES FIRST PLAYER: 20 YEAR OLD RODNEY REDES
“Davy Arnaud represents a significant addition to our growing Club, and our organization is extremely fortunate to have a native Texan and highly-experienced MLS player and coach join our staff to help us build a successful Club in MLS,” commented Josh Wolff, Austin FC Head Coach.
“Davy and I know each other well from our time playing together in Kansas City, and I know he shares the same soccer philosophy we value highly at Austin FC.”
Josh Wolff, Austin FC Head Coach
“I couldn’t be more excited to be joining the Club. I had the pleasure of playing alongside and learning from Josh in Kansas City. His leadership and knowledge of the game is something I admire and I look forward to rejoining him here in Austin,” Arnaud said.
“I want to thank Josh and Claudio for affording me the opportunity to help build Austin FC.”
Davy Arnaud, Austin FC Assistant Coach
Read: AUSTIN FC ACADEMY ANNOUNCES 2020-21 ROSTERS
Austin FC operates Austin FC Academy, the fully funded boys development academy, which aims to represent the highest level of competition for elite players in Central Texas and serve as the pathway to MLS for the region’s most talented young players.
Austin FC’s parent company and ownership group is Two Oak Ventures, the entity which manages Austin FC and affiliated assets, including the MLS soccer park and stadium being constructed at 10414 McKalla Place in Austin, Texas, and St. David’s Performance Center, the $45 million training facility of the Club and Austin FC Academy, scheduled to open in Spring 2021 and located at Parmer Innovation Center in Northeast Austin.
