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RedNation recently had the opportunity to speak with Tom Soehn, the Director of Soccer Operations for the Vancouver Whitecaps. The 43-year-old Chicago native recently joined th West Coast club to be the Whitecaps' resident expert on all things Major League Soccer as the team prepares for its MLS debut in 2011.
Audio Interview:
Soehn was born in Chicago, Illinois and began playing soccer with the Chicago Kickers when he was four. He later attended Western Illinois University from 1984 to 1987 and in 2003 the University inducted him into its Athletics Hall of Fame. Soehn signed with the Wichita Wings of the Major Indoor Soccer League in 1988 and he began a distinguished professional playing career that lasted for 13 years. In 1989, he played a single season with the Ottawa Intrepid of the Canadian Soccer League and he later played four years in MLS after being drafted by the Dallas Burn in the second round of the 1996 MLS Inaugural Player Draft. After Dallas traded him to Chicago in 1998, he was a member of the Fire's three championship teams - MLS Cup 1998, U.S. Open Cup 1998 and 2000.
After retiring as a player, he became an assistant coach to Bob Bradley at the Fire and then moved to DC United to become Peter Nowak's top assistant in 2003. On December 21, 2006, Soehn replaced Nowak as the head coach at United. After spending the three seasons as the head coach of D.C. United, he was appointed to the position of Director of Soccer Operations with the Vancouver Whitecaps..
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