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Thomas Dooley

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Thomas Dooley

Thomas Dennis Dooley (born May 12, 1961) is a former soccer player and coach. He played as a defender and defensive midfielder and was a long-time member and former captain of the United States national team. Dooley currently is the technical director of The Cong-Viettel, playing in V.League 1.

Dooley was born in Bechhofen, West Germany to a German mother and a father who served in the U.S. Army.

Dooley played as a forward with amateur team FK Pirmasens. He started his professional career in 1984 with third division club FC Homburg. He moved to midfield with Homburg and helped the team move steadily up the German leagues, until they finally reached the Bundesliga.

He moved to 1. FC Kaiserslautern in 1988 and helped them to the German Cup in 1990 and the Bundesliga title in 1991. He also played as they won the 1991 DFB-Supercup. After the 1994 World Cup, he moved to Bayer Leverkusen, and to Schalke 04 a year after that, helping them to the 1997 UEFA Cup title.

At the end of the season, he moved to Major League Soccer (MLS), signing with the Columbus Crew. Dooley spent three seasons in Columbus and was named to the MLS Best XI in both 1997 and 1998. In 2000, Thomas was traded to the MetroStars for Mike Duhaney, partially to help support Lothar Matthäus' adjustment to the United States. Dooley played one year for the Metros before retiring from playing soccer.

As U.S. Soccer started to look abroad for players eligible to play for its national team in advance of its hosting the 1994 FIFA World Cup, Dooley was discovered. He made his first international appearance on May 30, 1992, against Ireland. Dooley became a regular for the U.S. almost immediately, being named U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year in 1993 and then playing every minute at the 1994 World Cup, including the match against Colombia which the U.S. won 2–1. After John Harkes was dismissed from the U.S. national team, Dooley was named captain for the 1998 World Cup, and started every game for the U.S.

On February 21, 1999, Dooley was given a send-off match by the United States in a friendly against Chile. He ended his international career with 81 caps and seven goals.

After retiring, Dooley went back to Germany and became the head coach of FC Saarbrücken in 2002, becoming the first American to coach a team in Europe.

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