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Force and Namazi Reach Terms To Guide Team

April 22, 2004 - Major Indoor Soccer League 2 (MISL 2)
Cleveland Force News Release


CLEVELAND, OHIO- Cleveland Force President and General Manager Paul Garofolo today officially announced Omid Namazi as the 12th head coach in team history after serving as interim head coach since March 2, 2004. Namazi signed a one-year contract to serve as Head Coach of the Force. Per team policy terms of the contract were not disclosed.

“We are pleased that we were able to reach an agreement with Omid for next season. His impact on this year’s team was immediate and created a foundation on which we can build during the off-season. Omid has been very active already in identifying players in which he has an interest in acquiring the rights to for next season,” commented Garofolo.

Namazi, who was acquired by Cleveland in a trade on December 19 from the Philadelphia KiXX, posted a record of 5-5 in the last 10 games of the regular season and guided the Force advance to the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) Playoffs for the second straight season. Omid was active as a player/coach as well but appeared in just three games after being named the interim head coach.

“I am very excited about the opportunity to continue to coach this team next season. The team has a bright future with the talent of the players and I plan to work hard this off-season and into the opening of training to camp to make and find key additions to go along with those players to get the team back to the MISL Championship,” stated Namazi.

Prior to joining the Force, Namazi left the KiXX during the 2002-03 season to become the head coach of the San Diego Spirit in the now defunct Women’s United Soccer Association (WUSA). In his lone season with the Spirit, Omid guided the team to a record of 8-6-7 and their first trip to the post-season where the team fell in the semi-finals to the Atlanta Beat. Namazi is no stranger to the coaching ranks in the MISL as he guided Philadelphia as a player and head coach for five seasons. In his five seasons, Omid posted a regular season record of 84-54 and a playoff record of 9-10 as well as capturing the 2002 MISL Championship.

Namazi, a native of Washington D.C, has been a two-time All-League selection, a four-time All-Star Game selection as a player and runner-up to Coach of the Year honors. He led the league in assists and was named the Defender of the Year during the 2000-01 season. Namazi ranks as the all-time leader in assists for the KiXX with 209. He has also played two seasons with the Baltimore Spirit in the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL).

Namazi played collegiate soccer at West Virginia University. Omid and his wife Colleen have a son, Julian.

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