MLS D.C. United

Peter Nowak Named United Head Coach

Published on January 7, 2004 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
D.C. United News Release


CHANTILLY, VA (January 7, 2004) – D.C. United today named Peter Nowak the club's Head Coach. Nowak becomes the fourth manager in team history, replacing Ray Hudson, whose contract was not renewed following the 2003 Major League Soccer season. The former Polish international and MLS standout will be formally presented at a press conference to be announced shortly.

"We are very excited to bring Peter to D.C. United as our Head Coach," said United Technical Director Dave Kasper. "He has a wealth of experience in the game and knows what it takes to become successful in Major League Soccer. We are confident that Peter will lead our team in the right direction."

Nowak, 39, begins his coaching career with D.C. United after an illustrious professional playing career of nearly 23 years. After captaining the Chicago Fire for five seasons, Nowak accepted a position in the club's front office for the 2003 campaign. In his role as the Director of International Relations and Soccer and Business Adviser, Nowak worked closely with nearly all of the club's departments, including the coaching staff, youth player development, community relations, broadcasting and marketing.

"I am pleased and honored to be the Head Coach of D.C. United," said Nowak. "I have great respect for this organization. This will be a new challenge for me. However, I've built my whole career on meeting such challenges and establishing a winning mentality. I expect things to be no different here."

His five years on the field for the Fire made him a fan favorite not only in Chicago, but around the entire league. During his half-decade playing career in MLS, Nowak accumulated 100 points on 26 goals and 48 assists. He led the expansion Fire to an MLS Cup championship in 1998 and U.S. Open Cup titles in 2000 and 2001. Three times each, he was an MLS All-Star (1998, 1999, 2000), a member of the MLS Pepsi Best XI (1998, 2000, 2001) and the Fire's MVP (1998, 2000, 2001). Nowak was also selected as the MVP of MLS Cup 1998.

"As a player, I remember the great home field advantage that United enjoyed," continued Nowak. "Those great fans have suffered with the team as of late and I hope our return to winning ways will allow us many chances to celebrate future successes together."

Nowak's success in MLS surprised very few who were familiar with his prior performances in Europe. Before coming to America, the native of Pabianice, Poland, saw action in 116 games in the German Bundesliga. During his five years in Germany, Nowak lent his services to such world-renowned clubs as 1860 Munich (1994-1997), Kaiserslautern (1994) and Dynamo Dresden (1993-1994). He scored a combined 17 goals in Germany's top league.

Prior to his time in Germany, Nowak also was a member of Switzerland's Young Boys Berne (1992-1993) and Turkey's Bakirkoyspor (1990-1992). He began his career with his hometown team in Pabianice in 1979 as a 15-year-old and played with four teams in Poland before moving to Turkey. Nowak's Polish clubs, in addition to Pabianice (1979-1983) included Motor Lublin (1984-1985), Widzew Lodz (1985-1986) and WKS Zawisza Bydgoszcz ( 1983-1984 and 1986-1990).

Nowak's myriad of successes at the club level led to a distinguished international career as well. He was the captain of the Poland National Team for three years and was named Poland's Player of the Year in 1996. In 24 appearances for his country, Nowak scored three goals.

Check out the D.C. United Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Major League Soccer Stories from January 7, 2004


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central