View source for Steve Sampson

{{short description|American soccer coach (born 1957)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2016}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2023}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name= Steve Sampson
| fullname = Mark Stephen Sampson
| image =
| birth_date  = {{birth date and age|1957|1|19}}
| birth_place = [[Salt Lake City]], [[Utah]], U.S.
| height =
| currentclub =
| position =
| collegeyears1 = 1975–1976 
| collegeyears2 = 1977–1978
| college1 = [[Foothill College|Foothill Owls]] 
| college2 = [[San Jose State Spartans men's soccer|San Jose State Spartans]]
| manageryears1 = 1978–1980 
| manageryears2 = 1981 
| manageryears3 = 1982–1985 
| manageryears4 = 1986–1990 
| manageryears5 = 1993–1995 
| manageryears6 = 1995–1998 
| manageryears7 = 2002–2004 
| manageryears8 = 2004–2006
| manageryears9 = 2015–2022
| managerclubs1 = [[Mountain View High School (Mountain View, California)|Awalt High School]] 
| managerclubs2 = [[Foothill College|Foothill Owls]] ''(assistant)'' 
| managerclubs3 = [[UCLA Bruins men's soccer|UCLA Bruins]] ''(assistant)'' 
| managerclubs4 = [[Santa Clara Broncos]] 
| managerclubs5 = [[United States men's national soccer team|United States]] ''(assistant)'' 
| managerclubs6 = [[United States men's national soccer team|United States]] 
| managerclubs7 = [[Costa Rica national football team|Costa Rica]] 
| managerclubs8 = [[LA Galaxy]]
| managerclubs9 = [[Cal Poly Mustangs men's soccer|Cal Poly Mustangs]]
| medaltemplates = 
{{Medal|Country|{{USA}}}} <small>(as coach)</small>
{{Medal|3rd|[[CONCACAF Gold Cup]]|[[1996 CONCACAF Gold Cup|1996]]}}
{{Medal|RU|[[CONCACAF Gold Cup]]|[[1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup|1998]]}}
{{MedalSport|Men's [[Association football|Soccer]]}}
}}

'''Mark Stephen Sampson''' (born January 19, 1957) is an American [[Association football|soccer]] coach. He is also the former head coach of both the [[United States men's national soccer team|United States men's national team]] and the [[Los Angeles Galaxy]] of [[Major League Soccer]].

==Collegiate career==
Sampson attended [[UCLA]] briefly before transferring to [[Foothill College|Foothill Community College]], located in [[Los Altos Hills, California]], in 1975. At Foothill Community he earned [[All-American]] honors while playing on the 1976 California junior college state championship team. He then transferred to [[San Jose State University]] in 1977. He graduated from San Jose State in 1979 with a minor in Spanish, which he later used as coach of the Costa Rica national team.

==Beginning coaching==
After graduating from San Jose State, he moved to [[Stanford University]] where he earned a [[master's degree]] in education from the [[Stanford Graduate School of Education]].  While at Stanford he entered the coaching ranks with the [[Mountain View High School (Mountain View, California)|Awalt High School]] boys varsity soccer team in [[Mountain View, California]].  Then, after graduating from Stanford, he served as an assistant men's soccer coach at Foothill College.  In 1982, [[UCLA Bruins men's soccer|UCLA]] hired Sampson as an assistant men's soccer coach. In 1985, he was on staff when UCLA won the [[1985 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship|NCAA men's soccer championship]].

==Santa Clara University==
At the end of the 1985 season, [[Santa Clara University]] hired him away from UCLA to serve as their men's soccer head coach.  In 1989, he achieved his greatest success as a college coach when he led Santa Clara to the [[1989 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship|NCAA Men's Soccer Championship]].<ref name="Cal Poly">{{cite web|url=http://gopoly.com/sports/msoc/coaches/Sampson-Steve?view=bio|title=Steve Sampson|publisher=Cal Poly Mustangs|access-date=October 13, 2017}}</ref> Santa Clara's opponent in the final was [[Virginia Cavaliers men's soccer|Virginia]], coached by [[Bruce Arena]], who would later succeed Sampson as head coach of the [[United States men's national soccer team]]. Santa Clara and Virginia played even through regular time and four overtimes before NCAA officials stopped the game, much to the frustration of the players and two coaches, and named Santa Clara and Virginia as co-champions. Sampson was named the 1989 NCAA Men's Soccer Coach of the Year. When he left Santa Clara, he had compiled a 64–19–19 record.

==1994 World Cup==
After leaving Santa Clara, Sampson became an assistant to [[Bora Milutinović]] on the [[United States men's national soccer team|United States national team]] in 1993 and was on the staff when the U.S. hosted the [[1994 FIFA World Cup]]. In addition to his coaching duties, he served as the Vice President/Competition Management for the World Cup organization.

==U.S. national team coach==

===1995 Copa America===
When Milutinović resigned from the team after the World Cup, the [[United States Soccer Federation]] (USSF) named Sampson as the interim coach in April 1995. After leading the US to a surprising fourth-place finish at the [[Copa América 1995]], including a 3–0 romp over [[Argentina national football team|Argentina]], as well as a victory over arch-rivals [[Mexico national football team|Mexico]] in the quarterfinals, Sampson was promoted to full-time national team coach in August 1995.<ref name=bio>{{cite web |url=http://soccertimes.com/usteams/roster/men/sampson.htm |title=Steve Sampson |work=SoccerTimes.com}}</ref>

===1998 Gold Cup===
Sampson coached the team to a second-place finish in the [[1998 Gold Cup]], including a historic 1–0 victory over Brazil in the semi-final.<ref name=bio/>

===1998 World Cup===
The US national team had a strong showing in the [[1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF)|1998 World Cup qualifying rounds]], finishing with an 8–6–2 record overall.<ref name=bio/>

Sampson attempted to improve the team by looking for Americans playing in Europe. [[David Regis]] was the most talented of those Sampson brought in but was impacted by delays in gaining his citizenship. Others like [[Michael Mason (soccer)|Michael Mason]] and [[David Wagner (soccer)|David Wagner]] did not pan out as Sampson tried to overcome the weaknesses of a young MLS. In a controversial move, Sampson removed then captain, [[John Harkes]] from the squad. Sampson gave a variety of reasons, from Harkes' lack of leadership, Harkes wanting a more offensive role, and behavioral issues unbecoming of a national team player.<ref>{{cite web|title=Quotes from Steve Sampson and John Harkes |url=https://www.socceramerica.com/publications/article/18564/quotes-from-steve-sampson-and-john-harkes.html |work=Soccer America |date=April 14, 1998}}</ref> There were injuries to both of the U.S.'s primary attacking threat, [[Eric Wynalda]] and creative midfielder [[Tab Ramos]].

The [[1998 FIFA World Cup|1998 World Cup]] would prove more challenging. Playing the likes of [[Germany national football team|Germany]] and [[FR Yugoslavia national football team|Yugoslavia]] were significantly more difficult than in [[CONCACAF]] qualifying. Sampson changed the formation in the spring of 1998 to an unusual 3–6–1 formation in preparation for the Germany match, trying to counter the quality of the German midfield. The conservative approach almost worked but was not to be as his team conceded a goal from a corner in the first half. When Sampson changed the system in the second half his team showed promise but was thwarted by an exceptional strike by [[Jürgen Klinsmann]]. The team lost 2–0. The second match against Iran showed a spirited team but one that could not find the back of the net. The U.S. team hit the crossbar and post on five occasions en route to a [[United States v Iran (1998 FIFA World Cup)|2–1]] loss in their most critical match. Counter-attack goals got the best of the U.S. seeking to overcome the Germany loss and the player unrest after that match. The lone goal came from [[Brian McBride]]. After significant personnel changes for the Yugoslavia game, the team lost 1–0. Failing to win a game and finishing in last place, Sampson resigned as coach on June 29, 1998.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1998/06/30/controversial-sampson-resigns-after-world-cup-debacle/ |title=Controversial Sampson Resigns After World Cup Debacle |date=June 30, 1998 |first=Bonnie |last=DeSimone |work=Chicago Tribune}}</ref>
 
In February 2010, Sampson said that John Harkes was dropped from the 1998 World Cup because of an affair between Harkes and Amy Wynalda, then the wife of U.S. striker Eric Wynalda. Long rumored as the reason Harkes was dropped, Sampson finally cleared the air after Eric Wynalda confirmed the rumors during a discussion about the situation for the English National team in the run up to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.<ref name=affair>{{cite news |url=http://www.espn.com/world-cup/story/_/id/4881732/ce/us/alleged-affair-hurt-98-team |title=Harkes dropped in '98 for allegations |date=February 3, 2010 |work=ESPN |agency=AP}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.sbnation.com/2010/2/3/1290793/laffair-john-harkes-details-emerge |work=SB Nation | title=L'affair John Harkes: Details emerge on the once-U.S. captain's affair with Wynalda's wife | date=February 3, 2010 |first=Steve |last=Davis}}</ref>

==Costa Rica national team==
In 2002, the [[Costa Rica national football team|Costa Rica national team]] hired Sampson as its head coach. In his first international post, he helped Costa Rica win the [[2003 UNCAF Nations Cup]], going undefeated. Costa Rica also finished fourth in the [[2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup]].

In 2004, Costa Rica ranked 17 in the [[FIFA World Rankings|world]], their highest ever at the time. However, after Costa Rica needed the [[away goals rule|away goals]] tiebreaker to get past [[Cuba national football team|Cuba]] in the second round of [[2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF)|qualifying for the 2006 World Cup]], Sampson was fired.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/23/sports/sports-briefing.html |title=Sports Briefing |work=New York Times |agency=AP |date=June 23, 2004}}</ref>

==Los Angeles Galaxy==
Sampson was hired as the LA Galaxy coach on August 18, 2004, replacing [[Sigi Schmid]]. Despite an array of talent, the team was inconsistent the rest of the year and struggled for large stretches of 2005. Many of the players whom Sampson had brought into the team were absent from the Galaxy squad due to national team commitments for the US, Costa Rica, and Guatemala. As the season continued the Galaxy improved and eventually won the "double" of the [[U.S. Open Cup]] and [[MLS Cup]], the latter as the lowest seed in the playoffs.<ref>{{cite web   | last = Goff | first = Steven | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/13/AR2005111300708.html | title= Galaxy Wins MLS Cup in OT | access-date= May 5, 2010 | date= November 14, 2005 | work=Washington Post }}</ref> The Galaxy failed to build on their success in the 2005 season and Sampson was fired on June 6, 2006, after [[Alexi Lalas]], who played for Sampson on the US National Team, was hired as president.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oberjuerge.com/http:/www.oberjuerge.com/awkward-moments-steve-sampson-and-alexi-lalas/ |title=Awkward Moments: Steve Sampson and Alexi Lalas |date=May 30, 2009 |first=Paul |last=Oberjuerge |work=oberjuerge.com}}</ref>

==Cal Poly==
Steve Sampson was hired as the head men's soccer coach at [[Cal Poly Mustangs men's soccer|California Polytechnic State University]] on December 4, 2014.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.si.com/planet-futbol/2014/12/04/steve-sampson-cal-poly-usmnt-coach |title=Ex-USMNT manager Steve Sampson returns to coaching at Cal Poly |author=Staff |work=Sports Illustrated |date=December 4, 2014}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://soccertimes.com/usteams/roster/men/sampson.htm SoccerTimes.com profile]

{{Navboxes
|title=International tournaments
|list1=
{{United States squad 1995 Copa América}}
{{United States squad 1996 CONCACAF Gold Cup}}
{{United States squad 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup}}
{{United States squad 1998 FIFA World Cup}}
{{Costa Rica squad 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup}}
}}
{{Navboxes
|title= Coaching positions
|list1=
{{United States men's national soccer team managers}}
{{Costa Rica national football team managers}}
{{Los Angeles Galaxy managers}}
}}
{{Navboxes
|title= Awards
|bg= gold
|fg= navy
|list1=
{{NSCAA Coach of the Year}}
{{West Coast Conference Men's Soccer Coach of the Year navbox}}
}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sampson, Steve}}
[[Category:1957 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Soccer players from Salt Lake City]]
[[Category:American men's soccer players]]
[[Category:Men's association football players not categorized by position]]
[[Category:Stanford Graduate School of Education alumni]]
[[Category:Foothill Owls men's soccer players]]
[[Category:San Jose State Spartans men's soccer players]]
[[Category:American soccer coaches]]
[[Category:UCLA Bruins men's soccer coaches]]
[[Category:Santa Clara Broncos men's soccer coaches]]
[[Category:United States men's national soccer team managers]]
[[Category:Costa Rica national football team managers]]
[[Category:LA Galaxy head coaches]]
[[Category:Cal Poly Mustangs men's soccer coaches]]
[[Category:Major League Soccer head coaches]]
[[Category:1995 Copa América managers]]
[[Category:1998 FIFA World Cup managers]]
[[Category:American expatriate soccer coaches]]
[[Category:American expatriate sportspeople in Costa Rica]]
[[Category:Expatriate football managers in Costa Rica]]
[[Category:High school soccer coaches in the United States]]
[[Category:Foothill Owls men's soccer coaches]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]