Former U.S. international and current Under-20 national coach Tab Ramos has been hired to coach the Houston Dynamo, according to multiple reports.
Ramos, who has directed the U-20 squad in several successful cycles in the U-20 World Cup, will replace Wilmer Cabrera, who was fired this past Major League Soccer season.
Dynamo majority owner Gabriel Brener told Mark Berman, sports director of KRIV of Houston (Fox 26), Thursday afternoon that it was a done deal.
“We went thru a very extensive search,” Berman quoted Brener on his Twitter account. “We’re very happy we hired Tab. He’s the right guy 4t he team & the market. He understands MLS .. understands US soccer. He’s bilingual. He has a fantastic track record.”
The official announcement could come today or a few days, reports said.
There were some soccer observers who felt that Ramos, with his soccer pedigree and success, should have been named head coach of the U.S. men’s team. Instead, Gregg Berhalter was hired last year.
A member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame, the 53-year-old Ramos has been considered one of the best, if not the best creative American player. He helped the USA qualify for the 1990 World Cup, the first time it reached soccer’s promised land since 1950. Ramos scored eight goals in 81 international appearances.
Ramos played with the MetroStars from their inception in 1996 through the 2002 season.
Born in Uruguay, Ramos moved to the U.S. with his parents as a child and grew up in Kearny and Harrison, N.J., playing soccer with some other legends of the game from that area — John Harkes and Tony Meola.
As a 15-year-old Ramos was a standout on the U.S. U.S.-20 national team as he was named to the squad after he obtained his U.S. citizenship. He was drafted by the original incarnation of the Cosmos in 1984, but decided to attend North Carolina State instead.