Former US women’s national team head coach Tony DiCicco passed away yesterday at the age of 68. His son Anthony DiCicco announced his passing with a short statement on twitter.
DiCicco was head coach of the USWNT from 1994 to 1999 and famously helped guide them to their second World Cup win, taking the tournament with a penalty shootout at the Rose Bowl. He also coached the team to a gold medal win in 1996 at the Atlanta Olympics, the first year women’s soccer was included as an Olympic sport.
He began as a goalkeeper coach with the WNT and the youth MNT and eventually rose to head coach, with a 103-8-8 record, presiding over a golden era of the WNT when he had the likes of Mia Hamm, Kristine Lilly, Briana Scurry, Carla Overbeck, Tiffeny Milbrett, Michelle Akers, Shannon MacMillan, and many others on the roster.