Twenty years ago, Garth Lagerwey and Darren Eales were teammates on the Hampton Roads Mariners soccer team.
Lagerwey was the goalie; Eales the striker.
Now, they are both running soccer teams.
Lagerwey is the general manager of Real Salt Lake. Eales was recently hired as the president of Atlanta’s MLS team, which will begin play in 2017.
“We were laughing the other day, who would have thought two knuckleheads would both wind up running soccer teams?” Lagerwey said. “It’s great to see his success and see him get a great opportunity.”
Eales hasn’t given his first interview since being hired by Arthur Blank to run his expansion MLS team. Lagerwey was able to fill in a few more of the blanks.
“He’s a really smart guy; Atlanta’s got a real winner,” Lagerwey said. “He’s as smart a guy I met at any time in my soccer path.”
Lagerwey would know. Not only were they teammates, but there were roommates, sharing a place in the house of the Mariners’ owner, about 20 minutes from the beach.
They also took Eales’ convertible on a cross-country trip to Lagerwey’s hometown of Chicago. If you don’t get to know somebody after being cooped up in a car with them, you’ll never get to know them.
Lagerwey said that Eales loves America. Eales and his wife, who is an American, are expecting twins. Lagerwey declined to share any stories from their time in Hampton Roads, or on that trip, joking they weren’t suitable for print.
But Lagerwey said Eales’ career path speaks for itself: Eales eventually left the U.S. to study law in his hometown of Cambridge, England. He passed the bar and eventually became general counsel at West Bromwich Albion, before joining Tottenham Hotspur. He has served as that club’s director since 2010, where he has helped oversee the rise of a club determined to maintain financial discipline while also fighting for a Premier League title.
“He will have a breadth of experiences that will prepare him well for the job,” Lagerwey said.
They have spoken many times in the past year, though Lagerwey said they didn’t discuss the job in Atlanta.
They did discuss how MLS operates, which is different than every other soccer league in the world, and will be obviously important for Eales to learn as he builds the Atlanta franchise and roster.
“He’s clever,” Lagerwey said. “He can think analytically. He’s able to look at all sides of an issue.”
MLS new logo
MLS unveiled its new logo last week.
The colors of the logo can be customized to fit every team in the league when worn on their jerseys.
The new logo got mixed reactions. Alexi Lalas and Brad Davis took to twitter to express their questions, including the timing.
Other have gone on satellite radio shows like Counter Attack to ask, “why the kickstand?” referring to the tail coming out of the shield.
Barring a change, this will be one of the logos on the jerseys worn by Atlanta’s team in MLS.
Fun videos
MLS and Atlanta
How MLS players with ties to the metro Atlanta area did this week:
Joe Bendik (@jtbendik), Toronto, GK, Kennesaw
Played 90 minutes and made two saves in team’s 3-0 win over Chivas USA on Sunday.
Next game: Will host Portland on Saturday.
Mark Bloom (@markbloom21), Toronto, D, Marietta
Played 90 minutes in team’s 3-0 win over Chivas USA on Sunday.
Next game: Will host Portland on Saturday.
Alex Caskey, D.C. United, M, Dunwoody
Played 45 minutes with one shot in team’s 2-1 win over Waterhouse on Tuesday.
Did not make the 18 for team’s 3-3 draw with Chicago on Saturday.
Next game: Will host Tauro on Wednesday and Philadelphia on Saturday.
Ricardo Clark, Houston, M, Jonesboro
Played 90 minutes and had two shots in team’s 0-0 draw with Philadelphia on Saturday.
Next game: At Philadelphia on Saturday.
Warren Creavalle (@warrenspeak), Toronto, D, Acworth
Came on as a sub and played 22 minutes in team’s 3-0 win over Chivas USA on Sunday.
Next game: Will host Portland on Saturday.
Sean Johnson (@sjohn25), Chicago, GK, Snellville
Played 90 minutes and made three saves in team’s 3-3 draw with D.C. United on Saturday.
Next game: At Houston on Saturday.
Alec Kann (@akann90), Chicago, GK, Decatur
Did not make the 18 for team’s 3-3 draw with D.C. United on Saturday.
Next game: At Houston on Saturday.
Steven Kinney (@stevenhkinney), Chicago, D, Norcross
Did not make the 18 for team’s 3-3 draw with D.C. United on Saturday.
Next game: At Houston on Saturday.
Chris Klute (@chrisklute), Colorado, D, Silverbacks, Clayton State
Made the 18 but didn’t play in team’s 5-1 loss to Real Salt Lake on Friday. Klute is finding playing time hard to come by.
Next game: Will host San Jose on Saturday.
Jack McInerney (@jackmcinerney9), Montreal, F, Alpharetta
Came off the bench to play eight minutes in team’s 1-0 win over New York on Wednesday.
Started and scored in team’s 2-0 win over San Jose on Saturday.
Next game: At Columbus on Saturday.
Joe Nasco (@joenascogk18), Colorado, G, Silverbacks
Returned from red-card suspension to make four saves in a 5-1 loss to Real Salt Lake on Friday.
Next game: Will host San Jose on Saturday.
Michael Nwiloh (mnwiloh6), Chivas USA, D, Conyers
Didn’t make the 18 for team’s 3-0 loss to Toronto on Sunday.
Next game: At Seattle on Saturday.
Walker Zimmerman (@thewalkerzim), Dallas, D, Lawrenceville
Didn’t make the 18 for team’s 2-1 loss to Los Angeles on Saturday. He is suffering from a left hamstring tear.
Next game: Will host Seattle on Wednesday.
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