SAN JOSE, Calif. – The San Jose Earthquakes announced today that the club has hired Luchi Gonzalez as Academy Director. Gonzalez will oversee all aspects of the Quakes Academy, which currently features teams from the Under-14 through Under-18 levels in MLS NEXT, Major League Soccer’s platform for youth player development in North America.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Luchi back to the club,” said Earthquakes General Manager Chris Leitch. “He has a proven track record as an Academy Director with the number of U.S. Men’s National Team players developed under his watch. He has great organizational skills and prides himself on his ability to develop the staff around him, and has the ability to connect with players and families. I’m eager to see him apply his expertise in this space and take the Quakes Academy from an already exceptional level to an elite one.”
Gonzalez, 44, joined the FC Dallas Academy to coach the U-16 and U-18 levels (2012-15) before rising to prominence as Academy Director (2016-18), where he oversaw the most successful youth program in the United States. During that span, the club won four U.S. Soccer Development Academy national championships (U-16 and U-18 twice each), the 2016 Dallas Cup U-19 Super Group and made two appearances in the Generation adidas Cup finals.
Gonzalez was directly involved with 26 of 32 Homegrown signings for the FC Dallas first team and helped develop many youth players who have gone onto successful professional careers, including Kellyn Acosta, Reggie Cannon, Jesus Ferreira, Weston McKennie, Shaq Moore, Ricardo Pepi, Paxton Pomykal, Bryan Reynolds, Chris Richards and Tanner Tessmann, all of whom have represented the senior U.S. Men’s National Team. In all, 18 players earned USMNT senior caps after working with Gonzalez.
“I’m very excited to return to the Earthquakes as Academy Director,” said Gonzalez. “Youth development is a big passion of mine. Northern California is a hotbed for talent, so I’m looking forward to sharing my experiences and working closely together with the staff to maximize the potential of one of the top academies in Major League Soccer.”
Gonzalez most recently served as head coach for the Quakes through June 2024. After being named to the post in August 2022, he joined the club on a full-time basis following the 2022 FIFA World Cup, where he was an assistant coach and head of training plans for the U.S. Men’s National Team that advanced to the Round of 16. In Gonzalez’s first season at the helm in San Jose, he led the Black and Blue to the 2023 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs for the club’s first appearance in three years. Homegrown midfielder Niko Tsakiris, then 18 years old, was one of the youngest players in the league to appear in the postseason that year.
Prior to coaching San Jose, Gonzalez was named FC Dallas’ first-team head coach ahead of the 2019 season and promptly led the club to back-to-back Audi MLS Cup Playoff appearances before his departure in September 2021. Over those first two seasons, FC Dallas lost just one of 27 home matches (17-1-9) and ranked in the top seven defensively both years.
In 2018, Gonzalez led the planning to put together the club’s inaugural second team, North Texas SC. The team would eventually win the USL League One title in 2019 and now competes in MLS NEXT Pro, making him one of a select few coaches who have worked directly with all three phases of MLS’ Pro Player Pathway. In all, 12 staff members from the FC Dallas Academy were promoted to positions with the first or second team.
Internationally, before joining the U.S. Men’s National Team senior staff, Gonzalez also coached the Stars and Stripes at the U-16, U-18 and U-20 levels.
As a player, Gonzalez was a U.S. U-17 youth international and played four seasons at Southern Methodist University. After winning the MAC Hermann Trophy as the nation’s best collegiate player in 2001, Gonzalez was selected sixth overall by the Earthquakes in the 2002 MLS SuperDraft. He made eight appearances during his rookie season with San Jose before later playing in Sweden and Peru. He then returned to MLS in 2005, finishing with 22 appearances across two seasons with the Colorado Rapids.
A native of Miami, Florida, Gonzalez received his Elite Formation Coaching License as part of MLS’ partnership with the French Football Federation. He has also earned the U.S. Soccer Pro License, which represents the highest soccer license recognized in North America, as well as the U.S. Soccer Academy Directors License.
