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US Soccer Coach Resigns

November 4, 1999 / 2:10 AM EST / AP

After helping make a dream come true, Tony DiCicco is walking away from his dream job.

DiCicco, mastermind of the U.S. soccer team's title run in the Women's World Cup last summer, resigned Wednesday to spend more time with his wife and four sons.

"It has been a privilege to coach this team," DiCicco said when he led the Americans to their second world championship in three tries. "Once I experienced this team and saw their passion for the game and the goals they set for themselves, it was fun to be around them. And it became a dream come true to end up their head coach."

But it also was so time-consuming that, with the next big challenge, the Sydney Olympics, 10 months away, he left the job.

"The main reason I'm stepping down is that it's more important for me to be a world-class husband and father than a world-class coach," said DiCicco, who has boys of ages 17, 14, 12, and 8. "When I looked at the generous financial opportunities available to me next year, I didn't see how they could possibly enrich my life more than spending time with my wife and boys."

He leaves behind the 20 American women who not only turned the World Cup into a national phenomenon, but became part of DiCicco's extended family.

"Obviously, it's a sad day for the team because we all have tremendous respect for Tony as a coach, a person and friend," U.S. cocaptain Julie Foudy said. "But we understand his commitment to his family and his desire to spend more time with his wife and sons."

DiCicco, 51, has been a fixture on the U.S. soccer scene since 1990. He began with the women's national team as the goalkeepers coach, and was an assistant on the 1991 World Cup championship team before taking over the head job from Anson Dorrance in 1995. His '95 team finished third in the World Cup, but he led the Americans to the 1996 Olympic gold medal.

"He's put in a lot of years with us, and spent many hours away from his family for us, and sacrificed a lot for the team," Foudy said. "We'll always be proud of the things we accomplished together. It will be difficult to replace him."

That job could fall to Lauren Gregg or Jay Hoffman, his top assistants for the World Cup.

DiCicco built a fast, aggressive defense and a potent offense in which Mia Hamm became the sport's career goals leader. His overall record with the national squad was 103-8-8, including six wins in the World Cup. He also led the United States to third place in the 1995 World Cup and to the Atlanta Olympics gold medal in '96.

"The things I'll miss the most are the players, what they taught me, what we learned together and how they made me feel. And how much fun it was to go after something great together," he said.