Head Coach: U.S. Under-23 Men's National Team
Assistant Coach: U.S. Men's National Team
Hometown: Naples, Florida

U.S. Soccer has added an international voice of experience and accomplishment to its coaching ranks with the hiring of former Polish national team captain Peter Nowak as the head coach of the U.S. Under-23 Men’s National Team. The only person to win an MLS championship as both a player and a coach, the 43-year-old Nowak will lead the USA’s efforts to qualify for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

In addition to his duties helping prepare the U.S. team for Olympic qualifying for the 2008 Beijing games, Nowak will continue to assist Bob Bradley with the full national team. Final round qualifying in the CONCACAF region takes place in March of 2008 in three venues across the United States, with the top two teams earning a trip to Beijing.

Nowak has worked with both the full national team and the U-23’s since December of 2006. Together with Bradley, they have seen over 70 players from both teams in competitive games and orchestrated the USA’s championship winning run in the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

A former captain of the Polish national team, Nowak’s professional career spanned 23 years and five countries. He made 24 international appearances for Poland, scoring three career goals. He was named Poland’s Player of the Year in 1996 and served as captain of the national squad for three years. In 2005, he was named a member of the MLS All-Time Best XI.

Nowak began his playing career in his native Poland in 1979 when he was just 15. After stops in Turkey and Switzerland, he moved to Germany and Dynamo Dresden before joining Bundesliga side FC Kaiserslautern in 1994. Transferring to 1860 Munich the following year, he earned Best Playmaker of the Year honors for the 1995-96 season.

Following his time in Germany, Nowak was brought by Bradley to the expansion Chicago Fire in 1998, making an immediate impact as the Fire won the Double in 1998 with MLS Cup and U.S. Open Cup titles. For five years, Nowak patrolled the midfield for the Fire, being named to the MLS Best XI three times and leading the Fire to another Open Cup title in 2000.

After working in the Fire front office for one year following his retirement, Nowak was named head coach of D.C. United in January 2004. In his first year, Nowak led his team to a 3-2 victory in MLS Cup against the Kansas City Wizards after the team had finished no better than fourth in the Eastern Conference for the previous four years. In three years with United, Nowak led the team to a combined 42-27-25 regular season record, including winning the Supporters’ Shield for best regular season record in 2006 with a 15-7-10 record.