Former Chicago Fire and New York Red Bulls head coach Juan Carlos Osorio has been named the new head coach of the Honduran national team, according to a report in the Honduran press.
Diez reported on Wednesday that Osorio, 48, will join Los Catrachos after most recently leading Once Caldas in his native Colombia. The job is his first of any kind with a national team.
Osorio spent more than two seasons in Major League Soccer, initially replacing Dave Sarachan as the Fire’s head coach midway through the 2007 season. Chicago fell to the New England Revolution in the Eastern Conference that year and Osorio was gone by December, opting to take the top post with the conference-rival Red Bulls.
Osorio led New York on a surprise run to the brink of an MLS title in 2008, but the club missed their chance at a first MLS crown in franchise history when the they fell to the Columbus Crew in the MLS Cup.
Osorio and the Red Bulls struggled mightily in 2009, posting a league-worst 2-16-4 record before Osorio stepped down in late August.
He returned to his native Colombia soon after and took over Once Caldas, who won the league title in 2010. He posted a 23-8-14 record during his time with the club.
Chivas USA confirmed during the offseason that Osorio one of the candidates to replace departed coach MartÃn Vásquez, along with former Real Salt Lake assistant Robin Fraser, who eventually landed the job.
Osorio coached Colombian side Millonarios before coming to MLS, and enjoyed a five-year stint first as a fitness coach and then as an assistant with Manchester City in the English Premier League.
Honduras is currently ranked No. 39 in the FIFA world rankings, and beat Costa Rica to win the Copa CentroAmericana in Panama last month. They’ll compete in the Gold Cup in the United States in June.
