Tab is a true soccer legend in the United States. He is currently the head coach of the Houston Dynamos of Major League Soccer.  Previously, he was the U-20 National Team Head Coach and US Soccer Federation’s Youth Technical Director.  Inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2005, Tab burst onto the national soccer scene as a high school sensation at St. Benedict’s Prep in New Jersey where he broke the all-time scoring record with 161 goals, a record which still stands.  After an All-American career at the North Carolina State University, he was selected to the US National Team and played in the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

 

In 1990, he played in the first of three World Cups as a member of the US National Team when he helped qualify the US for the World Cup in Italy, which marked the return of the team to the tournament after a 40-year absence.   In addition to playing in the USA ’94 and France ’98 World Cups, he was the captain of the team in the 1993 Copa America.  Tab ended his international career in the year 2000 with 81 Caps (international appearances for the US national Team).

 

As a professional, he was the first American player to sign a professional contract to play in Spain when he signed with UE Figueres in 1990 and then moved to Real Betis in 1992.  After moving on to Tigres in Liga MX in 1995, he was the first player to sign a contract with Major League Soccer in 1996.  Tab has broken many barriers in the sport and has been featured in many national sponsorship campaigns including Nike, Subway, Pepsi, McDonald’s, Snickers and ESPN Sports Center.  In addition to his many commercials, he appeared on the box of Kellogg’s Raisin Bran cereal in a nationwide campaign in 1996.

 

As his playing career came to an end, he set his sights on coaching and is now one of only 30 people with a US “Pro” License.  As a head coach, he has taken the U-20 team to three World Cups with a 6th place finish in Korea 2017.  That same year he made history by winning the first U-20 CONCACAF Championship for the USA.  He has also been an assistant coach for the US senior team, including representing the team during Brazil 2014.  As a player and coach, Tab has appeared in 9 World Cups, the only American to do so.