South Carolina turns to MLS franchise to find new men’s soccer coach
A full 43 years after South Carolina hired its first men’s soccer coach, the Gamecocks have picked their second.
Tony Annan, who previously worked for Major League Soccer’s Atlanta United, will take over USC’s program from Mark Berson, who recently retired after a legendary career.
Annan’s hiring was announced Thursday by South Carolina athletic director Ray Tanner and is pending approval from the university’s board of trustees.
With Atlanta, Annan (pronounced Ann-in) had served as interim coach of Atlanta United 2, the reserve team of the MLS side, as well as director of the franchise’s development academy, which includes seven different youth squads ranging from Under-12 to Under-19. Players in the academy are developed from a young age to either join the pro ranks or earn college scholarships.
In Annan’s tenure as academy director, 10 players signed professional deals and more than 80 have earned college scholarships. Forty-five have earned Youth National Team call-ups with eight different countries represented. In 2018, he became the youngest coach ever to be inducted into the Georgia Soccer Hall of Fame.
“I’m excited to welcome Tony and his family to the University of South Carolina,” Tanner said in a statement. “Tony brings more than 20 years of experience in developing high-quality soccer players on and off the field. He knows what it takes to get young men to play at a championship level and I’m confident he will do the same here.”
“I am honored and grateful to be named the next head coach at the University of South Carolina,” Annan said in a news release. “As a coach with 25 years of experience in player development, I am eager to take on this challenge. The priority will be to recruit and develop players both on and off the field in line with the traditions of the university.”
In addition to his coaching career, Annan played professionally with English club West Bromwich Albion in 1991. He played college soccer and attended Life University in Marietta, Georgia, and has been a fixture in Georgia soccer for more than two decades. Before he joined Atlanta United, he worked as director for Concorde Fire and Norcross Soccer, two youth soccer programs that included thousands of players.
In 2010, Annan helped form Georgia United, a group of four Atlanta-area club teams that joined together to share resources and finished as a semifinalist at the U.S. Soccer Development Academy national championship in 2014.
Annan will replace Berson, who had been the first and only coach in South Carolina men’s soccer history. Under Berson, the Gamecocks went to 22 NCAA tournaments and two College Cups, playing for a national championship in 1993. They also made 11 Round of 16 and four national quarterfinals appearances.
This story was originally published April 22, 2021 at 3:03 PM.
