The Tony Annan era begins for South Carolina men’s soccer. There’s work to be done
For the first time since the program’s inception in 1978, the South Carolina men’s soccer team played a game under a head coach not named Mark Berson.
Tony Annan, the Gamecocks’ second-ever men’s soccer coach, coached his first regular-season contest Thursday night. The Gamecocks fell to College of Charleston 1-0 in overtime.
Annan — hired by South Carolina in April after Berson and the Gamecocks wrapped up a rare spring season — has only had about four months to usher in his new era. He’s still working to develop South Carolina’s identity as a faster, more aggressive team.
“I think if you watch video from the spring or last fall ... you’ll see we’ve already made great strides and (are) making a difference in the level of intensity when we don’t have the ball,” he said.
Annan has some sizable shoes to fill at South Carolina. Berson developed the Gamecocks men’s soccer program from its birth in 1978 as a varsity sport to his retirement after the 2020-21 season. He led 22 NCAA tournament teams, coached 13 All-Americans and left with 522 career wins — 511 at South Carolina — the most of active head coaches at the time.
Annan has 25 years of coaching experience and spent the most recent six in Major League Soccer. He led Atlanta United’s development academy and was named interim head coach of Atlanta’s reserve team in 2020.
Annan said he’s positive about the direction of the program and hopeful the Gamecocks will continue to improve. When asked about how he’s made South Carolina his team after inheriting the program run by Berson for 43 years, Annan stressed that reshaping the program in his image will take time.
“Not that there’s anything against the guys that are here right now, but these are not guys that I brought in,” he said. “They didn’t used to play my style of play, so they’re not used to (it). ... They’ve got to learn fast, and they’ve got to learn on the fly.”
Annan’s coaching style includes a passionate sideline demeanor. He watched the Gamecocks with a focused stare, often placing both hands firmly on his hips. Annan was vocal, active and used sharp hand gestures as he communicated across the field.
He isn’t necessarily emotional, but he is intense.
“I’ll be honest with you, I’ll always be that intense,” he said. “I’ll always be that passionate about winning games. I’m not going to sit there and be the cool, collected guy who doesn’t show any emotion because I don’t believe that’s a true coach.”
While he waits for the growing pains to ease, Annan is still encouraged by the improvement he has seen every week. He’s also looking forward to developing a program he can comfortably call his own.
“As I build the team to play my way, my style, and give it my identity, I think the future is really bright for the program,” Annan said. “A (College of Charleston) guy said to me tonight, ‘As soon as you get you guys that you want, it’s gonna be scary.’ ”
This story was originally published August 27, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
