Octavio Zambrano

Octavio Zambrano

Personal information
Date of birth	February 3, 1958 (1958-02-03)
Place of birth	Guayaquil, Ecuador
Playing position	Defender
Youth career
	Union Deportiva Valdez
1980-1983	Chapman University
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1982-1983	Los Angeles Lazers (indoor)	17	(1)
Teams managed
1990	California Emperors (assistant)
1992-1993	Los Angeles Salsa (assistant)
1992-1994	East Los Angeles Cobras
1996-1997	Los Angeles Galaxy (assistant)
1997-1999	Los Angeles Galaxy
2000-2002	MetroStars
2006-2008	Tiligul-Tiras Tiraspol
2008-2009	Tatabánya
2009-2011	Kansas City Wizards (assistant)
2012-	Deportivo Pereira
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Octavio Zambrano (born February 3, 1958 in Guayaquil, Ecuador) is one of the all-time winningest coaches in Major League Soccer history and currently head coach for Deportivo Pereira of the Columbian Categoría Primera B.

Player

Zambrano moved to the United States from his native Ecuador in 1980 to attend Chapman University and later played two seasons with the Los Angeles Lazers in the Major Indoor Soccer League.

Coach

In 1990, he was an assistant coach with the California Emperors in the American Professional Soccer League. In 1992, he became both the assistant coach with the Los Angeles Salsa of the APSL and head coach of the East Los Angeles Cobras of USISL. He also coached the successful largely ethnic team from Southern California, LA Salsa U-19, a McGuire Cup finalist. He was the 1994 USISL Western Division Coach of the Year. Following his work with the LA Salsa Zambrano was hired by the Mission Viejo Pateadores, one of the United States Top Soccer Academies. He joined MLS as an assistant for Lothar Osiander with Los Angeles Galaxy and assumed head coaching duties when Osiander was fired early in the 1997 season. Zambrano's 1998 Galaxy went 24 and 8 and broke all MLS scoring records, ending the year with 85 goals, became the first American team to make it to a CONCACAF clubs final against Cruz Azul of Mexico. But in the playoffs they faltered, falling to Bob Bradley's expansion Chicago Fire. Five games into the 1999 season, Zambrano was fired.

Zambrano re-surfaced as the head coach of the MetroStars in 2000, replacing the famous and much traveled Bora Milutinovic. He coached the team for three years, following a promising two years winning the MLS Eastern Division championship and playing in two league semifinals, with a disappointing third. Zambrano was fired and replaced by Bradley after the 2002 season, Zambrano still holds the best league and goal scoring record amongst all MetroStars/Red Bull Coaches, a list that includes Carlos Queiroz, Alberto Parreira, Bora MIlutinovic and Bob Bradley. From 2003 to 2006 Zambrano served a three year term as elected Vice-President of FENODE (Ecuadorian/American Sports Federation).

In 2006, he was hired as the head coach for CS Tiligul-Tiras Tiraspol in Moldova. In 2008, after successfully saving the team from relegation, he left Tiligul and moved to FC Tatabánya in the Hungarian Soproni Liga.In 2009, he left Tatabanya and was hired by CONCACAF to write the Technical Report for the Gold Cup 2009.

On December 3, 2009 Zambrano was hired by Kansas City Wizards as assistant head coach. He joined a staff of head coach Peter Vermes and assistant coaches Kerry Zavagnin, Zoran Savic and John Pascarella for the 2010 season.

In January 2012 Zambrano was named head coach for Deportivo Pereira of the Columbian Categoría Primera B.

External links

• MISL stats