FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- The Fort Lauderdale Strikers have brought David Chadwick back to coach the NASL team, it was announced Wednesday.
Chadwick was an original Striker in 1977 and went on to become a player-coach and then an assistant coach over the next three years before becoming coach of the Atlanta Chiefs.
'I am very excited to be the head coach of the Strikers,' Chadwick said. 'It feels like I'm coming home again. I've played and coached here and this is a great opportunity to coach one of the best franchises in the North American Soccer League.'
Chadwick, 39, led the Georgia Generals of the American Soccer League to the playoffs this year and a third-place finish in the seven-team league.
As Chiefs' coach for two years, he won division titles in both indoor and outdoor play before the club folded.
Chadwick replaces West German Eckhard Krautzun, whose contract was not renewed by Fort Lauderdale despite the Southern Division championship and advancing to the semifinals in the playoffs.
Striker General Manager Tim Robbie said Chadwick 'was far and away the top candidate. 'He has all of the ingredients that we could possibly ask for in a coach -- tactical knowlege, discipline, organization, innovation, attention to detail, and the ability to properly manage and motivate a divergent group of soccer players.'
