Podcast: Chris Gbandi on his return to UConn and his plan for the program

Chris Gbandi was hired as UConn men's soccer head coach in December. (UConn Athletics)

The latest guest on New England Soccer Journal’s “The Goal” podcast has enjoyed enormous success both as a player and coach in the region.

UConn men’s head coach Chris Gbandi joined the podcast with host Matt Langone for a compelling discussion that dove into why Gbandi wanted to return to UConn and replace coaching legend Ray Reid, his vision for the program going forward, and his own personal soccer journey.

Gbandi starred at UConn as a defender and became one of the program’s greatest players ever. He captured the MAC Hermann Trophy in 2000 and led the Huskies to the national championship that same year. He spent the last six years as head men’s soccer coach at Northeastern and led NU to an 11-6-2 overall record in 2021. He was hired to take over at UConn in December.

Prior to his coaching tenure, he was a highly decorated player, who was the first overall pick in the 2002 MLS SuperDraft. Gbandi played eight years professionally for FC Dallas, Miami FC, and FK Haugesund of the Norwegian Division. He also made an appearance for the Liberian National team in 2004. 

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Here are some highlights from our discussion with Gbandi in the latest episode of “The Goal”:

On why he wanted to return to UConn:

Gbandi: “Obviously, it’s a no-brainer. We were pretty successful here (when he played) as a group and obviously the opportunity to lead this program to me is a no-brainer and is one I’m pretty excited about.”

On his mindset in taking over for legendary head coach Ray Reid:

Gbandi: “I think any time you’re taking over for a legend, it’s obviously a difficult situation. You go around and you look at football, basketball, baseball — there’s been some legendary coaches and you’ve had some young coaches taking over. And, ultimately, it is not an easy situation, but I think the best thing we can do as a staff, and myself included, is just really focus on us. And how do I become the best coach I can be as opposed to trying to ultimately replace Ray Reid?”

On getting the program back to national championship contention:

Gbandi: “I think one of the things we’ve talked about here is we know this is a place where you can win a national championship right now. I think, ultimately, that’s the case. You’ve seen something done, you really feel like you can do it again, and we believe we can do that here again. I think one of the key things we’ve talked about is going back to our roots. I think the roots of UConn soccer is getting players — local players, players from the East Coast, players from the U.S. that understand what it is to put on the Huskie blue and what it is to play for this university.”

On what he looks for in recruits:

Gbandi: “I think the mentality is the first piece. And you say ‘mentality, what are you talking about?’ How can you tell about a kid’s mentality and how they deal with adversity? If they had a bad pass, are they pouting? Are they pointing their fingers at somebody else? Or are they still going about it the right way? Are they still competing as if they’re trying to find a way to motivate their team? So, for me, the mentality piece is so crucial, because if you have that part of it and you can nail that on the player, then you know they can come into your system.”

On developing a love for soccer as a kid:

Gbandi: “I grew up in West Africa, in Liberia. I was able to just kind of learn on my own. I was just given the opportunity to go and play with friends, go play, learn. You know, you lose some, you win some, but you can kind of try different things. And I do think my coaching style has taken from part of that, it’s really having guys kind of learn in certain situations on their own, as opposed to always stopping training every five seconds and trying to correct it.”

“The Goal” podcast is brought to you by the Hoosac School and University of Nebraska High School.

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