Ben Olsen is a winner again, and that’s why he does this
(image via Houston Dynamo FC)
After the final whistle blew and the fireworks ended at Shell Energy Stadium after the Houston Dynamo defeated Austin FC 2-0 on Saturday night, Ben Olsen had a moment to collect his thoughts and reflect on what the win meant. This win was a long time coming, not just for the Dynamo their fan but for Olsen as well.
Olsen began his managerial career at the club he played at, D.C. United. From 2010-2020, Olsen was the head coach for the Black and Red, winning a Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and MLS Coach of the Year during that time. But in 2020, it came unraveled at United. D.C. went winless in the MLS is Back Tournament held during the Covid-19 pandemic and then after winning just 2 of 16 games after the resumption of the league schedule, Olsen was fired by the only club he ever knew.
Olsen spent a brief time as president of the Washington Spirit in the National Women’s Soccer League, but he always wanted to coach. We had the chance to speak to him at the team’s first practice this season and he said as much. He needed the time off after D.C., but that time away also helped fuel his hunger to come back. The Dynamo job was that chance. A second chance, a chance to build something back to what it once was and could be again.
The last time Ben Olsen won a Major League Soccer game as a head coach was September 2, 2020. That was until Saturday night. Goals from Amine Bassi and Hector Herrera gave the Dynamo their first win of 2023 and Olsen his first win in orange. Olsen’s opening comments after the win were what you would expect from a head coach, a man who has been around the sport his whole life. “We're very excited about the three points,” Olsen said. “We talked about rewarding ourselves in that locker room for a lot of hard work over the last couple of months. Also rewarding the fans, making sure that this place is somewhere where we can play good soccer, win, and entertain our fans from Houston. Rewarding them, rewarding ourselves tonight, overall, we're very pleased to get that out of the way. Coaches can say whatever they want, but you want to get your first win. It helps quite a bit, the mood there is very good. The message now is to grow and get better and make sure that we can put this type of performance on at home consistently, because I do believe it's a recipe for getting into the postseason.”
For guys like Olsen, guys who have been in MLS since its infancy, who have spent their adult lives in and around soccer, it’s always about the guys in that locker room. Olsen knows this, he was one of those guys. He’s a coach that the players can get behind. We saw this in Hector Herrera’s goal celebration. He immediately ran over to Olsen and jumped into his arms. But as Olsen continued answering questions and praising his players, the fans, and everyone else, I wanted to ask him just what winning meant to him on a personal level. What it felt like to have that euphoria again that athletes and coaches spend their days, weeks, months chasing.
Olsen took a brief moment to reflect and then answered. "I haven't thought about that much. Just pleased that, ownerships here, fans are here, the building was full and that the players are smiling and believing in what we're doing here.” Olsen had a smile on his face as well.
The coach in him took over some as he continued. “That's important to a coach and there won't be any pats on the back. Coaches win, it's a little bit more relief than just needing to sleep a little better tonight.” We often forget about the stress involved with being a coach. The late hours dealing with tactics and assistants and players and their personalities. They’re human too. Fans call for them to be fired at the first sign of the slightest adversity. But for Olsen, he knows all that. He knows what comes with the job and especially this job. The rebuild that is on, not just his hands, but the hands of the entire front office and staff at HDFC.
Knowing all of that and all it entails, hearing Olsen speak Saturday and seeing what it means to him as he closed out his answer, he wouldn’t trade where he is for anything. “I'm really thankful to be back in this job. It's been great to be back on the field working with the guys and to win is nice. That's also why we do this.”
It’s why they do this. Winning. All those years at D.C. when the resources perhaps weren’t the greatest and when things didn’t look like they could be turned around, winning is why. Olsen knows not everyone gets a second chance, especially in the coaching world. He’s thankful the Dynamo gave him that. On Saturday night he and his team earned a win again, two and a half years since the last one. Dynamo fans will be looking for a lot more wins as the season rolls on but, on this night, winning and everything nice that comes with it, returned for head coach Ben Olsen and the entire Dynamo staff, team, and the fans.
