Preki

Predrag Radosavljević (; born June 24, 1963), better known by the nickname Preki , is a former soccer player and coach. He is currently an assistant coach with Seattle Sounders FC in Major League Soccer (MLS). He previously coached Sacramento Republic FC and Saint Louis FC in the United Soccer League and coached in MLS with Toronto FC and Chivas USA. Born in Yugoslavia, he represented the United States national team.

He played indoor soccer in the United States for over a decade, being considered among the best indoor players of all time. During his playing football career, he played for English clubs Everton and Portsmouth, and was an 'MLS original' upon the formation of MLS in 1996, playing for the Kansas City Wizards (now known as Sporting Kansas City) and Miami Fusion. He was the only two-time winner of the MLS MVP award, now known as the Landon Donovan MVP Award, until Lionel Messi achieved the feat in 2025 after also winning in 2024. He represented the United States at the 1998 FIFA World Cup. He was elected to the American National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2010.

In 2015 Preki left his managing role at Sacramento Republic FC by mutual consent. It was thought that he had landed the Leicester City FC job, but it was given to Claudio Ranieri.

Playing career

Professional Born in Belgrade, SR Serbia, Preki played briefly for Red Star Belgrade in the old Yugoslav First League after coming from FK Čukarički where he played in their youth team. In the summer of 1985, the Tacoma Stars head coach Bob McNab spotted Preki at an indoor tournament in Belgrade and sent him to the United States. He played five seasons for the Stars. During those years, he was a three-time First Team All Star, the 1988 and 1989 All Star Game MVP, led the league in assists in 1988 and scoring in 1989, and was the 1989 MISL MVP. During the summer of 1989, Preki began to consider becoming a U.S. citizen and returning to the outdoor game in order to make himself eligible for the U.S. national team. He played one season for Råslätts SK in Sweden in 1990. The Stars released Preki in July 1990 as part of a salary reduction move. In August, he signed with the St. Louis Storm. He played two seasons in St. Louis before being bought by Everton manager Howard Kendall for a fee of £100,000 in the summer of 1992 following a trial. He made 53 appearances for the Blues, 28 of those as a substitute. In June 1994, Preki signed with the San Jose Grizzlies of the Continental Indoor Soccer League where he rejoined Bob McNab from his Tacoma days. He played eight games, scoring sixteen goals, before returning to England in August 1994 to play for Portsmouth. On July 5, 1995, the Grizzlies purchased Preki's contract from Portsmouth. He was the CISL's second-leading scorer and league MVP.

Major League Soccer Preki resumed outdoor play beginning with MLS's inaugural season in 1996 when he joined the Kansas City Wiz, renamed the Wizards after the 1996 season. The league allocated him to the Wiz on February 6, 1996. He was named to the MLS All-Star for five straight years between 1996 and 2000, being the MVP of the 1999 match after scoring a first-half brace to lead his side to a 6–4 win. On 15 October, the 37-year-old Preki started in the 2000 MLS Cup, again against Chicago Fire, which ended in a 1–0 victory, being one of only three players, along with Mo Johnston and Uche Okafor, to have been a member of the inaugural Wizards team. The 2000 season still is the most successful in the club's history. In 2003, the 40-year-old Preki played and started 30 games for the Wizards, logging nearly 2,700 minutes. His season total of 12 goals and 17 assists won him the MLS Most Valuable Player award, making him the oldest-ever winner of the award and also the only player alongside Lionel Messi to win the MLS MVP award more than once. He was named to the MLS All-Time Best XI after his retirement. Preki is still widely regarded as the greatest player in Kansas City's history, as he ranks first on career charts for both goals (79), and assists (112).

International goals Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1 December 21, 1996 San Salvador, El Salvador 1–0 2–2 1998 World Cup Qualifying 2 November 16, 1997 Foxborough, Massachusetts 4–2 4–2 1998 World Cup Qualifying 3 February 7, 1998 Oakland, California 2–1 2–1 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup 4 February 10, 1998 Los Angeles, California 1–0 1–0 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup

Coaching career Upon the appointment of Bob Bradley as the United States national team head coach, Preki was promoted as head coach of Chivas USA for the 2007 Major League Soccer season.

Preki left Chivas "by mutual consent" on November 12, 2009, following Chivas' failure to progress to the latter stages of the MLS playoffs. He became head coach of Toronto FC on November 19, 2009. However, Preki didn't last the 2010 MLS season with Toronto, being fired along with General Manager Mo Johnston on September 14, 2010. Under Preki, Toronto qualified for the 2010–11 CONCACAF Champions League after winning the 2010 Canadian Championship.

On July 15, 2013, after nearly three years out of coaching, Preki was named head coach of the USL Professional Division (now United Soccer League) expansion Sacramento Republic FC in advance of their inaugural 2014 season. He won the USL Pro Championship game in September 2014 with the club. On July 8, 2015, Preki announced his resignation from his post to take up a coaching role in the United Kingdom.

On October 12, 2016, USL club Saint Louis FC introduced Preki as its coach for the upcoming 2017 season. On November 20, 2017, Saint Louis FC relieved Preki of his coaching duties.

In January 2018, Preki was hired as an assistant coach to Brian Schmetzer with the Seattle Sounders FC.

Coaching record

G W L T GF GA GD Win % Chivas USA January 17, 2007 Major Indoor Soccer League runner-up: 1986–87 Western Division Regular Season: 1986–87

Kansas City Wizards MLS Cup: 2000 Supporters' Shield: 2000 Western Conference Playoffs: 2004 Western Conference Regular Season: 1997, 2000, 2004 U.S. Open Cup: 2004

Miami Fusion Supporters' Shield: 2001 Eastern Conference Regular Season: 2001

Individual Major Indoor Soccer League MVP: 1988–89 Major Indoor Soccer League Scoring Champion: 1988–89 MISL Pass Master (most assists): 1987–88, 1988–89 MISL All-Star: 1989 MISL All-Star Game MVP: 1989 MLS All-Star: 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 MLS Best XI: 1996, 1997, 2001, 2003 MLS MVP Award: 1997, 2003 MLS Golden Boot: 1997, 2003 MLS 50/50 Club National Soccer Hall of Fame: Class of 2010 Indoor Soccer Hall of Fame: Class of 2013 MLS 10th Anniversary Team

Manager Source:

Chivas USA Western Conference Regular Season: 2007

Toronto FC Canadian Championship: 2009, 2010

Sacramento Republic USL Championship: 2014 USL Playoffs: 2014, 2015

Seattle Sounders FC MLS Cup: 2019 Western Conference Playoffs: 2019, 2020 CONCACAF Champions League: 2022 Leagues Cup: 2025