Lothar Osiander Elected to National Soccer Hall of Fame
The longtime coach led the U.S. men at two Olympics, won two U.S. Open Cups with the San Francisco Greek Americans and took the LA Galaxy to the first MLS Cup final.
For years, Lothar Osiander lived a double life. He worked weekdays as a waiter at Graziano’s, an Italian restaurant in San Francisco’s financial district. On weekends, he played and coached soccer.
Over time, those weekends took him a long way from Graziano’s. Osiander made a name for himself as an NCAA champion and one of the first licensed coaches in the U.S. Soccer Federation. He led the San Francisco Greek Americans to two U.S. Open Cup titles and coached at two Olympic Games.
He started the U.S. Men’s National Team’s journey to the 1990 World Cup and took the LA Galaxy to the first MLS Cup final.
“I have to say my soccer career, as a hobby, was an outstanding experience,” Osiander told Soccer America in 2018. “Outstanding.”
Some hobby. Osiander was elected to the National Soccer Hall of Fame on the Builder ballot. He will be inducted April 16, 2027, in Frisco, Texas.
Born in Munich on Nov. 8, 1939, Osiander competed in Greco-Roman wrestling and completed a four-year apprenticeship in the hotel and restaurant trade. He moved to San Francisco in 1956, sponsored by a great-uncle whose stories about America had caught his interest. He earned U.S. citizenship in 1965.
In San Francisco, Osiander turned to soccer. After attending City College of San Francisco, he transferred to the University of San Francisco, where he played left back on Steve Negoesco’s 1966 NCAA championship team.
“I was an honest player,” he told the San Francisco Examiner in 1988. “I gave it all, had some good games and some bad games. But I always loved soccer.”
Osiander graduated with degrees in physical education and Spanish. He taught both subjects at a local high school before going to work at Graziano’s in 1971. The restaurant paid the bills, and owner Tom Duffy gave him days off to coach.
“He can wait on 40 or 50 people by himself,” Duffy told the Examiner. “When he’s not here, I have to put on an extra person to handle things. But it’s not a hardship in that he’s truly doing something he loves. How many people get a chance to do that?”
Osiander spent 22 years at Graziano’s.
“On the soccer field was heaven and Graziano’s was heaven,” he told Soccer America. “Great place. The food was outstanding. The customers were big time. I had stockbrokers, and that was when the market was going up and up and up.”
He got an inkling of the professional game as an assistant with the California Surf of the North American Soccer League in the late 1970s. By 1987, he was coaching the U.S. men’s Olympic team, a part-time job.
The Americans lost 2–0 in Canada in the opening leg of a qualifying series. They won the return match 3–0 behind two goals from Paul Krumpe and one from Jim Gabarra.
“That was the best win ever,” Osiander said.
The U.S. qualified for the 1988 Seoul Olympics, where it drew with Argentina and host South Korea before losing 4–2 to the eventual gold medalist, the Soviet Union.
Before the Seoul Games, Osiander coached the U.S. Men’s National Team through the opening round of qualifying for the 1990 FIFA World Cup. After a scoreless draw in Kingston, the Americans beat Jamaica 5–1 in St. Louis to advance.
“I’m delighted that we won,” he said after the game. “I’m totally confident we will make it to Italy, and I’m looking forward to being there.”
The Americans made it to Italy under Bob Gansler, who took over in early 1989. Osiander said he wanted to stay close to his younger son, Eric, and that taking the job full time could have kept him away from home for nearly two years.
Osiander returned to lead the U.S. men’s Olympic team for the 1992 Barcelona Games. His squad beat Mexico three times on the way to Barcelona, first in the 1991 Pan American Games final in Havana and then twice in Olympic qualifying.
The Americans won 2–1 in Mexico City in March 1992. A month later, Steve Snow scored twice and Chris Henderson added another goal in a 3–0 victory over Mexico in Bethlehem, Pa., that secured the Olympic berth.
“That proves that winning in Mexico wasn’t a fluke,” Osiander told USA Today. “It shows that progress in soccer in this country has come slowly but surely. Ten years ago, we would have lost 5-0. Five years ago, we would have lost 3-0. Now, we win every now and then.”
In Barcelona, the Americans lost to Italy, beat Kuwait and drew with eventual silver medalist Poland. They fell short of advancing from the group.
Osiander and Gansler met again in the 1994 U.S. Open Cup final in Oakford, Pa. Gansler coached Milwaukee’s Bavarian Leinenkugel, and Osiander led the San Francisco Greek Americans. The Greek Americans won 3–0, giving Osiander his second Open Cup title with the club after its 1985 victory.
In 1995, Osiander led the Atlanta Ruckus to the A-League final and earned Coach of the Year honors. The Galaxy hired him for Major League Soccer’s inaugural season the following year. Los Angeles won its first 12 games and reached the first MLS Cup final.
“The way he handles players is right on most of the time,” Galaxy defender Robin Fraser told the Daily Breeze. “He doesn’t rant and rave. He treats us like adults. He had a plan, and he never wavered from it.”
The team’s captain, Dan Calichman, told the Orange County Register that Osiander had his players’ respect.
“He picked a squad that he knew he could get along with,” he said. “Working with Lothar has improved us all upstairs.”
The Galaxy dismissed Osiander after the team struggled to a 3–9 start in 1997. He joined the Tampa Bay Mutiny as an assistant coach later that season before taking the reins of the MLS Project 40 team in 1999. He coached the San Jose Clash in 1999 and 2000.
Osiander returned to the Greek Americans and continued coaching youth soccer. He coached teams at Tri Valley Soccer Club and guided the Under-17 Ballistic Boys to the California North Youth Soccer Association State Cup crown in 2003.