Tab Ramos facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Tab Ramos

Ramos in 2015
Personal information
Full name	Tabaré Ramos Ricciardi
Date of birth	(1966-09-21) September 21, 1966 (age 58)
Place of birth	Montevideo, Uruguay
Height	5 ft 7 in
Playing position	Midfielder
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1988	New Jersey Eagles	8	(2)
1989	Miami Sharks	3	(0)
1990–1991	→ Figueres (loan)	38	(5)
1991–1992	Figueres	34	(4)
1992–1995	Real Betis	32	(1)
1995–2002	MetroStars	121	(8)
1995–1996	→ Tigres UANL (loan)	35	(2)
Total		271	(22)
National team
1988–2000	United States	81	(8)
Teams managed
2009–2011	United States U20 (assistant)
2011–2019	United States U20
2014–2016	United States (assistant)
2019–2021	Houston Dynamo
2022–2023	Hartford Athletic
2023	New England Revolution (assistant)
Honours Representing  United States (as head coach) CONCACAF U-20 Championship 2018 USA 2017 Costa Rica Third 2015 Jamaica Second 2013 Mexico Representing  United States (as player) CONCACAF Championship / Gold Cup Second 1989 Second 1993 Second 1998 Third 1996
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Tabaré "Tab" Ramos Ricciardi (born September 21, 1966) is a famous American former soccer player and coach.

He played as a midfielder for 13 years. He played in Spain, Mexico, and the United States. Tab Ramos was the very first player to sign with Major League Soccer (MLS). He spent the last seven years of his playing career with the MetroStars. Ramos played in three World Cups. He was also chosen for the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2005.

Tab Ramos's Early Soccer Days

Growing Up and School

Tab Ramos was born in Montevideo, Uruguay. When he was 11, his family moved to the United States. His dad played professional soccer in Uruguay. He taught Tab to love the game from a young age. In Uruguay, Tab played for the Union Vecinal Youth Soccer Club.

When his family came to the U.S., they settled in New Jersey. Ramos lived in Harrison and Kearny. He went to Saint Benedict's Preparatory School. Another famous soccer player, Claudio Reyna, went to the same school later. In 1982, Tab became a U.S. citizen. He also played for a local youth club called Thistle FC. There, he played with John Harkes, who would later be a U.S. captain. Ramos and Harkes played together from their youth days all the way to the U.S. National Team. Both of them were put into the Hall of Fame in 2005.

Ramos was named a high school All-America twice. In 1983, Parade Magazine named him the National High School Player of the Year. That year, he helped St. Benedict's win the New Jersey State Championship. Ramos still holds the record for most goals scored in New Jersey high school boys' soccer, with 161 goals. He scored 57 of those goals in his final year. In 1999, The Star-Ledger newspaper named him one of the top ten New Jersey high school soccer players of the 1980s.

Besides soccer, Ramos also ran indoor track at St. Benedict's. He ran in the 60-yard dash and the 4 × 100-meter relay.

In 1984, the New York Cosmos soccer team wanted to draft Ramos. But he chose to go to college instead. The league they played in, the North American Soccer League, closed down about six months later.

College Soccer Career

Ramos went to NC State for college. He played NCAA soccer there for four years. He was an All-ACC player all four years. He was also named an All-American three times. In his senior year, he tied for the scoring title in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In 1988, he left school for a short time to play for the U.S. team at the 1988 Summer Olympics. He returned to NC State in 1989. He left again when he signed with the United States men's national soccer team. He finally graduated in 2001. He earned a degree in Foreign Language (Spanish) and Literature.

Tab Ramos's Professional Playing Career

Early Professional Teams

In 1988, Ramos played for the New Jersey Eagles in the American Soccer League. That same year, the Tacoma Stars picked him first in the MISL draft. But he decided to play only outdoor soccer. He then joined the Miami Sharks for the 1989 season. He was chosen as a league All Star that year.

Playing in Spain

Ramos and other national team players signed contracts with the United States Soccer Federation (USSF). This meant they would play only for the national team. This helped them get ready for the 1990 FIFA World Cup. After the World Cup, the USSF helped these players find club teams.

On July 27, 1990, the USSF loaned Ramos to a Spanish team called Figueres. This team was in the Second Division. He played with Tito Vilanova, who later became FC Barcelona's manager. In his first season, he played 38 games and scored 5 goals. On June 23, 1991, Figueres bought Ramos's contract. His great play continued in his second year. This made many top Spanish teams interested in him. However, he was sent off in a game on November 24, 1991. He was suspended for three games, and the interest from other teams faded.

On July 31, 1992, Figueres sold Ramos to another Second Division team, Real Betis. In the 1993–1994 season, Real Betis won the Second Division. This meant they moved up to La Liga, Spain's top league. Ramos stayed with Betis for the 1994–1995 season. But he did not play any games in La Liga. He was recovering from a serious head injury he got during the 1994 FIFA World Cup game against Brazil.

In 1994, Ramos was named the best player in CONCACAF.

Playing in Mexico

On January 3, 1995, Ramos became the first player to sign with Major League Soccer (MLS). The league was supposed to start in late 1995. But it was delayed for a year. So, the league loaned Ramos and other players to teams in other countries. MLS sent Ramos to Tigres in Mexico. He played for them for the second half of the 1994–1995 season. Ramos was the first American player to play for Tigres. He played in 12 games.

He stayed on loan with Tigres for the 1995-96 season. He played 23 games and scored two goals. Tigres won the 1996 Mexico Cup championship that year. This was one of two Mexico Cups won by Tigres. It was their first title in 20 years.

Playing for the MetroStars

While Ramos was in Mexico, MLS assigned him to the new New York/New Jersey team. This team later became known as the MetroStars.

After the Mexican season ended in April 1996, Ramos came back to the U.S. for the first MLS season. He played seven seasons for the MetroStars. He was chosen as an All Star in 1996, 1998, and 1999. On May 14, 2002, he said he would retire at the end of the 2002 season. When he retired, he was the last original player on the team. He had some amazing moments, but injuries often kept him from playing. Ramos scored 8 goals and had 36 assists in MLS games.

Tab Ramos and the U.S. National Teams

Playing for the U-20 Team

Ramos started playing for the U.S. national team at the U-20 level in 1982. He was 15 years old. He scored two goals in the qualifying games for the 1983 FIFA U-20 World Cup. However, the U.S. team did not move past the group stage in the main tournament.

Ramos also played for the U.S. at the 1983 Pan American Games. In 1984, Ramos was the last player cut from the U.S. 1984 Summer Olympics soccer team. He was only 17. The International Olympic Committee had changed the rules. They allowed professional players in the 1984 Olympic soccer tournament. The U.S. team, as the host, brought in more professional players.

A year later, the U.S. failed to qualify for the 1985 FIFA U-20 World Cup. But Ramos went on to play for the U.S. team at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea.

Playing for the Senior National Team

Ramos played his first game for the senior U.S. team on January 10, 1988, against Guatemala. He quickly became a very important player for the national team.

After playing for the United States in the 1990 FIFA World Cup, he was named U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year in 1990.

In 1994, Ramos played in the 1994 FIFA World Cup again. He was a starting player for the U.S. team in all their matches. In a game against Brazil, Ramos suffered a skull fracture. This happened when a Brazilian player, Leonardo, elbowed him in the head. Leonardo was given a red card and sent off. The United States lost the game. Tab Ramos stayed in the hospital for a few weeks. Leonardo visited him there.

Ramos had more success in 1995. He was part of the U.S. team that finished fourth at the Copa América.

On September 7, 1997, Ramos scored a goal against Costa Rica. This helped the U.S. win 1-0 in a World Cup qualifying game. In 1998, he played in his third World Cup. Ramos played his last national team game on November 15, 2000. It was a 4-0 U.S. win against Barbados. Two days later, he announced he was retiring from the national team. He played 81 games for the national team and scored 8 goals.

Ramos also played 8 games for the U.S. Futsal team. He scored 3 goals. The Futsal team finished 3rd at the 1989 FIFA Futsal World Championship.

Tab Ramos's Coaching Career

NJSA 04 Soccer Club

In 2004, Ramos helped start a soccer club in Aberdeen, New Jersey. It was called NJSA 04. This club later became Cedar Stars Monmouth. It is now one of four clubs in New Jersey that play in the MLS Next League.

Coaching the U.S. U-20 National Team

Ramos is one of the most successful people in U.S. Soccer history. As the head coach of the U-20 Men's National Team, he helped them qualify for the World Cup four times. In 2019, he led the team to their third straight FIFA U-20 World Cup quarterfinal.

He led the under-20 team to the final of the 2013 CONCACAF U-20 Championship. They lost to Mexico in that game. The team qualified for the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup. However, they did not get out of the group stage.

In November 2013, he signed a contract to stay as coach. He won the 2017 CONCACAF U-20 Championship with the United States. His assistant coaches were Omid Namazi and Brad Friedel. In 2015, the team was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Serbia after a penalty shootout. Serbia went on to win the championship.

Coaching the U.S. Men's National Team

On March 31, 2014, Ramos became an assistant coach for the United States men's national soccer team. He was appointed by head coach Jürgen Klinsmann. This was less than three months before the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Coaching Houston Dynamo

On October 25, 2019, Ramos was named the head coach of the Major League Soccer club Houston Dynamo.

Coaching Hartford Athletic

Ramos became the head coach of the USL Championship club Hartford Athletic on August 22, 2022.

Coaching Statistics

Coaching record by team and tenure

Team	Nat	From	To	Record
				G	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
Houston Dynamo		January 1, 2020	November 4, 2021	&&&&&&&&&&&&&057.&&&&&057	&&&&&&&&&&&&&010.&&&&&010	&&&&&&&&&&&&&021.&&&&&021	&&&&&&&&&&&&&026.&&&&&026	&&&&&&&&&&&&&066.&&&&&066	&&&&&&&&&&&&&094.&&&&&094	−28	&&&&&&&&&&&&&017.54000017.54

Tab Ramos's Personal Life

Ramos lives in Colts Neck, New Jersey. He lives with his girlfriend Tracey and his three children: Alex, Kristen, and Sarah.

Honors and Awards

Individual Awards

• U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year: 1990
• MLS All-Star: 1996, 1998
• CONCACAF Team of the Century: 1998

See also

In Spanish: Tab Ramos para niños