Tony Meola Returns Close To Home For Head-Coaching Debut

Tony Meola’s cellphone number still starts with the area code that identifies him as a former resident of Northern New Jersey.

He is a quintessential Jersey guy: grew up in Kearny, one of the game’s early strongholds in the U.S.; spent a year with the Long Island Rough Riders; joined the New York/New Jersey MetroStars of the nascent MLS. He then represented the state to a wider audience, playing in two World Cups with the U.S. men’s national team. When his playing days ended, he became an assistant coach and a talk-radio host.

Yet, none of that will have one iota of significance when Meola, the Jacksonville Armada FC’s rookie coach, takes his spot on the bench at Shuart Stadium in Hempstead, NY, as his revamped club takes on the defending NASL Champion New York Cosmos on Sunday evening.

“It’s storyline that I suppose can’t go away,” he told NASL.com. “It is what it is. It’s where I grew up. The Cosmos were the team I followed when I was a kid. That stuff can never change, nor do I want it to change. We go in there as the enemy now. I’m not even quite sure how many of our guys know that story. It certainly won’t be a storyline for us.”

Meola and his Armada FC players had to cool their heels last weekend as the 10 other NASL teams played their first matches of the 2016 Spring Season. A scheduled exhibition against a local college team had to be scratched because of bad weather.

“We just dealt with the cancellation and were able to watch all the games as a group,” Meola said. “I don’t think anyone really enjoyed being off. We knew what was coming so I think we prepared mentally. What it allowed us to do is see the Cosmos, though I don’t know what that will be worth in the end, maybe something.”

Meola’s first head-coaching job is a challenging one. Jacksonville played its inaugural season in the NASL in 2015, turning in a credible performance in the Spring Season, but had hiccups like first-year clubs often do, including not winning a road match. In the offseason, Meola was named the club’s head coach and technical director.

Meola moved quickly to remake the roster in his image, obtaining defenders Tyler Ruthven and Bryan Burke from USL clubs, along with strikers Alex Dixon and Matt Fondy. Fondy led Louisville FC last year with 22 goals, six of them game-winners. From outside the U.S., Jacksonville added the West Bromwich Academy product Danny Barrow and the veteran Finnish midfielder Pekka Lagerblom.

During the preseason, a period that included “some good victories and some bad losses,” Meola said he was intent on experimenting and seeing where, and if, his players could adapt to playing a variety of positions.

“A guy like [Richie] Ryan stood out for me,” Meola said. “Matt Fondy stood out for me. We brought him in as pure goalscorer, but he does so many other things well that you couldn’t tell on tape. Of course, [Charles] Eloundou [a 21-year-old striker from Cameroon] had a good preseason scoring goals but has some tactical work to do. There are a lot of guys, [Mechack] Jérôme certainly stood out for us. We will have to see how it all translates to the season.

“Jérôme was probably the biggest surprise. I didn’t realize from tape how athletic he is. There are some things we can ask him to do that we can’t ask others to do. He’s versatile and will play as a center back, but he could move to central midfield if we need him to.”

Ryan was signed from Ottawa Fury FC, while Jérôme and teammate Pascal Millien play internationally for Haiti, which will take part in the Copa América Centenario in June.

After watching the Cosmos last week defeat Ottawa, 3-0, in a rematch of The Championship Final of 2015, Meola and his players know they face a formidable opponent on Sunday, one that has lost players like Raúl, Marcos Senna, Leo Fernandes, and Walter Restrepo, but the club has intelligently and strategically retooled.

“Once again they’ve put together a team that’s going to compete,” Meola said. “Everyone thought that since they lost players they were going to be a completely different team. That’s not the case. They have a winning culture, know what they’re doing and who they are, especially at home. Not much has changed. Gio [Savarese, Cosmos coach] has done a great job.”

Coming back to the New York/New Jersey metropolitan area, Meola makes one thing clear: “It’s not about me.”

“I’m excited,” he said. “This will always be my first pro game on a sideline as a head coach. I will never forget where it happens or the result. This is about me trying to organize a group of guys. It’s about them. They have to take ownership. The game is theirs to take.”