The Cincinnati Swerve men’s soccer team is proud to announce Manny Adjei as the new Head Coach for the 2020-2021 PASL season. This will be his 6th season with the Cincinnati Swerve organization, after playing with the team for the last five seasons. Throughout his playing career with the Swerve, Adjei has earned All-Star accolades, was named First Team All-MASL 2 and was most recently part of the 2019 PASL National Championship team. In addition to success with the Swerve, he has three caps with the United States National Arena Soccer Team against Brazil, Canada and Mexico and was part of the player pool to be selected for the World Cup held in Australia in 2019.
Adjei is also a former athlete and graduate of Tiffin University and is currently working on his Master’s Degree in Special Education at GCU. At Tiffin University, he played in 71 games, drawing the start as a defender in 69 games. The Tiffin defense gave up less than a goal per game in three of the four seasons he played and Adjei also contributed on offense, scoring four goals. During his collegiate career, his team won the GLIAC Conference twice, the GLIAC tournament and qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history. Individually, he earned GLIAC Defensive Player of the Week twice, All-GLIAC Honorable Mention, All-GLIAC Second Team, Daktronics All-Region Second Team & OCSA 2014 NCAA Div. II Men’s All-Ohio Team.
The coaching position with the Swerve will not be his first as Adjei is currently on staff with Cincinnati United Soccer Club and was the Head Coach at Winton Woods High School from 2015-2018.
Thrilled about taking this new step with the Swerve organization, Adjei credits his mentors with fueling his passion for the game. “Throughout my time as a player with the Swerve, I’ve had the privilege of playing for coaches and veterans who were highly influential in the way that I learn and play. I feel that my talent, dedication and character have meshed well with what I have learned these last several years, allowing me to thrive in arena soccer. As I take on this new role, my goal is to replicate these same principles and continue to be a part of something great here in Cincinnati. I’d like to thank the organization for having the belief in me to continue the Swerve legacy.”
Adjei will take the reins from current Head Coach, Craig Rhodis, who will remain an integral part of the organization. “Manny has played for me for many years and has always been one of the players trying to consistently improve his game by asking questions. He is a fabulous player, one the team really respects. He certainly deserves this opportunity and will have a great support system in place to succeed. The decision to hand over the team to Manny allows me to focus on our organization as a whole, continuing to help us grow. I am confident we have made the right decision with our next coach and look forward to working with him in this role.”
The Cincinnati Swerve will officially complete their 2019-2020 season during the PASL National Championships at GameTime Training Center October 9-11, where they will defend their national title. The 2020-2021 season is set to begin in December.