ORLANDO, Fla. (Jan. 23, 2023) - Orlando City Academy Director Marcelo Neveleff has departed the Club, it was announced today, to become the Head Coach for the Dominican Republic National Team. In the interim, current Assistant Academy Director and U-17 Head Coach Javier Carrillo will oversee the Academy while the Club begins its search for its next Academy Director.
“We want to thank Marcelo for his immense contributions to the Club and for bringing our Academy to where it is today,” EVP of Soccer Operations Luiz Muzzi said. “Under his guidance, we were able to bring our first MLS NEXT championship to Orlando, while taking our Academy to new heights. We wish him nothing but the best in this new, exciting opportunity ahead.”
Neveleff joined the Club in May 2019 in his current role, while also serving as the head coach for Orlando City B in its USL League One season that same year. Since his arrival, eight members of the Orlando City Academy have been inked to First Team contracts while a number have been called into U.S. National Team camps, including most recently Orlando City defenders Thomas Williams and Alex Freeman, along with midfielder Favian Loyola.
On the national stage in Neveleff’s tenure, the U-17 side hoisted the MLS NEXT National Championship in 2021, the first such title for the Academy in its history, before following it up with a run to the semifinals the following year. In addition, the Argentine was able to add to the Academy’s pathway, introducing its U-12 program this past year to add to the current U-15 and U-17 age groups.
Prior to his time in Orlando, Neveleff worked as a first team assistant coach for the New England Revolution beginning in 2017, along with U.S. Soccer as both a technical advisor for the Boys’ Development Academy and as an assistant for the U-20 Men’s National Team. In 2017, he was part of a staff that helped lead the U-20s to win the Concacaf U-20 Championship. A year later, he helped coach the USMNT U-20 team that won the Concacaf tournament and reached the quarterfinals of U-20 World Cup in Poland.
