The Columbus Crew announced today that it has named Vojislav “Scoop” Stanisic its new goalkeeping coach. Stanisic (pronounced STAN-ih-SICH) comes to the Crew with a USSF ‘A’ coaching license and a long, varied resume in American soccer. He fills the position vacated by Vadim Kirillov, whose five-year tenure with the club ended following last season.
“I am honored to join such a great organization,” Stanisic said. “Hesmer, Gruenebaum and Lampson are all very talented goalkeepers, and I look forward to working with them to further their development and help the club reach its goals.”
A native of Belgrade, Serbia, the 48-year-old Stanisic began his playing career in the youth system of Partizan Belgrade at the age of 15. He remained with the storied club until 1984, when he moved to the United States to play for the New York Cosmos’ indoor team. He went on to build a reputation as one of the top goalkeepers in the indoor game over the course of a career that lasted until 2001.
Stanisic continued to play outdoors during the indoor offseason for much of his career, including a run in the APSL from 1989-92 with Albany, Washington and Miami. Upon receiving his U.S. citizenship in 1993, Stanisic was placed in the U.S. National Team pool and earned one cap, in a 2-2 tie with El Salvador on March 23, 1993.
In 1996, he transitioned to coaching during the offseason, when he was named head coach of the Franklin & Marshall College women’s team. He went 8-6-0 in his lone season there, before moving on to become an assistant coach at Central Missouri from 1997-99. He also coached the Kansas City Mystics of the W-League in from 1999-01 and the Vermont Voltage of the PDL from 2001-03.
“We are very happy to add Scoop to our coaching staff,” said Crew head coach Robert Warzycha. “He has so many different experiences to draw upon that will assist in the development of our goalkeepers. His unique background and the expertise he has gained will be an asset to our club.”
Stanisic earned a number of accolades during his indoor career, including MISL Newcomer of the Year in 1987, NPSL Playoff MVP in 1993 and 1997, when his Kansas City Attack teams won NPSL titles, and he was named to the NPSL All-Star Team three times (1995, 1996 and 1998).
Stanisic has also been very active in youth soccer, as the founder and director of coaching for the KC Inter and Indiana Inter Premier soccer clubs between 1998 and 2007. Most recently, he had been working in the private sector in Chicago, where he lived with his 11-year-old son Milan.
