Ranieri, New Men’s Assistant Soccer Coach

Emily Pope

Mid-August of this year, Manchester University hired a new men’s assistant soccer coach, Nic Ranieri. This may be his first job coaching a men’s college soccer team, but he is more than qualified.

Ranieri was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, and began playing college soccer at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee. He later on transferred to D2 school in West Virginia.

Soon after college Ranieri went to play professional ball for two years. First, he played one year in Spain, where he played in the third tier. Then he played a second year in Italy, also in the third tier.

After his time playing professionally he returned to America and started coaching. He started out coaching club soccer and travel teams and then moved to coaching high school men. Before coming to Manchester, he was the assistant coach at UC Clermont for the women’s soccer team.

Ranieri found his love of soccer through his dad. His father is from Italy and played professional soccer in the 70’s. “My dad and I speak only in Italian,” Raineri says. He started playing when he was as young as three years old. He always loved soccer, and after he became an accountant, and realized he couldn’t stand that profession, he came back to coaching.

It is a dream come true for him to coach college soccer and he has loved being here. He says he can tell that Manchester prides itself on its relationships. “I don’t feel like I’m going to work when I come here,” Ranieri says. “The people are great.”