D.C. United announced in February of this year that Mateus Manoel will be the club’s Head of Performance. Manoel will focus on player fitness, nutrition, recovery, and injury prevention. 

“Mateus is at the forefront of sports performance in the league and we’re excited to welcome him back to D.C. United where he started his career 15-plus years ago,” Dave Kasper, D.C. United General Manager and VP of Soccer Operations, said. “Mateus specializes in building a top level sports performance culture that blends science, hard work and commitment. Fresh on the heels of a very condensed schedule in 2020 and with new Head Coach Hernán Losada bringing a high-energy style of soccer, which will demand a lot from the players, we couldn’t be happier to add him to our technical staff”

Manoel rejoins the club for a second stint after serving as strength and conditioning coach with D.C. United from November 2006 to August 2008. In his previous role before joining D.C. United, Manoel was the sports performance manager and fitness coach for Inter Miami CF in their inaugural season in Major League Soccer in 2020.

Before joining Inter Miami, Manoel spent 10 years with Sporting Kansas City as their Director of Sports Performance and Science from 2009 to 2019. He was a part of the backroom staff at Sporting KC that won the 2013 MLS Cup Championship and three Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Championships.

Manoel also has experience on the international level. From Sept. 2008 to Dec. 2009 he served as the head strength trainer for the Mexican National Team under Sven Goran Eriksson before joining the U.S. Men’s National Team as the assistant fitness coach and sports scientist under former head coach Bob Bradely from Dec. 2009 to July 2010.

Manoel received his Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology from the University of Maryland in May 2003. He then added his Masters of Science in Biomechanics emphasis from The George Washington University in 2006.

COURTESY D.C. UNITED