The experience that FC Cincinnati assistant and development coach Ricardo Paez brings to the club is as broad as it is deep.
The former Venezuelan national team star arrived at FC Cincinnati in 2019 as one of the club’s building blocks during its transition to MLS from USL. When Director of Player Development Larry Sunderland came to FCC to build the Academy, he asked Paez to join the club and lead the U-17 team. Paez had previously coached at Orlando City SC and helped develop several first team players at their academy.
Paez would spend the next two seasons in Cincinnati helping build the Academy from the ground up, coaching the U-17 and U-19 teams during his first year before sharing duties with current head coach of the MLS NEXT Pro, Tyrone Marshall.
“It was always in the works to continue to grow as a coach,” Paez said. “It was a great experience because I spent the first stages of Academy training developing talent.”
After two years of service at the Academy, Paez joined the first team as an assistant coach. Bringing his experience in development and understanding to the FCC Academy, Paez creates a reliable bridge to the pros for young players while working with veteran players to help them reach their full potential.
“As with the career I had as a player, the goal was to be able to reach the first team,” Paez said. “This opportunity came about thanks to (FCC head coach) Pat Noonan and (FCC general manager) Chris Albright and they thought of me to continue what I had been doing on the team with Tyrone Marshall in terms of my efforts with the first team.
“Being a foreign coach and understanding the American side because my wife is American, I have both sides and I can connect with both cultures. It’s been years to continue to grow, to continue to learn alongside Pat Noonan and the entire coaching staff, who have done an incredible job.
“Ricky,” as he is known inside the walls of FCC, has experience that no course or seminar can duplicate. He has experienced every aspect of the game to the fullest. His father, Richard Paez, has been a professional head coach in South America since the early 1990s and notably managed the Venezuelan national team from 2001 to 2007, a team for which Ricky made 68 caps from 2000 to 2007.
On the club side, very few have seen as many corners of the world as he has. He played in 10 countries for 24 teams as a midfielder, appearing for famous clubs like Boca Juniors in Argentina, San Luis in Mexico, Veria FC in Greece and CD Castellón in Spain. He has also appeared in Belgium, Mexico, the United Arab Emirates, Ecuador, Colombia, Romania, Peru and his native Venezuela.
Having traveled the world, Paez knows what it can be like to come to a new country or club and have to acclimatize quickly. He aims to use his experience to improve FC Cincinnati and help players reach their best level.
“I can connect to both cultures,” Paez says. “I experienced it. I have the advantage of living in different cultures that I had to play and of which I did not speak the language. I put myself in their shoes, and it’s easier for me to connect with (the players); I experienced it personally, so it helped me develop a relationship with them as someone I trust.
“I think it helped a lot in that aspect, to make the player feel like he can give an idea as well. Sometimes when you don’t have that connection with someone who can translate well or who can communicate the idea well, sometimes the player doesn’t feel as comfortable.
“But I feel like I’ve gained the trust of the players because of the way I talk to them, the experience I’ve had. This bond not only with the Latinos, but with all the players… trying to unite the group, and that there is always this unity that has been seen this season in the results that we have obtained.
The culture created at FC Cincinnati under the leadership of head coach Pat Noonan and his staff is fundamental to the success the team has experienced on the field. FCC players have embraced the process that has already earned them a Supporters’ Shield and are looking for even more. On the field, in the locker room and outside the game, the Orange and the Blues are united.
Paez played a significant role in creating this culture, helping FCC’s international members not only communicate with each other, but also feel at home as a team.
“I think what gives me the most happiness is when I see the coaching staff helping to convince a group of players to come together and make an idea happen,” Paez said. “The team believes in the ideas that we plan and that’s why we get results…that’s what I focus on in my job to help the coaching staff with Pat (Noonan) at the helm. “
As a native Venezuelan, his national pride is important to him. Being a regular for his home country’s senior national team is a point of pride in his professional football career, citing it as the “most important” part of his career. His generation with the national team changed the reality of sport for the nation, helping to put them in the CONMEBOL spotlight and opening the door for future generations of success. Today, as coach of the best club in MLS, winner of the Supporters’ Shield, he is aware of his role and the hard work he must work to open the door to others from his country. origin as a model.
“It’s not easy as a Venezuelan coach or player in a team abroad. I have to work twice as hard and be very proud of where I come from,” Paez said. “You have to do it with any heritage, but as a Hispanic you have to work hard to achieve things, and it gives you a lot of pride to go and take those steps forward, little by little.
“We continue to grow in short but sure steps and always trying to be a good person first to help everyone around the club. Not betraying my convictions, my values, always on the right path and very happy to be Hispanic and to be part of this unified club. FC Cincinnati has a very good culture and identity and we must continue to develop it.
