Former US national team and Kansas City Wizards (now Sporting KC) head coach Bob Gansler was hospitalized in Brookfield, Wisconsin over the weekend after suffering a stroke on Saturday.
The news, originally reported by Wisconsin Soccer Central, represents a tough blow for one of US soccer's coaching icons.
Gansler, 73, made 25 appearances for the USMNT as a defender in the 1960s. He went on to become a highly successful coach, prospering at the college and youth international levels and leading the USMNT to the 1990 World Cup in Italy, their first appearance on that stage in 40 years.
He later orchestrated the Wizards' run to the 2000 Supporters' Shield and MLS Cup trophies, earning MLS Coach of the Year honors in the process, and brought the 2004 US Open Cup title back to KC as well.
He also served as an assistant coach to Mo Johnston at Toronto FC during the club's inaugural season in 2007, and was inducted into the US Soccer Hall of Fame in 2011.
Wisconsin Soccer Central reports that Gansler, a graduate of Marquette University who has lived in the Milwaukee area for decades, was moved out of intensive care on Sunday.
