Story by
What to know about Rumba Munthali, Nashville SC interim coach with Gary Smith fired
- Story by
- What to know about Rumba Munthali, Nashville SC interim coach with Gary Smith fired
Rumba Munthali will serve as Nashville SC interim coach while the team searches for a permanent replacement after firing Gary Smith on Thursday.
Munthali, 45, was Nashville's player development coach after arriving from Sporting Kansas City in 2023.
Advertisement
Here are three things to know about Munthali:
Rumba Munthali was born in Zambia , raised in Canada
Munthali was born in Lusaka, Zambia, in 1978 but moved to Canada early in his life. He began playing soccer while growing up in Toronto.
Munthali played college soccer at UAB from 1997 to 2000. He was a two-time first-team All-Conference USA defender and helped lead the Blazers to the NCAA Tournament as a junior and senior.
Rumba Munthali played professionally for a decade
In 2001, Munthali was drafted by the Montreal Impact of the A-League, the second tier of American soccer, but never played for Montreal. He began his professional career with the Richmond Kickers and later played for the Carolina Dynamo, Oakville Winstars and Toronto Lynx in the A-League.
Advertisement
Munthali moved to China in 2006 and played for Nanchang Bayi from 2006-09. He spent the 2010 season with Shenyang Dongjin before retiring.
MORE: Gary Smith fired as Nashville SC coach after six-plus seasons
Rumba Munthali worked with Nashville SC general manager Mike Jacobs
After ending his playing career, Munthali moved back to Toronto. In 2016, he was hired by Sporting Kansas City as an academy youth coach, and served as the head coach for SKC's under-17 and under-19 teams.
In Kansas City, Munthali worked with current Nashville SC general manager Mike Jacobs. Jacobs was the assistant technical director for SKC from 2015-17 before being hired by Nashville.
Advertisement
Jacob Shames can be reached by email at jshames@gannett.com and on Twitter @Jacob_Shames.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville SC interim coach: What to know about Rumba Munthali
