Dauti comes to the Kickers with a wealth of experience in Europe and the U.S.
RICHMOND, Va. – The Richmond Kickers are pleased to announce the addition of First Team Assistant Coach and Opposition Analyst Ridi Dauti to the technical staff. Dauti will also serve as Richmond United’s U16 and U17 Head Coach, helping forge the bridge from youth to senior-level soccer in Richmond.
Dauti joins the Kickers with a wealth of experience in coaching and player development in Europe and the United States. He holds a United States Soccer Federation (USSF) A-Senior license, and Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) A and UEFA Elite A Youth licenses. He earned a Master’s in Soccer Training from the University of Porto (Portugal) and a Bachelor’s of Sports Science from SUNY Cortland.
A specialist in training methodology and tactical analysis, beyond his duties in various head coaching and assistant coach roles, Dauti has spent the bulk of his coaching career developing players on an individual basis utilizing a position-specific approach to help players become versatile and master their positions to be able to interpret the different situations the game might present. In his roles in the professional coaching space both in the U.S. and in Europe, Dauti has led video analysis, creating presentations for the coaching staff and players to develop and prepare for opposing teams.
The Tirana, Albania native most recently served as the 1. SC Znojmo FK’s (Czechia) Interim Manager after serving as the club’s Head Assistant Coach in Fall 2023. Before his role in Znojmo, Dauti served as an assistant coach and individual development coach at Rio Ave U23 (Portugal) during the 2022-23 season.
Dauti enjoyed enormous success as John Jay College of Criminal Justice’s Men’s Head Coach from 2017-19 after serving as the team’s assistant coach in 2016.
In his first year as coach, the Bloodhounds earned their best record in program history with 9-8-1, finished as City University of New York Athletic Conference (CUNYAC) Finalists, and earned their first Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Championship berth. Dauti was named the 2017 CUNYAC Coach of the Year. In 2018, the Bloodhounds would make their second-straight playoff berth, falling to top-seeded College of Staten Island in overtime in the semifinals.
Dauti’s final season at the helm in 2019 proved to be the exclamation point. John Jay made their third straight CUNYAC playoffs, earning a 4-1 victory over fourth-seeded Brooklyn College, winning in penalty kicks over top-seeded Lehman College in the semifinals, and winning a dramatic 7-6 penalty kick shootout over second-seeded Hunter College in the finals to win John Jay’s first-ever CUNYAC Championship. The Bloodhounds earned their first-ever NCAA Division III Tournament berth, falling to Johns Hopkins University in the first round.
Following the canceled 2020 season because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dauti announced he was stepping down in March 2021 to pursue career opportunities and a Master’s Degree in Portugal.
While coaching at John Jay College, Dauti also served as the New York Cosmos Assistant Coach and Opposition Analyst. He has also coached U13-U15 teams as a Head Coach for the Cosmos Academy which competed in the United States Development Academy league, and for World Class FC, an ECNL club. He also served as the Head Coach of New York Athletic Club in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL).
Ridi Dauti said:
“After Mika [Elovaara] explained to me the vision of the club of creating a pathway to develop players for the first team, I was sure that Richmond would be the best move for my career. I enjoy working in first-team environments but also developing young players, so this role fulfilled my career ambitions perfectly. I am very grateful for the opportunity to join both the Richmond Kickers and Richmond United staff. It is a great honor to represent one of the most historic clubs in the country. I want to thank Darren and Mika for the opportunity and I hope to contribute as much as possible to the future success of the Richmond soccer community!
“The connection that the club has with the community is very strong and I could feel that from my very first days in Richmond. I am excited to be part of a club that the city is so attached to and look forward to contributing to more future success.”
Darren Sawatzky, Richmond Kickers’ Head Coach and Chief Sporting Officer said:
“Ridi is a modern coach with great experience in player development and first team game day understanding. We are working hard to develop a player pathway here in Richmond and Ridi is another excellent piece of this work. The young players in Richmond are going to benefit greatly from Ridi’s experience and our first team will get another analyst and coach to help as we prepare for game day.”
Mika Elovaara, Richmond Kickers’ Head Assistant Coach and Director of Player Development and Methodology, and Richmond United Technical Director said:
“Ridi will be a strong asset in both environments he will work in. I have known him for years and I am looking forward to finally getting him on staff here. He is an intelligent and articulate coach who creates strong connections with his players. He has an acute attention to detail and his pedagogical skills are versatile. As we seek to evolve our programming and provide the best possible day-to-day environment for all players, we need good people to share the roles of leadership. I am excited to be able to add a person of such high character and ability to our community.”
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