2022/2023 Manhattan Kickers FC Staff and Volunteer Administration
Evan Rosenthal (evan.kickers@gmail.com): President & Coach
Devin Leahy (devinhughleahy@gmail.com): 2013 Coach
Admir Nezaj (admirnezaj88@gmail.com): 2012, 2015 Coach
Simon Tchoukriel (simontchoukriel@gmail.com): 2011 Coach
Samoda Dennaire: 2014 Coach
Sebastiano Mana (sebastianomana82@gmail.com): Goalkeeper Coach
Tarek Fahmy (tarekmfahmy6@gmail.com): 2016/17 Coach
Rafi Bustamante (rafiseb@gmail.com): 2016/17 Coach
Raphael Iacovelli: Staff Coach
Field Administrator: Kent Yuen (kyuen3@gmail.com)
Treasurer: Tim Hynes (hynestim@gmail.com)
ABOUT OUR STAFF:
Evan Rosenthal is the MKFC President and has been working with the club since the beginning. He is a native of Cleveland, Ohio and played for the
Cleveland United Soccer Club for most of his formative
years.
On his youth teams, he developed friendships that remain to this day. His enjoyment of his experience
as a youth player has motivated him to make an even better club experience for
Kickers players, so that they may share the same joy of the game of
soccer and as well as being a part of a close-knit team and club. As a
scholastic player, Evan captained his High School team and later went on to
play for nationally-ranked Washington University, where his collegiate career
was cut short by injury. After two years in the corporate world as a securities analyst, he
earned a masters degree in Creative Writing from the University of Edinburgh,
in Scotland, and he continues to write and is an avid reader. Since 2003, he
has been a coach, working exclusively with Manhattan Kickers FC teams and taking over the club in 2011. For over
a decade, he has coached all ages of teams and hundreds of players,
specializing in the 5-12 age groups. His teams have competed successfully in
the United States but also around world, and several of his former players have
been selected to the US Youth National teams and top European and South American Youth
Academies. While Evan grew up in the American system, he is well-traveled and
has visited professional youth academies and coached Kickers teams in
various countries around the world. With over ten years experience
in New York City and his soccer education around the globe, Evan
brings to American youth soccer a respect and appreciation for the highest
levels of the world game, and a desire to share his love for soccer and team
sports to the next generation of players.
Devin Leahy is a native New Yorker raised on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Devin fell in love with soccer in 1st grade when introduced to the game by Mirko Cavar, Head of Athletics at the Trevor Day School. Shortly afterwards he joined the Manhattan Soccer Club and was coached by Manhattan Kickers founder and former director Curt Rosenthal. Devin went on to captain Trevor Day Schools high school team, where he also coached 1st through 5th graders as part of the Physical Education Program. As a youth player, Devin competed in Europe, participating in the Gothia Cup in Sweden and the Harlem Cup in Holland, and trained with Vitoria FC in Brasil in the summers leading up to college. His exposure to players and coaches from aroud the world has given him a thorough understanding of different playing styles while crafting his game. Devin went on to play in college, leading the Hunter College Hawks to their first NCAA birth in over a decade while captaining the team as the center midfielder. During his time with the team, the Hunter was ranked 34th in the nation. Declining a semi-professional offer in Puerto Rico after college, Devin took the opportunity to work for Cipriani USA, in New York, Beverly Hills, and Istanbul. Currently, Devin is back at home working in real estate and has brings his experience and enthusiasm to the Manhattan Kickers FC coaching staff.
Admir Nezaj moved to New York City from Kosovo at age 8 and two weeks later became an MKFC player. For the next five years, he played on the MKFC 96/97 team under Evan Rosenthal. Admir was one of the most skillful players ever to wear an MKFC shirt and played for one of the most successful MKFC teams - winning numerous leagues and tournaments. Admir scored the goal on an overhead kick to win MKFC the State Championship, the first of any Manhattan team. After the Kickers, Admir went on to play for various NYC teams, including Met Oval, and he continues to play both outdoor soccer and futsal. As a coach, Admir has gained experience first as an assistant and then coaching the 2010 team through their entire MKFC experience, U6-U12. Along the way, the team competed in Brazil, France, and Spain, and won various tournament and league titles including the Northeast Regional futsal championship.
Simon Tchoukriel was born and raised in Lyon, France. He played for the Olympique Lyonnais academy from age 5 to 18, captaining the team the final three seasons, as part of the generation of players who helped France win the 2018 World Cup. At U17, he was coached by Remi Garde, former professional player and current Montreal Impact head coach. At Olympique Lyonnais, Simon played alongside French World Cup winners Samuel Umtiti (FC Barcelona), Nabil Fekir (Olympique Lyonnais), and Corentin Tolisso (Bayern Munich), along with current professionals Anthony Martial (Manchester United), Alassane Placa (Borussia Munchengladbach), Faras Bahlouli (Lille) and Yassine Benzia (Lille). At U19, he trained with the first team during the week and played with the reserve side on the weekends. In 2014, Simon was recruited by St. John's University and played for the Red Storm for three years on a full scholarship. In his senior year, Simon began coaching with the Little Kickers and starting in 2018, is a full-time MKFC coach working with the U6 and U10 teams.
Tarek Fahmy
Rafael Bustamante
Sambie Dennaire
Raphael Iacovelli was born in Manhattan and grew up near Pier 40 in Little Italy. He played for Manhattan Kickers FC from U6 to U12 and was a part of a very successful and tightly knit team that won four regional futsal titles and many other tournaments. After MKFC, Rapha played for BW Gottschee for a year before his family moved to Italy. In Italy, he played for the academies of Cesena, Carpi, and Padova (all Serie B teams at the time) and signed a professional contract with FC Lugano (Swiss first division and Europa league), playing with the U21 team. He later played in the lower divisions of both Italy and Switzerland, and also Dubai, before moving home to NYC. We’re happy to have him back at MKFC. In his time at Kickers, Rapha was an intelligent player and well-liked by all the players and coaches. The club is fortunate that Rapha is available and motivated to work with the current generation of players. He joins the staff with two of his former MKFC ‘99/’00 teammates and friends, Tarek Fahmy and Rafi Bustamante.
Sebastiano Mana is from Turin, Italy, and is MKFC's goalkeeper trainer. He began working with the club shortly after moving from Italy in the fall of 2017. Previous New York City, Seba coached at the Juventus FC Academy.
