It is official! Chris Henderson is Atlanta United’s new Chief Soccer Officer and Sporting Director. He joins the Five Stripes from Inter Miami where he has been the sporting director since 2021. Henderson will reunite with Garth Lawgerwey after a successful career at Seattle Sounders. Atlanta United traded a second round pick in the 2026 MLS SuperDraft to Miami in exchange for Henderson.
“Chris has experience building consistent, winning teams in this league and we’re thrilled to welcome him to the club as our new Sporting Director,” Atlanta United President and CEO Garth Lagerwey said. “His illustrious career and vast experience was something we valued in this hiring process and he was someone who immediately rose to the top of our search. He understands all the nuances that MLS roster building brings and I’m excited to see him play a pivotal role in helping us bring that consistent winner to Atlanta.”
Let’s take a look back at Chris Henderson’s career as a player and as a front office staff.
Henderson enjoyed 12 years as a professional soccer player. His playing career started at Cascade High School in Everett, Washington. He attended UCLA where he played collegiate soccer for two years, and helped the Bruins win a national championship in 1990. Henderson was inducted into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame back in 2016.
“I think this is a tremendous honor for Chris, and it’s a well-deserved achievement,” said Sigi Schmid back in 2016 while he and Henderson were a part of the Seattle Sounders. “He’s enjoyed a fantastic career at UCLA and as a professional player, and now he’s one of the most respected technical leaders in our game. This honor is a deserving reward for a distinguished career.”
After he graduated, Henderson went to Germany to play with 2. Bundesliga club FSV Frankfurt for the 1994-1995 season. His next move was to Stabæk for the 1995-1996 season in the Norwegian league.
Once the season was over, Henderson came to MLS where he would stay for the rest of his playing career and as of now, his front office career. He played for the Colorado Rapids in their inaugural season. He was with the Rapids from 1996 to 1998. He scored 12 goals and made over 87 appearances for Colorado.
“When you see the league and how it operates today it is interesting to look back and contrast it with those early days,” Henderson said in a Bleacher Report article back in 2010. “I remember those early facilities. You would go to a public park. You would share the facilities with youngsters playing baseball or businessmen there to play a recreational game of tennis. You would share the shower and locker room facilities with these people from the local area. Often they would say with genuine surprise, ‘You mean I’m sharing the locker room next to a guy who’s a professional soccer player?’”
Not only was Henderson making waves in MLS, but he was continuing to make his mark in the US Men’s National Team. The Midfielder played between 1990 and 2001. He earned 79 caps and at 19, he was the youngest member of the 1990 US World Cup Team. He was also a member of the 1992 US Olympic Team that played in the Barcelona Games.
After three seasons in Colorado, Henderson moved to the Kansas City Wizards, known now as Sporting Kansas City. He was only there for two seasons, but he scored twelve goals, had fifteen assists and was one of the key players that helped the Wizards win the MLS Cup in 2000.
Henderson’s next stop was the Miami Fusion for the 2001 season. He scored three goals and tallied eight assists with the Fusion. In their final year as a club, they won the MLS Supporters’ Shield that season.
In the MLS Dispersal Draft after the Fusion folded, Henderson went back to the club that started his MLS journey, the Colorado Rapids. He would stay there until 2005, but his impact within the organization will never be forgotten. He is still the all-time leader in assists for the Rapids with 53 in 178 games played. Henderson was also named to the club’s All-Time Best XI back on June 29, 2020 for how he helped build the foundation of the club.
In 2005, he joined the Columbus Crew and finished out his career in 2006 with the New York Red Bulls. He announced his retirement from professional soccer on December 22, 2006.
Following his playing career, he went to the Kansas City Wizards to be an assistant coach for the 2007 season. Ahead of the 2008 season, Henderson was announced as the technical director for the Seattle Sounders. He helped the Sounders reach the playoffs in 12 consecutive years. He also helped the club win two MLS Cups, one Supporters’ Shield, and four US Open Cups.
He left the Sounders to be the chief soccer officer and sporting director for Inter Miami on January 18, 2021. He immediately had to deal with sanctions that resulted from roster rule violations, but was able to rebuild the team and led Miami to the playoffs in 2022. Henderson is a big reason as to how Miami was able to stay cap-compliant once Lionel Messi and friends joined the league.
“The balance of the team is important. The three U22 signings we had, the development of our Academy and players coming through, that is going to be vitally important for the consistency and sustainability…It’s really important to think long-term, as well as short-term and winning trophies now, to make sure that Inter Miami is a competitive team two, three, four years from now,” said Henderson said in a article posted on Inter Miami website recapping the 2023 season.
“I want to thank Arthur M. Blank and Garth Lagerwey for giving me the opportunity to come to Atlanta and I’m excited to begin this new journey in my career,” Henderson said. “I’ve followed this club for a while now and the ambitions of the club, both on and off the pitch, are clear and that’s to compete for trophies every single season. I’m excited to get to work with Garth and to play a role in helping Atlanta United build on its history of success.”
Welcome to Atlanta Chris!
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