Western Mass Pioneers Assistant Coach Tomas Duben Discusses Argentinian Soccer Culture, Transition to Coaching, and 'Unfinished Business'
"I feel we still have unfinished business."
Trading in your boots for a tactics board can be difficult but Western Mass Pioneers assistant coach Tomas Duben has found a new lease on the game he has loved since he was a young child thanks to the move.
Duben has loved soccer from an early age. His father and older brother played the sport and would watch it at home in Argentina.
“The connection happened quickly because the soccer ball was always there,” Duben told The Blazing Musket. “I played in the street, in my backyard, at the local team, anywhere I could. I started playing at three, and by five, I was already participating in tournaments and competitions.
“It’s much more than just a sport,” he added “So my beginnings are similar to those of most kids here, who are born with a ball in their lives and are passed down the passion for it.”
The passion for the game stayed with Duben who played his first professional match at the age of 18. After traversing the third and fourth division of the Argentina soccer pyramid — including a stop at Atlético San Miguel who currently plays in Argentina’s second division — the opportunity to play in the United States arose in 2022.
Duben would go on to play for Western Mass for two seasons. His nine goals and 10 assists helped the Pioneers qualify for the playoffs in both of his seasons at the club. Duben also became an influential figure at the club as he was named captain in 2023.
Alongside his career as a player, he studied for his coaching license in Argentina and founded a small academy which he is currently the general director of. Over time, the academy grew, and being a coach started to play a bigger role in his life.
While the attacker signed for the club ahead of its 2024 U.S. Open Cup match, he was approached by the club to be an assistant coach which would see him trade playing on the pitch for making tactical decisions on the touchline.
“I found that I enjoyed it and felt the same passion as when I played soccer,” Duben said. “When the Pioneers offered me the position of assistant coach this past summer, it was honestly very difficult to decide because being on the field is something beautiful. But I was also smart and understood that the club really needed me in that role, and I don’t regret making that transition because I enjoyed it immensely and felt important within the structure, thanks to the trust and freedom that both the club and the community gave me.”
Duben works with the Pioneers youth teams as well as the USL League 2 side. He enjoys being able to help develop young players while also being able to be involved in training and match planning.
Duben’s coaching style has been crafted from the style of play known in his homeland. He likes his teams to be patient in possession and utilize verticality when attacking. While he admires the coaching styles of Mikael Arteta and Jurgen Klopp, the assistant coach believes it is important to adapt to the players on the roster and to build a game plan that fits the resources available.
Additionally, Duben now shares a lot of coaching similarities with Pioneers head coach Federico Molinari.
“My relationship with him as player-coach was already strong,” Duben said. “He chose me as the team’s second captain, which meant we were in constant contact. He’s an intense, demanding person in training, but he also listens to his players and manages everyone’s emotions well.
“As his assistant, I learned a ton and genuinely enjoyed working with him,” Duben added. “We spent every day of spring and summer together, recruiting players, talking about soccer, and planning matches or training sessions. One of the most important things is that, even though he was the head of the technical staff, he always made me feel valued and heard whenever I gave my input.”
Western Mass had a solid 2024 campaign as it was one of the top teams in the Northeastern Division finishing just behind the eventual USL League 2 champions Seacoast United. While it was a successful season, Duben believes that the Pioneers have some “unfinished business.”
“We achieved our goal of making the playoffs again, which is always important for the club,” the assistant coach said. “Winning 12 out of 16 games and being the second-highest scoring team in the league, among hundreds of teams, is definitely something to be proud of. That said, I feel we still have unfinished business — either winning the regular season again or making a deeper run in the playoffs. The club has big ambitions and isn’t satisfied with just getting by, which creates a great environment to work in and really instill that winning mentality in the players we bring in.”