The Erik Soler era is over for the New York Red Bulls, and the new regime at the club has a distinct French flavor.
The Red Bulls have announced the appointment of former AS Monaco club president Jerome De Bontin (pictured) as the team's new general manager. Former Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier, who was appointed head of global soccer for Red Bull in July, will oversee all sporting aspects of the team.
The move ends Soler's almost three-year reign in charge of the Red Bulls. During his tenure, the Red Bulls reached the playoffs both seasons, but lost in the first round on each occasion.
The change at the top comes two months after the club also replaced former president of business operations Chris Heck, though multiple sources tell SBI that Soler was directly responsible for the decision to dismiss Heck.
So why make a move like this just as the team is heading into the stretch run of the regular season? Soler's job of building the team is done, and clearly Red Bull wanted to go in a new direction. Houllier is the new head of Red Bulls international soccer operations and he decided to appoint his own guy to run the company's signature soccer team.
What do you think of the change? Surrpised to see it come at this point in the season? Think Thierry Henry had something to do with the shake-up?
Share your thoughts below.
I’ve sat in many a meeting w Soler, even Beirsdorfer. RBNY is a revolving door. From the salespeople to the players right down to the management. Everyone is afraid for their job there. They are all looking, or should be, because Austria doesn’t give a rats @ss about anyone there. They would staff the entire org with H1 visas if they could.
It’s got to be the empty seats. Seattle Sounders expect 66,000 fans on hand at their Cascadia game this weekend. Why can NYRB barely manage 20,000 fans on a Saturday night?
If that door continues to revolve, as a Union fan, I’d actually take Backe over what we have now…