Less than a month after cutting ties with former head coach Peter Nowak, the Philadelphia Union have parted ways with director of scouting Diego Gutierrez and youth technical director Alecko Eskandarian.
Gutierrez and the Union agreed to part ways on Friday after what sources told SBI were philosophical differences between Gutierrez and interim head coach John Hackworth.
Gutierrez was instrumental in the building of the Union roster, with his connections in Latin American soccer helping the team land the likes of Faryd Mondragon, Carlos Valdes, Roger Torres and Gabriel Gomez (and his relationship with Bakary Soumare was directly related to the team's ability to sign the standout defender). He also stood by Nowak when the former head coach shipped off several of the team's most popular players, including Sebastien LeToux.
It remains unclear whether the Union will make any new hires to fill the void on the player personnel side. That seems like a glaring necessity for a team heading into the summer with around $500,000 in allocation money and a pressing need for a go-to forward.
The Union will now lean on Hackworth even more, and it will be interesting to see how a coach less than a month into his first professional head coaching job will handle the rigors of coaching the team as well as trying to improve the roster. Hackworth has been giving the backing of the club to have the remainder of the 2012 season to turn around a disappointing start, and the new head coach has not been shy about asserting his new power.
As for Gutierrez, he established a good reputation for forging strong ties into Latin America as well as having a good eye for American talent as well, a combination that should ensure that former MLS veteran doesn't stay unemployed very long.
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