Hans Backe has coached his last game with the New York Red Bulls.
The Swedish head coach was dumped by the New York Red Bulls on Friday, less than a day after the team was ousted from the MLS playoffs in dramatic fashion. The Red Bulls announced that they would not be renewing Backe’s contract after three seasons in charge of the Red Bulls.
Backe guided the team to the playoffs in all three seasons, but the Red Bulls never won a playoff series with him in charge. The club woefully underachieved with relation to the resources spent on the team. The Red Bulls have the highest payroll in the league and never won a trophy of any consequence during Backe’s time in charge.
Mike Petke has been installed as the team’s interim head coach until a permanent coach is chosen. Sources tell SBI that Scottish boss Gary McAllister is the front-runner to ultimately replace Backe.
The Red Bulls also announced the appointment of former Scotland manager and long-time UEFA technical director Andy Roxburgh as the team’s new sporting director. He will be responsible for all soccer activities at the club.
Backe joins the long list of head coaches to fail to deliver a championship to the club formerly known as the MetroStars. Perhaps it shouldn’t be a surprise that Backe was dismissed given the club’s track record of firing coaches. No coach has ever lasted more than three seasons with the Red Bulls/MetroStars.
What do you think of this development? Think he did a good job, or do you think he was a terrible head coach? Who would you like to see replace Backe?
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