FC Cincinnati relieved Alan Koch of head coaching duties on Tuesday morning.
Koch, who led the club to a pair of USL playoff appearances, struggled at the MLS level.
“After a series of recent issues and a team culture that had deteriorated, we determined that it’s time to make a change to return a club-centered focus to the team,” FC Cincinnati president and general manager Jeff Berding said.
FC Cincinnati is 2-7-2 in its inaugural season and is currently on a seven-game winless skid. The expansion side has been shut out in its last five matches.
The firing comes after a week in which FC Cincinnati lost two road games to the Philadelphia Union and San Jose Earthquakes.
“This decision is not driven by recent game results themselves, but rather the underpinnings that have led to those results,” Berding said. “We have not come close to maximizing the talent we have in the dressing room this year, nor have we seen a foundation being built that will set us up for success this year and into next year. Our whole locker room is committed to our club goal of earning an MLS postseason bid, and we need to put them in the best position to do so.”
Twenty-nine-year-old assistant coach Yoann Damet has been named interim head coach ahead of FC Cincinnati’s match against Montreal Impact on Saturday at Nippert Stadium.
Not the first time in sports of course
but give the guy a team with no chance, then the people that gave him the bad team fire him.
I’m not trying to bring reason to a pitchfork brigade here (or am I) but this is an expansion team with a roster that looks like one. That being said, they have lost 6 of the last 7 while being held scoreless each loss, and have a single goal since March 24, while playing a mixed bag schedule including some softer teams, which is the rational reason to bring out the hook.
But you then have to acknowledge the roster is second rate and either veer recklessly attacking to create some scoring for the fans, or become a buttoned down bunker team just to try and get some points. And then sign some people in the summer. Can’t pretend it is all that you held over the coach.
I never saw him anything other than a caretaker manager to begin with. His hiring was the product of Cincinnati joining the league and having very little time to actually prepare for the next level competition. I hope they can make the right choice because they can gain momentum with the new stadium.
Nice. Just as this league stepped up and started bring in DPs…..Now we need to take this league to the next level by bringing in elite level coaching
Manager available
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Julen Lopetegui 52 years Real Madrid
Santiago Solari 42 years Real Madrid
Antonio Conte 49 years Chelsea FC
José Mourinho 56 years Manchester United
Arsène Wenger 69 years Arsenal
Laurent Blanc 53 years Paris Saint-Germain
Heiko Herrlich 47 years Bayer 04 Leverkusen Bay. Leverkusen
Eusebio Di Francesco 49 years AS Roma
Peter Stöger 53 years Borussia Dortmund
Sam Allardyce 64 years Everton FC
Claude Puel 57 years Leicester City
Thierry Henry 41 years AS Monaco
Franck Passi 53 years AS Monaco
Pablo Machín 44 years Sevilla FC
Javi Guerrero 42 years Sevilla FC
Stefano Pioli 53 years Fiorentina
Mark Hughes 55 years Southampton
Domenico Tedesco 33 years FC Schalke 04
Slavisa Jokanovic 50 years Fulham
Miguel Cardoso 46 years Celta de Vigo
David Moyes 56 years West Ham
Slaven Bilic 50 years West Ham
Asier Garitano 49 years Real Sociedad
Cuco Ziganda 52 years Athletic Bilbao
Luis García 46 years Villarreal
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Get rid of mediocrity, and stop circulating same ol’ MLS coaches…….as coaching is just as important (if not more) than player selection. Bring in TOP coaches that can elevate the level of the game in our league, give players the right mindset day in day out (like TATA), bring in valuable experience and innovation, and enhance young player development .
Thierry Henry was awful for Monaco. I like not feeling constrained by borders here, but ther are some people on here who have some negative history at which point it seems just as prejudiced to not throw in the better, available MLS options, even if just to push the foreign options.
About time, They made a mistake from the beginning , this guy didnt have any head coach or first division experience at all, he was just an assistant coach with the Whitecaps. My candidates will be: Seattle’s Preki, L.A’s D. Kinnear or why not : Red Bull’s II J. Wolyniec.