San Jose Earthquakes fires head coach Luchi Gonzalez
- San Jose Earthquakes parted ways with Luchi Gonzalez on Monday
- Gonzalez spent nearly two years as Quakes head coach
- Gonzalez posted a 13-24-16 record the past two seasons
By Max Mallow
Major League Soccer team San Jose Earthquakes announced Monday that it parted ways with head coach Luchi Gonzalez following a 6-2 thrashing by LAFC.
"We want to thank Luchi for his hard work, commitment to the club and professionalism. Luchi and his staff have worked extremely hard the past year and a half, but we have not met expectations this year as a club. We felt that we needed to make a change, and it was in the best interests of the club to move in a different direction," general manager Chris Leitch said in the announcement.
The team announced assistant coach Ian Russell as interim head coach. Assistant coaches Steve Ralston, Luciano Fusco and Adin Brown will remain with the Quakes in their current roles.
Gonzalez leaves the team posting a 13-24-16 record the past two seasons. He was first named head coach on Aug. 17, 2022, but didn't join the team full-time until after the 2022 FIFA World Cup where he was an assistant on Gregg Berhalter's USMNT staff.
San Jose is currently last in MLS' Western Conference winning a league-low three games and a league-high 14 through 19 matches. The Quakes lost seven of its last eight in all competitions and has failed to win an MLS match since May 11. The team was also knocked out of the U.S. Open Cup by Sacramento Republic FC.
“I want to thank ownership, leadership and our fans for the opportunity and the support they gave me during my time managing the Earthquakes. I am very grateful to all the staff and players that worked hard every day to improve our situation and wish them the very best moving forward. I plan to take some time with my family to reflect and prepare for the next step in my journey," Gonzalez said in the announcement.
Russell takes over previously serving as interim head coach in 2014 for two matches. He was part of the coaching staff in 2012 when the Quakes won the Supporters' shield. HE also won two MLS Cup championships as a midfielder for San Jose back in 2001 and 2003. The club honored him recently as one of the 50 greatest players in the team's history.
The team did not divulge details regarding a new coaching search in its announcement, nor how long Russell will serve as interim boss.
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