Major League Soccer club the New York Red Bulls are hoping that a major change will help save what's otherwise been a lost season.
Per Jonathan Sigal of the MLS website and Reuters (h/t ESPN), the Red Bulls and head coach Gerhard Struber "mutually parted ways" on Monday. While assistant coach Bernd Eibler has also left the Red Bulls, they appointed assistant Troy Lesesne as interim coach for the remainder of the campaign.
The Red Bulls most recently lost 1-0 at home to the Philadelphia Union on Saturday night and began Monday dead last in the Eastern Conference standings with nine points and 0.82 points per game across 11 league matches. New York next hosts rival D.C. United in a U.S. Open Cup game on Tuesday night.
RBNY hired Struber in October 2020, and he guided them to the playoffs in 2021 and 2022. However, the 46-year-old who previously served as the manager for English club Barnsley was widely criticized by New York supporters after he failed to immediately pull forward Dante Vanzeir after Vanzeir was accused of using racist language during the April 8 game against the San Jose Earthquakes.
Vanzeir ultimately received a six-game suspension, and Struber acknowledged via an official statement that "the right decision would have been to immediately remove" Vanzeir from the contest "with the information that I now know."
Supporters groups had protested Struber's actions and continued involvement with the club up through Saturday night.
"I enjoyed my time at the New York Red Bulls," Struber said Monday via an official statement. "It was also clear for me that I wanted to return to Europe at the end of this season, at the latest. It was extremely difficult for me to live here, completely without my family. I informed the club early enough about my wishes and we came to the agreement to part ways."
Struber also wished "the organization and the players the best of luck moving forward."
Meanwhile, Red Bulls head of sport Jochen Schneider thanked both Struber and Eibler.
"After many discussions with Gerhard over the past few weeks, we mutually came to the agreement that a change now would be beneficial for both parties," Schneider added.
More must-reads:
In a summer already marked by high drama in the soccer world, Tottenham Hotspur captain Heung-min Son has delivered a stunning announcement: he will leave the club this summer after more than a decade of service. The 33-year-old forward confirmed his decision during an emotional press conference ahead of Tottenham’s preseason friendly against Newcastle United in Seoul. This match may now serve as his farewell appearance for the club. Spurs head coach Thomas Frank has confirmed that Son will start and captain the side in Sunday’s game. "I have decided to leave the club this summer. Respectfully the club is helping me with this decision," said Son. "It was the most difficult decision I have made in my career. Such amazing memories. It was so hard to make the decision. "I need a new environment to push myself. I need a little bit of change — 10 years is a long time. I came to north London as a kid, 23 years old, such a young age. I leave this club as a grown man, a very proud man. "I want to say thank you to all the Spurs fans for giving me so much love. I hope the goodbye is also good timing and this is the right time to make that decision. I hope everyone can accept that and respect that." Son joined Spurs from Bayer Leverkusen in 2013 and has since made 454 appearances, scoring 173 goals, sitting fourth on the club’s all-time scoring list. His final competitive outing is likely to remain the Europa League final victory over Manchester United in Bilbao, offering a storybook ending to a glittering career in north London. The South Korean revealed he made the decision some time ago, informing only a few teammates before speaking with Frank ahead of preseason. Son is reportedly exploring a move to Major League Soccer (MLS), with Los Angeles FC emerging as a leading contender. Interest from Saudi Arabian clubs also persists. He now becomes the latest high-profile departure at Spurs following Harry Kane’s 2023 transfer to Bayern Munich, as the club enters a new era under Frank, who joined from Brentford earlier this summer.
On Monday, Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane responded to James Cook's decision not to practice with the team on Sunday. Cook, who had been practicing with the Bills through training camp until that point amid contract negotiations, told ESPN's Alaina Getzenberg that he made a "business" decision not to practice with his teammates. During an appearance on WGR 550, Beane said the team did not know of Cook's plan until right before practice. He was disappointed that the situation deteriorated to a point where the star running back felt the need to miss a practice. "There's been constant communication between the two sides....at the end of the day I wish we weren't here," Beane said, via WGR's Sal Capaccio. "This is my ninth season and have never had a player miss practice due too a contract, so it's disappointing for me." Beane doesn't believe Cook's negotiations will cause a distraction in the locker room unless players "let it become" a distraction. The negotiations between the Bills and Cook could continue past training camp. "We'd love to keep him, but I have to make sure it all fits under an umbrella, not in a silo... If we don't get something done now it doesn't mean we can't before (Cook) becomes a free agent," Beane said. Cook is looking for a $15 million per year deal after earning his second consecutive Pro Bowl appearance and earning the NFL rushing touchdowns co-leader (tied with Derrick Henry and Jahmyr Gibbs with 16) in 2024. Beane said he isn't taking a hard line on not paying Cook because he's a running back, saying the Bills want to sign him at the "sweet spot." The Bills need the "sweet spot" to come sooner rather than later. It's common for teams to deal with sit-outs and holdouts during the preseason. What Buffalo doesn't want is a distraction during the regular season or postseason, and that could be where this is headed.
New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone responded Sunday, one day after Alex Rodriguez suggested his team lacks discipline and accountability. On FOX’s MLB pregame show Saturday, Rodriguez questioned the “accountability” of the Yankees after Boone did not pull Jazz Chisholm from Saturday’s loss to Miami after the infielder made a brutal baserunning blunder. Rodriguez suggested that the Yankees do not face consequences for such mistakes, and that it has contributed to further errors. “If any one of us made a mistake, we would be sitting our butt right on the bench,” Rodriguez said. “I see mistake after mistake, and there’s no consequences.” Boone took issue with those remarks when asked about them on Sunday. He said he accepts that the Yankees will always face added scrutiny, but that he disagreed with the substance of Rodriguez’s remarks. “I would disagree a little bit with the accountability factor, but the reality is, we’re focused every day on being the best we can be,” Boone said, via Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. “That’s how we have to do it. But I understand when it doesn’t happen, or we don’t have the record that I think we should have, or certainly people think we should have — that comes with the territory.” Boone is known for keeping things positive publicly, even when things are going poorly for the Yankees. That has led to some criticism from fans, who feel that he goes too easy on his players when they are underperforming. The team’s recent stretch of mediocre play combined with a lack of consequences for errors like Chisholm’s have reinforced those critiques. The Yankees lost again on Sunday and were swept by the Marlins, dropping them to 60-51 on the season. Until the team starts consistently winning again, Boone is going to hear more comments like Rodriguez’s.
The Miami Marlins turned to good ol’ Neil Diamond to clown on the New York Yankees during their impressive weekend triumph. Miami pulled off an improbable three-game series sweep of the Yankees on Sunday with a 7-3 win at LoanDepot Park in Miami. It marked the sixth consecutive series victory for the Marlins as well as their first-ever three-game sweep of the Yankees in franchise history. As Sunday’s game was nearing the end, the Marlins decided to have some fun. With the Yankees down to their last three outs entering the top of the ninth inning, “Sweet Caroline” began loudly playing inside the ballpark. Here is a video: Of course, “Sweet Caroline” is an anthem of the Boston Red Sox, the hated rivals of the Yankees. The song plays in the eighth inning of every game at Fenway Park. Fittingly enough, the 62-51 Red Sox are officially now ahead of the Yankees in the AL East standings (thanks to the Yankees’ brutal weekend against the Marlins putting them at 60-52). The Yankees only had themselves to blame for their poor weekend showing, piling on several more embarrassing mental mistakes during the series. As for the Marlins though, they are quickly looking like one of the best stories of the second half. After sitting at a dismal 25-41 in mid-June, Miami is suddenly a .500 team again at 55-55 and it has clawed to within 5.5 games back of a wild-card spot in the NL.
Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!