New York Red Bulls Hire Gerhard Struber as New Head Coach

HARRISON, N.J. (AP) — The New York Red Bulls hired Gerhard Struber as their coach Tuesday, giving the veteran of the Austrian soccer his first U.S. coaching job.

Struber becomes the team’s 15th full-time head coach and 18th coach overall in 25 seasons. He will take over a team that’s seventh in the Eastern Conference at 6-7-2. The top 10 teams in the East advance to the MLS Cup playoffs.

The Red Bulls fired coach Chris Armas last month and Bradley Carnell has been the interim coach. Struber will assume coaching duties once he receives his U.S. work visa, the club said.

“Gerhard is a bright coach, and we’re very pleased to welcome him to the club,” Red Bulls head of sport Kevin Thelwell said. “Gerhard’s playing style and experience in youth development align with our philosophy and above all, as a person he fits into our culture.”

Struber spent the past 11 months as coach of Barnsley in the second-tier English Championship. The Red Bulls paid an undisclosed fee to Barnsley to release him from his contract.

He previously coached Wolfsberger in the Austrian Bundesliga and second-tier Austrian club FC Liefering after a 13-year playing career in his native Austria.

Struber follows Eddie Firmani (1996), Carlos Queiroz (1996), Carlos Alberto Parreira (1997), Alfonso Mondelo (1998), Bora Milutinović (1998-99), Octavio Zambrano (2000-02), Bob Bradley (2003-05), Mo Johnston (2005-2006), Richie Williams (2006), Bruce Arena (2006-07), Juan Carlos Osorio (2008-09), Williams (2009), Hans Backe (2010-12), Mike Petke (2013-15), Jesse Marsch (2015-18), Armas (2018-20) and Carnell (2020).