Juan Carlos Osorio has resigned as head coach of the New York Red Bulls just nine months after leading the team to the MLS Cup final, the team announced on Friday. Assistant coach Richie Williams will take over as interim head coach for the remainder of the season.
“I want to apologize to the fans for the results this season,” said Osorio. “I want to thank the players for their hard work. I would also like to thank the club for the opportunity to coach the team for the past two seasons.”
Osorio helped lead the Red Bulls to their first MLS Cup title appearance, but success in his second year in charge was much tougher to come by as bad signings and ever-worsening play led to the Red Bulls posting a league-worst 2-16-4 record.
Osorio joined the Red Bulls after the 2007 season, moving over from the Chicago Fire, which he had just led to the Eastern Conference final.
Osorio first joined the MLS New York club in 2000 as the team's strength & conditioning coach under then-head coach Octavio Zambrano before joining English club Manchester City in 2001. He spent six years with Manchester City, moving up to assistant coach, before leaving for Colombia, where he served as head coach of Millonarios for a season, guiding the club to a surprising fourth-place finish.
Williams takes over as interim head coach for the second time in three years. He replaced Mo Johnston when he was fired in the summer of 2006, guiding the Red Bulls to a 4-3-2 record before Bruce Arena was hired as head coach.
Whether Osorio's departure is a true resignation, or a forced resignation similar to the one Bruce Arena was forced to tender by the Red Bulls after the 2006 remains to be seen, but what is clear is that the first step has been taken toward the Red Bulls moving past this nightmare season that has seen the team go from MLS Cup finalist to a team on the verge of being the worst in MLS history.
Surprised that it took Osorio resigning to end his time with the Red Bulls? Think Richie Williams can help the team avoid the worst record in league history? Think anybody else should be stepping down over in Red Bulls land? Who would you like to see coaching the Red Bulls in 2010?
Share your thoughts below.
