FC Cincinnati is searching for a new general manager, a Major League Soccer source with direct knowledge of the team’s plans confirmed Tuesday.
The search predates the firing of head coach Alan Koch, who led the team from its successful run in the United Soccer League to an inglorious start in MLS, and doesn’t mean longtime president and GM Jeff Berding is going anywhere.
“Jeff is remaining as the club’s president and now both the sporting side and the business side will report up to him,” the source wrote in an email to WCPO. “With the amount of attention and detail required right now with numerous projects going on, the plan has always been to bring in an experience (sic) soccer professional to take the reigns on the sporting side and oversee all aspects of that side of the business … this is a very common set-up in MLS.”
The source added the change in Berding’s role will allow him to “focus much more on the big picture of the club” while his successor as general manager handles day-to-day operations.
Could that mean better performance for the team? The source said that, under Berding’s dual leadership, FCC had prioritized the business side of its operation over the athletic.
“Now than we’re in (MLS) and have the business side going and built out, the focus is shifting to to the sporting side and getting that side fully built,” the source wrote.
They did not disclose whether the search had identified front-runners for the position or how long the team expected it to last.
