Los Angeles FC, the Major League Soccer club where South Korea national team captain Son Heung-min plays, has handed the job to an internal candidate for the closing stretch of the season.
LAFC said on the 2nd, Korea time, that it had named assistant coach Xabi Tamarit, 44, interim head coach. The decision came five days after the club dismissed head coach Mark Dos Santos on Sept. 28.
LAFC sit sixth in the Western Conference at 11-8-9 for 41 points this season, far from the expectations that followed Son's arrival, when the club was seen as a title contender. With the race for a playoff spot tightening, the club appears to have concluded that it urgently needed a change in mood.
Choosing to promote from within the coaching staff rather than hire from outside is seen as an effort to minimize tactical disruption in the middle of the season.
Tamarit, a Spaniard, has more than 20 years of coaching experience in England's Premier League, Spain's La Liga and Argentina's top division. He joined the LAFC coaching staff in January, and his detailed knowledge of the squad is viewed as a strength.
He holds professional licenses from both UEFA and CONMEBOL and is fluent in Spanish, English and Portuguese.
John Thorrington, LAFC's president of football operations, said Tamarit "has a clear understanding of our players' strengths and what this team needs right now," adding that he had "full confidence that he and the coaching staff will bring out the best in this team."
