Sandro Schwarz becomes Red Bulls' 20th coach in 29 seasons after firing by Hertha Berlin
Berlin's head coach Sandro Schwarz shouts during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Hertha BSC Berlin and FC Bayern Munich in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022. The New York Red Bulls have named Sandro Schwarz as coach just months after his Hertha Berlin team was relegated from the Bundesliga, the team announced Thursday, Dec. 14, 2023. Credit: AP/Michael Sohn
HARRISON, N.J. — Sandro Schwarz was hired by the New York Red Bulls on Thursday as their 20th coach in 29 seasons, eight months after he was fired by relegation-bound Hertha Berlin.
Schwarz is a former coach of Dynamo Moscow, where he remained after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 while fellow German coaches Markus Gisdol ( Lokomotiv Moscow ) and Daniel Farke (Krasnodar) quit their clubs.
The 45-year-old Schwarz replaced Troy Lesesne, who took over the Red Bulls from Gerhard Struber on May 8 and was fired at the end of the season. The Red Bulls made the playoffs by finishing eighth in the Eastern Conference with 11 wins, 10 draws and 13 losses and beat Charlotte in the first round before losing to Cincinnati.
Schwarz was a midfielder for his hometown Mainz (1998-2004), Rot-Weiss Essen (2004-05) and Wehen Wiesbaden (2005-09). He coached Wehen Wiesbaden (2009-10), Eschborn (2011-13) and Mainz II (2015-17) before taking over at Mainz in the Bundesliga from 2017-19.
Mainz finished 14th and 12th in his two full seasons, and he was fired in November 2019, a week after an 8-0 loss to Leipzig. He coached Dynamo Moscow from October 2020 through the 2022 Russian Cup final, then was hired by Hertha in June 2022.
He was fired in April after a 5-2 loss to Schalke dropped Hertha into last place with five wins, 18 losses and five draws.
The Red Bulls, who began play in 1996 as the New York/New Jersey Metrostars, have never won the Major League Soccer championship. They have been coached by Eddie Firmani (1996), Carlos Queiroz (1996), Carlos Alberto Parreira (1997), Alfonso Mondelo (1998), Bora Milutinovic (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), Chris Armas (2018-20), Bradley Carnell (2020), Struber (2020-22) and Lesesne (2023).
