As the dust settles on the dismissal of Nick Cushing, attention turns to figuring out who will replace him as head coach of New York City FC.
The eleventh season in club history will feature the sixth coach in club history, but the identity of that coach can only be guessed at in the wake of Cushing’s firing. Thus far there have been no candidates mentioned or rumored in connection with the NYCFC vacancy, though that could change once MLS Cup is won and the league’s offseason activity picks up.
There are currently five unfilled MLS coaching jobs, concentrated mainly in the Eastern Conference: New York City FC plus Atlanta United, Philadelphia Union, Toronto FC, and Vancouver Whitecaps FC. Who will fill that NYCFC vacancy? Thus far, there have been no rumors of a prospective new coach, but that doesn’t mean we can’t try to make semi-educated guesses.
While we have no concrete rumor to build on, nor any inside knowledge as to the candidates currently under consideration, we do know what kinds of coaches the New York City sporting staff and their City Football Group bosses have tended to hire in the past.
The five previous NYCFC coaches were not all cut from the same cloth. Only one had coaching experience in this league, while others had not previously led a senior-level men’s team. Three had deep ties to City Football Group and its flagship club, Manchester City FC, while two coaches – including the only one to win MLS Cup – came from outside the CFG umbrella and adapted to life inside the multi-club setup.
Cushing was the first NYCFC assistant coach ever to be elevated to head coach, stepping into the role on an interim basis when Ronny Deila left midseason in 2022. Internal promotions didn’t happen before Cushing, so given their scarcity and that Cushing was removed from the role so the team could go in a new direction, it’s hard to imagine that long-serving NYCFC assistants Mehdi Ballouchy or Rob Vartughian, or anyone else from Cushing’s staff, would be asked to take the reins.
Before we get into hypothetical new NYCFC hires, note that this is just one person's list, a list based on vibes, tenuous connections, precedents, and plenty of guesswork.
Past managerial hires have tended to be on the younger side, with an average age of 44 upon appointment across the five previous holders of the job, so the names on this list all are right around that age.
Only two of the five names below have previously coached in MLS, which might be optimistic given NYCFC's coaching history. Ten seasons in, the club has only employed one coach, Jason Kreis, with previous MLS coaching experience, and he lasted just one unsuccessful season at the helm.
Perhaps more on brand for New York City FC coaches, two names below currently or recently coached within City Football Group. One was hired for a different coaching job elsewhere by NYCFC’s newest co-owner, and another is more of a wild card pick, but one who has local ties. Without further disclaimers or caveats, here then, are five totally plausible potential next New York City FC head coaches.
Oliver Strand
The Domè-Vieira-Cushing Hybrid
Name: Carlos Vicens
Age: 41
Current Role: Assistant manager, Manchester City FC
His Deal: A Pep Guardiola assistant since 2021 who won trophies before that while leading Manchester City's U18 team, but someone who has yet to be tested as a head coach.
As an assistant to Pep Guardiola, Vicens has been hailed as a "secret weapon" for his expertise in designing set pieces. He worked his way up to that role with years of work coaching in the lower tiers of his native Spain's soccer pyramid, and with years coaching in the Man City Academy. Vicens coached Premier League players like Cole Palmer, Liam Delap, James McAtee, and others during his time as both an assistant and head coach of the Man City U18s. Since joining Pep Guardiola's staff in 2021, he's been close to leaving once when, in 2022, Vicens agreed to become manager of Heracles Almelo in the Netherlands but backed out of taking the job following the club's relegation from the top-flight Eredivisie.
What better way to then take that step into first-team management than by moving within the City Football Group family and coming to help develop the expensive young talent assembled in New York City? As a potential NYCFC coach he brings to mind three other past holders of the job: Domè Torrent, also from Spain and also a Pep Guardiola assistant at the time of his hiring; but also both Patrick Vieira and Nick Cushing, who each also spent time coaching at other Manchester City youth and women's teams prior to coming to New York City but lacked previous managerial experience upon assuming the NYCFC gig.
The Claure Connection
Name: Diego Alonso
Age: 49
Most Recent Role: Manager of Panathinaikos (fired October 29, 2024)
His Deal: First-ever coach of Inter Miami CF in 2020, but only lasted one turbulent season despite prior success with Pachuca and Monterrey in Liga MX. Since then it's been a string of rocky, brief stints coaching his native Uruguay's national team, Sevilla FC in Spain, and Panathinaikos in Greece.
This is a pick made mainly in service of the idea that NYCFC’s new billionaire co-owner, Marcelo Claure, is influencing the team’s decision-making on the next head coach. If Claure is feeling like giving out second chances, there's Diego Alonso, the first coach in the history of Inter Miami CF, hired in December 2019 when Claure was still a part of Miami’s ownership group. Alonso had a ton of success in Mexico's Liga MX with Pachuca and Monterrey, winning the Concacaf Champions League with each team. Yet Alonso has not been able to replicate that success since leaving Mexico, as he was let go by Miami following a rocky inaugural 2020 season (1.03 points per match earned) disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic, and by Miami's not-exactly-legal approach to roster building.
Alonso coached his native Uruguay at the 2022 FIFA World Cup but they were knocked out in the group stage, and then his time spent in charge of both Sevilla FC and Panathinaikos was brief and unsuccessful. He's had big-name jobs but none have panned, with Alonso criticized at each stop for failing to get the most out of the available talent in his teams. NYCFC have signed players after they've gone to Europe and struggled to succeed – would they take the same approach with their next coach? Alonso proved he could guide winning teams in Mexico but hasn't done it elsewhere, but he does have at least one connection in the NYCFC front office that could, theoretically, get him another opportunity in North America.
Andrew Leigh
The Local MLS Vet
Name: Giovanni Savarese
Age: 54
Most Recent Role: Head Coach of Portland Timbers FC (fired August 21, 2023)
His Deal: Spent five-plus seasons leading the Timbers which is probably top-of-mind from the NYCFC perspective given MLS Cup 2021, but Savarese also turned the New York Cosmos into a powerhouse in NASL in the mid-2010s. Slightly complicated candidate also given that he's a Red Bulls legend from his days a player for the MetroStars.
Of all the available coaches with recent MLS experience, Savarese seems like the best and most realistic fit. Tata Martino seems set on going back home to Argentina and Jim Curtin spoke disparagingly of the “oil money” behind NYCFC after his Philadelphia team lost the 2021 Eastern Conference Final, with Curtin feeling much more like an Atlanta United or Toronto FC hire than a City Football Group hire.
Could Savarese really become a CFG hire? His services are in demand right now, with Tom Bogert reporting in late October that two Spanish clubs were interested in Gio, while also mentioning that Savarese remains a leading candidate around MLS.
Savarese is New York soccer royalty with deep ties to the area's other biggest professional teams, the Red Bulls and New York Cosmos, which is not the kind of person NYCFC has usually turned to when they've been looking for a new coach. He isn't steeped in the "City way" of playing like other internal candidates might be, and the development of young players and Homegrowns was very much not the focus during his time in Portland. Savarese has been undeniably successful in every step of his coaching career and would be hired to take a young but improving NYCFC team to the next level. One legendary New York soccer writer, Michael Lewis, has already made a compelling case for Gio to NYCFC, and Savarese might also have a leg up as the only potential next New York City FC manager to appear as a guest on the Hudson River Blue Podcast.
The Prodigal CFG Son
Name: Des Buckingham
Age: 39
Current Role: Manager of Oxford United in the English Championship
His Deal: Spent years as part of City Football Group (and spent a week visiting NYCFC last summer), mainly as manager of Mumbai City FC in India, before leaving to take charge of his hometown club, Oxford United. Led Oxford United to promotion from England's League One to the Championship, but they sit three points above the relegation zone through 18 matches this season.
Des Buckingham is the only name on this list currently acting as a head coach, so that might make him the least likely option of the five listed. He's still in the dugout for his hometown club, Oxford United in the English Championship, but his career as a coach has also taken him to New Zealand, Australia, and India. His background holds a number of similarities to the most recent New York City manager, Nick Cushing: They're about the same age (Cushing just turned 40, Buckingham is 39), they're English, and neither man ever played professional soccer.
Buckingham reportedly first caught the eye of City Football Group for his work leading the New Zealand U20 and U23 squads, which got him hired as an assistant at Melbourne City FC, which he then parlayed into a successful gig as head coach of Mumbai City FC in India. Buckingham thrived in Mumbai, winning India's league in 2022-2023 while earning 1.73 points per match during his time in charge. Before he left Mumbai City to join Oxford United, Buckingham spent an entire week visiting New York City FC last summer. He is also the only candidate on this list who follows Hudson River Blue on Twitter, which has to mean something, right?
Joking aside, it's hard to see a path for Buckingham to go from Oxford to New York City at this moment, but stranger things have happened, especially when there's compensation involved. He's coaching his hometown team in the English Championship after getting them promoted, and it's not going swimmingly – maybe a move to New York and a return to the comforts of City Football Group could be appealing?
A great week spent with @NYCFC. Thank you to all the staff and players for making it so open and welcoming. pic.twitter.com/jN1WHimJ2H
— Des Buckingham (@DesBuckingham) June 19, 2023
Hudson River Blue Staff
The Homecoming American
Name: Pellegrino Matarazzo
Age: 47
Most Recent Role: Manager of TSG 1899 Hoffenheim in German Bundesliga (fired November 11, 2024)
His Deal: Originally from Wayne, New Jersey and a math major during his time studying at Columbia University, Matarazzo has been in Germany playing and coaching for 20-plus years. He enjoyed success as a manager in the Bundesliga and had some heat as a candidate to take over the United States men's national team, but maybe he's now ready to try his hand at MLS while moving back home?
This is the most out-of-left-field of the names listed given he has zero connection to New York City FC or any of its related satellite clubs, but Matarazzo is an experienced coach with years of success in Germany who is also a New Jersey native who might finally be ready to make a return to the United States.
Matarazzo worked his way up as a coach first with FC Nuremberg, then as an assistant to the current head coach of the German national team, Julian Nagelsmann, while he was in charge of TSG 1899 Hoffenheim. His apprenticeship with Nagelsmann got him the job as manager of VfB Stuttgart in December 2019 while they were still in the 2. Bundesliga, but Matarazzo helped them earn promotion to the Bundesliga that season, making him the first American-born person to coach in the German first division. His record in the Bundesliga waspoor, with his teams earning 1.14 points per match across his 136 Bundesliga matches managed between Hoffenheim and Stuttgart.
He's still one of the most promising American coaches in the game today and he's been molded and tested over years spent in and around German soccer. In a 2020 interview with the MLS website, Matarazzo stressed that he views himself as a developer of players who is also flexible about his team's styles of play. Matarazzo also said of potentially coaching in or for the United States, "Soccer's a very fast business, and I have family in the States. I grew up in the States, so there's still a part of me in the States. There is a thought that I want to go back..." A desire to come back to America doesn't necessarily make him the right candidate for right now for New York City FC, but he's someone who could make sense as an outsider candidate who wants to come home and try to conquer MLS.
