Luchi Gonzalez is set to be named as the new manager of the San Jose Earthquakes, a source confirmed to ESPN.
A press conference is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. PT on Wednesday in San Jose. MLSSoccer.com’s Tom Bogert was the first to report the news.
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Gonzalez, 42, replaces Matias Almeyda, who was fired back in April following an 0-4-3 start to the season. Since then, the Quakes have been managed on an interim basis by Alex Covelo. San Jose currently sits in 13th place in the 14-team Western Conference, with 24 points from 25 matches.
The native of Hialeah, Fla. is currently an assistant coach with the U.S. men’s national team.
Sources tell ESPN that he will continue in that role through the end of the U.S. team’s involvement in the 2022 World Cup where the U.S. is scheduled to play Wales on Nov. 21, England four days later and Iran on Nov. 29. It is not clear how soon after the World Cup that Gonzalez will begin working for San Jose.
Gonzalez’s only previous managerial experience was with FC Dallas, a post he held for parts of three seasons starting with the 2019 campaign after leading the club’s academy for six years prior to that.
He led FCD to the playoffs twice, once in 2019 and again during the pandemic impacted campaign in 2020. Along the way, he forged a reputation for developing young players, a group that included Boavista defender Reggie Cannon, Venezia midfielder Tanner Tessmann, and Augsburg forward Ricardo Pepi.
But he was fired with six weeks to go in the 2021 regular season after compiling a record of just 6-11-9. His overall league and playoff record with Dallas was 28-31-26. He took on his current role with the USMNT in December of 2021.
As a player, Gonzalez played collegiately at Southern Methodist University and was the sixth overall selection of the Quakes in the 2002 MLS SuperDraft. But he made just eight appearances for San Jose that season. He went to play in Sweden for Bodens BK and Peruvian side Sporting Cristal before returning to MLS with the Colorado Rapids in 2005 where he spent two seasons. He finished out his career with second tier sides Miami FC and the Minnesota Thunder.
