With Major League Soccer’s preseason scheduled to start within the next two weeks, D.C. United named Hernán Losada to be the team’s new head coach.
An official announcement by United was made Monday morning.
Losada said his goodbyes on Sunday in Belgium after the Antwerp-based team he coached, Beerschot, lost to Club Brugge 3-0 in his final match in charge.
Losada replaces D.C. United legend Ben Olsen, who was fired in early October, with the Black and Red stuck in a seven-game winless skid. Olsen spent 10 seasons on the sidelines as United’s head coach and was one of the club most loved players in his 12 seasons on the field.
Originally from Argentina, the 38-year-old Losada spent most of his playing career in Belgium. With Beerschot, Losada scored 34 goals in 91 appearances and just retired from playing in 2018. Like his playing resume indicates, Losada is known to have an attack-minded coaching style.
United’s search for a new head coach was an exhaustive one, with more than two dozen candidates interviewed — from former U.S. Women’s National team coach Jill Ellis, to several coaches with MLS experience including former New York Red Bulls head coach Chris Armas, Seattle Sounders assistant Gonzalo Pineda and Columbus Crew assistant Ezra Hendrickson.
Chad Ashton, who finished this past season with three wins and a tie in seven games as a United’s interim head coach, also was considered.
