Report: Red Bulls to retain Armas as coach

[November 30, 2018]    Even though the New York Red Bulls stumbled out of the Major League Soccer playoffs Thursday night, coach Chris Armas is likely to be retained for next season, The Athletic reported.

Armas was hired at midseason to replace Jesse Marsch, who exited to coach RB Leipzig in Germany. Armas went on to guide the Red Bulls to the MLS Supporters' Shield, with the team setting league single-season records for wins (22) and points (71).

The Red Bulls advanced to the Eastern Conference finals, where they lost 3-0 at Atlanta United on Sunday in the first leg. New York registered a 1-0 win Thursday in the second leg at Harrison, N.J., but Atlanta United still easily advanced to MLS Cup on the strength of a 3-1 goal total.

At the time Armas took over the team, the Red Bulls were 10-4-2. The club went 12-3-3 the rest of the regular season.

In the first round of the postseason, New York lost 1-0 on the road to the Columbus Crew but bounced back to win the second leg 3-0 and advance to the East finals.

Armas, 46, spent 12 years as a player in MLS for the Los Angeles Galaxy (1996-97) and the Chicago Fire (1998-2007). The midfielder scored 12 goals in 254 appearances. He also played 66 times for the U.S. national team from 1998-2005, netting two goals.

Armas began his coaching career as an assistant with the Fire in 2008. He was the head coach of the women's soccer team at Adelphia University from 2011-15 before joining the Red Bulls as an assistant coach in 2015.

--Field Level Media

[© 2018 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2018 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.