September 22 – One of the founding teams of Major League Soccer, D.C. United has hired British-German sports agent Erkut Sogut as its next sporting director, according to The Athletic.
Sogut is a familiar name in world football having represented Mesut Özil. However he has never worked for a club but does have long-standing ties to United’s ownership. He recently connected the team with new coach René Weiler (who he represents), hired in July, and will now work alongside him. United has just one win in the four games since Weiler took over.
For United, the move is another attempt to halt a slide into oblivion. Once the standard bearer of MLS and its flagship franchise, including winners of four MLS Cup’s, D.C. has become a perennial struggler. The club hasn’t reached the playoffs since 2019 and hasn’t advanced beyond the first round since 2015. Despite having its own state-of-the-art stadium in the form of Audi Field, results have continued to spiral, leaving the team bottom dwellers in the standings year after year.
Owner Jason Levien admitted frustration in a recent interview. “We’ve got to perform better,” Levien said. “I understand the frustration that happens when you see so many losses mounting. Some of them are embarrassing, some of them just deeply disappointing and frustrating. We’ve got to get back to playing winning soccer.”
D.C. United hopes Sogut’s international network and innovative outlook can help rebuild credibility. But after years of false dawns, fans remain rightly sceptical that this latest hire will finally return the Black-and-Red to relevance, especially with Sogut hiring his own clients, which surely must be a conflict of interest.
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