D.C. United fires head coach Hernan Losada

On the morning of 4/20 after D.C. United won their US Open Cup match, the club announced that they have fired their head coach Hernan Losada.

A team source told Steven Goff of The Washington Post:

“We’ve been looking at the way the team has performed and their have been a lot of challenges.”

Chad Ashton will take over for the rest of the season. According to Goff, many players were turned off by Losada’s management style that ultimately played a role in Paul Arriola’s departure. Things reached a breaking point leading to that Open Cup game. Among those issues: Losada wanted Steven Birnbaum to travel while the front office overruled him.

D.C. United returned from Rochester late Tuesday night and Losada was called in the next morning by general manager Dave Kasper and was told he was out.

Here’s the press release from D.C. United:

D.C. United have announced that Assistant Coach Chad Ashton will assume the role of Interim Head Coach and Hernán Losada departs the organization effectively immediately.

Ashton first joined D.C. United’s technical staff in 2007 as an Assistant Coach where he helped guide the team to the Supporters’ Shield in his first season, as well as two Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup’s in 2008 and 2013. He also spent time in an interim head coaching capacity for the final seven matches of the 2020 MLS Regular Season, where he improved the team’s performance.

“We believe that Chad’s ability to prepare for upcoming opponents and man manage players and in-game strategic match situations paired with his knowledge of the league will provide a springboard to further progress our style of play and enable us to compete at a higher-level as we push forward for a successful season,” said Dave Kasper, President of Soccer Operations for D.C. United.

Argentine Hernán Losada was appointed as Head Coach in January 2021 when he joined the club from Belgian First Division side Beerschot as the youngest coach in Major League Soccer.

“We’d like to thank Hernán for his time at the club and the energy he brought, as well as the attack-minded, front-foot philosophy and style of play he instilled within our club,” said Kasper. “We wish him great success moving forward.”