SAN JOSE, Calif. – The San Jose Earthquakes announced today a series of staffing updates for the 2020 Major League Soccer season.
General manager Jesse Fioranelli has signed a new multi-year contract with the club. The former Lazio and Roma executive has served in his role since January 2017. Fioranelli was responsible for the hiring of 2018 Concacaf Manager of the Year Matias Almeyda and has signed six Homegrown Players since his appointment three years ago. The Earthquakes reached the playoffs in 2017 and were a Decision-Day result away from another berth in 2019.
“I’m really excited to continue being part of this storied club,” said Fioranelli. “I’m fortunate to be surrounded by a hard-working staff that truly cares about the organization from the first team down to the academy. With Matias as a great partner on the technical side, we want to continue to build off the growth we saw in 2019, not just with the first team but across the entire technical side of the club all the way through the youth. Over these past three years, we have learned a lot about ourselves, the kind of club culture we want to cultivate and the standard we expect from ourselves. Together, we want to serve our fans and our community in a way that makes them proud about the club we all love.”
“We are excited to keep Jesse with the club after our promising 2019 season,” said Earthquakes owner John Fisher. “We made a lot of steps in the right direction and are looking forward to 2020.”
Additionally, Tom Fox has stepped down from his role as president of the Earthquakes after his two and a half years at the helm. Fox’s duties have been divided among several club executives on the business side of the organization, including Chief Operating Officer Jared Shawlee, Executive Vice President Jed Mettee and Vice President of Strategy Ian Anderson. With Fox’s departure, both Fioranelli and Shawlee will report directly to the Earthquakes Board.
“We would also like to thank Tom Fox for all his work the past two and a half years with the club,” continued Fisher. “With Tom’s departure, we have built out a new leadership team at the club that we are very confident in. They will work very closely with our board as we head into the 2020 season.”
Technical director Chris Leitch has signed a new multi-year contract. Leitch, an Earthquakes defender from 2009-11, has served in a variety of capacities since 2012. In addition to providing support for the first team, Leitch executed the construction of a USL Championship affiliation with Reno 1868 FC from the ground up, while overseeing San Jose’s highly competitive Boys’ and Girls’ Academies.
Head scout Bruno Costa has signed a new multi-year contract. Overseeing the club’s scouting efforts at the first team, USL-affiliate, collegiate and youth levels since April 2017, Costa has helped San Jose greatly enhance its player-pool network. Director of methodology Alex Covelo has also signed a new multi-year contract. Since joining in April 2017, Covelo has held a variety of roles with the first team and academy, including two stints as assistant coach.
