[Official] 'Another interim manager' Son Heung-min's head coach changes, LAFC adopts Xavi Tamirat as caretaker... Former EPL prestigious club coach

*This content was translated by AI.

It is once again an interim head coaching system. LAFC, the Major League Soccer (MLS) team of Son Heung-min (34), captain of the South Korea national football team, appointed coach Xavi Tamirat as caretaker manager four days after dismissing Marc Dos Santos.

LAFC announced on the 2nd (Korean time) through an official statement that it had appointed Xavi Tamirat as the team's caretaker manager.

John Torington, LAFC general manager, stated through the club, "Caretaker manager Tamirat has accumulated extensive coaching experience at the highest level. He is a leader who clearly understands the strengths of the squad members and what the team needs right now." He added, "I fully trust that the coaching staff, including caretaker manager Tamirat, will maximize the players' potential. The club's goal and ambition to successfully conclude this season remain unchanged."

The Spanish-born caretaker manager has built a coaching career of over 20 years at the world's top-tier stages, including the English Premier League (EPL), Spain's La Liga, and Argentina's first division. He joined the LAFC coaching staff in January last month and is well-versed in internal circumstances and player characteristics, making him the designated candidate to quickly stabilize the team for the remainder of the 2026 season.

Previously, LAFC abruptly dismissed Dos Santos on the 28th last month due to poor performance, less than a year after his appointment. LAFC, which had once competed for the top spots, suffered a severe slump with one draw and two losses in their recent three MLS matches, and one win, three draws, and two losses in the previous month, plummeting to sixth place in the Western Conference. In particular, after suffering a 1-3 defeat to Sporting Kansas City, last at the bottom of the West, on the 13th of last month, as Dos Santos himself failed to find clear causes for the slump or solutions to set-piece issues and could not get a grip on things, club executives made a decisive move ahead of the playoffs.

There is reason to expect a rebound from Son Heung-min. Son Heung-min, who performed brilliantly with 12 goals and three assists in 13 MLS matches under former manager Steve Cherundolo last season, managed only six goals and 10 assists in 23 matches this season under Dos Santos. With his scoring pace noticeably slowing down, including just one goal in the recent 10 league matches, attention is focused on whether Son Heung-min's destructive power will revive under caretaker manager Tamirat.

Coincidentally, Son Heung-min finds himself in a unique situation where he is experiencing an interim head coaching system at both his So Sok-tim-gwa (CEO) teams. Son Heung-min stayed in the country for the South Korea national team's September-October international match schedule and consecutively received news of his club's manager dismissal and caretaker appointment.

Currently, the Korean national team is also being operated under interim manager Roberto Moreno. Manager Moreno will lead the team until the November international matches, holding an extension option to continue as head coach until the 2027 Asian Cup in January, depending on evaluations of performance and results.

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*This content was translated by AI.