The Red Bulls announced the appointment of Jérôme de Bontin as GM. De Bontin, who is an experienced investment man, will oversee the club’s business operations and replace GM/Sporting Director Erik Soler, who is expected to stay on as an internal advisor.
Gérard Houllier, who was appointed Head of Global Soccer for Red Bull this past June, will continue to oversee the entire global soccer product. But this does beg the question of how safe coach Hans Backe’s job will be if the Red Bulls – with the league’s highest payroll and two most expensive stars – will be if they fail to win MLS Cup yet again. After all, DeBontin is all about return on investment, and a source said Backe could likely be replaced if he doesn’t win a championship.
De Bontin was President of AS Monaco from early 2008 to the spring of 2009, and he brought a Moneyball approach to the job. He had a head for juggling finances, cutting budgets and trimming fat while still fielding solid clubs.
He has served as a Board Member of the Monegasque team for seven years and also as a member of the Board, Chair of the Development Committee and member of the Investment Committee of the U.S. Soccer Foundation. De Bontin also served on the US Soccer Federation task force on player development and is the current Chairman of the Rush Soccer Organization.
An Amherst College grad, De Bontin is the director of Sustainability Investments LLC and Mekar Financial Services. In short, he’s a money man. He ran Mékar Financial Services, an Asset Management and Investment Advisory firm and its Broker/Dealer subsidiary Sustainability Investments, L.L.C (SILLC).
This isn’t to downplay his soccer background, only to underscore the differences between he and Soler, or anybody that has sat in the chair before him.
Monaco did a solid job of youth developent while De Bontin was there, and it remains to be seen how the Red Bulls will use their vaunted development academy. But the timing is odd to say the least, with the entire roster now Soler acquisitions and the playoffs looming. It begs the question of just how safe Backe’s job will be if the high-priced Red Bulls – with Thierry Henry, Rafa Marquez, newly-acquired Tim Cahill and a league-high salary budget – will be if they fall in the playoffs.
Henry and Marquez are MLS’ two highest-paid players, and while its hard to imagine Henry being elsewhere, Backe may be in a win-now situation, whereas Marquez could find himself surplus to requirements in 2013 no matter what he does in 2012.