The Los Angeles Galaxy on Thursday fired technical director Jovan Kirovski after the club failed to make the playoffs in three of the past four seasons, including 2023.
Kirovski, 47, was a former Galaxy player, who was named to the technical director post in advance of the 2013 season. Technical directors are key in hiring a head coach and identifying designated players.
The Galaxy won the MLS Cup in 2014 behind Landon Donovan and Robbie Keane but were out of the playoffs entirely by 2017 and also missed the postseason in 2018.
Before the 2023 season, five of the Galaxy’s top supporter groups called for a boycott of the team over the leadership of the club’s front office, with their ire mainly directed toward president Chris Klein. In May of last year, Klein was fired.
The move to part ways with Kirovski comes a day after the Galaxy landed winger Gabriel Pec on a team-record $10 million transfer fee from Vasco de Gama in Brazil, the Los Angeles Times reported, in a move made by general manager Will Kuntz.
The previous club-record transfer fee came when they acquired forward Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez from Sevilla in Spain in 2020.
The Galaxy, who have won five titles in club history, went 8-14-12 (36 points) last season, 13th in the Western Conference.
Despite the early-season fan boycott, the club’s average attendance of 24,106 was their highest since 2018. The Galaxy did play a home game at the Rose Bowl last season against Los Angeles FC on July 4 that drew a crowd of 82,110.
–Field Level Media