MONDAY (10 AM ET): FC Cincinnati made the news official on Monday as GM Gerard Nijkamp today announced that Sassano is stepping down from his position for family reasons. He will remain with the club through the end of the calendar year in an advisory role and will also assist with the transition to the new staffing structure. The club’s organizational structure will not include a technical director moving forward.
Additionally, Hunter Freeman has been promoted to the team’s new position of director of scouting and player recruitment. In this position, he will oversee the club’s scouting activities and player recruitment strategies, as well as FCC’s entire scouting staff. Freeman is one of six department heads on FCC’s soccer side who report directly to Nijkamp.
SUNDAY (10:30 PM ET): FC Cincinnati technical director Luke Sassano is set to resign this week, per a report from The Athletic's Sam Stejskal and Jeff Rueter.
Sassano, who will step down due to "family reasons," per sources interviewed by The Athletic, would be the third major departure from FCC's sporting department in their expansion season, in which they finished last in the Eastern Conference. Head coach Alan Koch was fired in May, while Jeff Berding stepped away from the general manager role to focus on his role as club president.
The Cincinnati Enquirer's Pat Brennan also confirmed the news of Sassano's reported resignation:
Sassano, a former MLS player with Sporting KC and the New York Red Bulls, was appointed to the technical director role in 2018 ahead of their final USL season. Per The Athletic, he is expected to remain in an advisory role through the end of 2019 while Cincinnati restructure their technical staff and scouting operation, following a year in which they conceded 75 goals and posted a -44 goal differential, both all-time worsts in a single season.
