Sources: Union hire Mike Sorber as assistant coach
From 2007 to 2011, the St. Louis-area native was a deputy in Bob Bradley's administration. Current Union manager John Hackworth was also on Bradley's staff from 2007 to 2009.
This post has been corrected from the original version. Mike Sorber was an assistant coach at Saint Louis University, not the head coach.
A portion of the Union's fan base got a bit rattled when Brendan Burke left the team on Wednesday. The announcement of Burke's replacement should put you at ease.
I've been told by multiple sources with direct knowledge of the situation that Mike Sorber, a former U.S. national team and Montréal Impact assistant coach, is joining the Union's staff.
From 2007 to 2011, the St. Louis-area native was a deputy in Bob Bradley's administration. Current Union manager John Hackworth was also on Bradley's staff from 2007 to 2009.
While assisting Bradley, Sorber also worked with various U.S. youth national teams. Among the many current MLS players he coached at one point or another were the Union's Maurice Edu and Zac MacMath.
Bradley was fired in 2011 after losing the Gold Cup final to Mexico, and Sorber departed as well. A few months later, he was hired to the Montréal Impact coaching staff by former Chicago Fire teammate Jesse Marsch. They worked together at Stade Saputo in 2012, the team's inaugural season in MLS.
Marsch only lasted that one campaign, and was replaced by Marco Schällibaum. Sorber stayed with the club, though, becoming its chief North American scout.
Schällibaum was sent out the Impact's perennial revolving door after the 2013 season. His replacement, Frank Klopas, was hired to bring a MLS savvy that Schällibaum lacked. Klopas and Sorber go way back, having played together for club and country in the 1990s. But the Impact decided to let Sorber go.
Sorber's roots in American soccer run a lot deeper than his coaching experience, as some of you likely know. As a player, he won 67 national team caps in midfield. He was a big part of the U.S.' 1994 World Cup team that brought the global game to American soil, starting all four games.
In his club career, Sorber was an MLS original. Sorber left Mexican club Pumas UNAM in 1996 to join the Kansas City Wizards in the league's inaugural season. He played for the New York/New Jersey MetroStars from 1997 to 1999, and the Fire in 2000.
Just over a week ago, Sorber took a job with FieldTurf to help the company develop a more soccer-friendly artificial surface. It looks like that gig won't last long.
By the way, word surfaced late Thursday about where Burke is headed. Charlie Cuttone of Philly Soccer News got a hold of Burke, who said he's returning to his native Boston to pursue opportunities as a college head coach.