French revolution at Red Bulls [Oct 02, 2012]

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[MLS SPOTLIGHT] French-American Jerome de Bontin has replaced Norwegian Erik Soler as general manager of the New York Red Bulls in the MLS club's latest shakeup. Former French national team coach Gerard Houllier, who was appointed head of soccer of owner Red Bull in July, has joined the club and will oversee all of its soccer programs.

De Bontin, who will head the Red Bulls' business operations, attended Amherst College and has lived for many years in Chicago, where he is the director of Sustainability Investments LLC and Mekar Financial Services. He has been an important member of the U.S. Soccer Foundation for many years.

He served as president of French club AS Monaco from early 2008 to the spring of 2009. He is the current chairman of the Rush Soccer Organization.

Houllier coached France in the early 1990s and served as manager at Liverpool (1998-2004) and Aston Villa (2010-11) in addition to working at clubs in France.