Union expected to hire Tanner as Sporting Director

By Anthony Caruso III | Publisher

The Philadelphia Union are expected to hire former Red Bull Salzburg academy director Ernest Tanner to be their new Sporting Director. Tanner would replace Earnie Stewart, who left the team in July to accept a role with the U.S. Men’s National Team.

Stewart officially began his new role with the U.S. Men’s National Team on August 1st. The 49-year-old accepted the role of the Union’s Sporting Director in October 2015.

Tanner spent the past five seasons as the Director of Red Bull Salzburg’s academy in Austria. He is expected to be introduced by the team this week, yet he will not start with the team until September, according to Philly.com

He has to get a visa and immigration paperwork before he’s officially able to start his new position. The 51-year-old helped his club to win the Austria’s league title for six of the past seven years, including winning it five straight times.

Tanner was also the Sporting Director of 1860 Munich and Hoffenheim in Germany. He spent just one season as the Hoffenheim Sporting Director.

During his time at Hoffenheim, he oversaw Roberto Firmino and Gylfi Sigurðsson’s development. Sigurðsson played for Hoffenheim from 2010 through 2012, where he had 39 appearances and nine goals. He has been a member of Everton since 2017, where he has had 27 appearances and four goals.

Firmino played for Hoffenheim from 2011 through 2015. He made 140 appearances with the program, where he has scored 38 goals. He has played for Liverpool since 2015, where he has made 103 appearances and scored 36 goals.