Chris Armas is sidelined from Javi Gracia’s Leeds United backroom staff after Jesse Marsch’s fired
Former USA international Chris Armas is left out of the back room of Javi Gracia’s Leeds United just weeks after joining the squad as Jesse Marsch’s number 2 following his compatriot’s sacking.
Chris Armas has been ousted from Leeds United boss Javi Gracia’s backroom staff just weeks after joining the club.
The former USA international was hired as an assistant to his compatriot Jesse Marsch at the end of January.
However, after the American manager was sacked by the club on February 6, Armas’s future at Elland Road was unclear.
New manager Gracia has now confirmed that the former Manchester United assistant coach will not be part of his squad after taking over.
Speaking at a press conference ahead of Leeds’ home game against Brighton on Saturday, Gracia confirmed: “He’s not part of my staff. He’s not here. It’s something the club can perhaps explain better.”
Chris Armas (R) has been ousted from Leeds United boss Javi Gracia’s (L) backroom staff.
Armas initially kept his job amid the shooting spree on Elland Road, but it looks like his brief stint in Leeds will soon come to an end.
Armas worked alongside Rene Maric, who left Leeds following Marsch’s sacking in early February.
Gracia has since appointed Zigor Aranalde, Mikel Antia and Juan José Solla to his backroom staff, with Michael Skubala, who oversaw matches against Manchester United and Everton as caretaker manager, remaining in the first-team setup.
Leeds won their first match for the Spaniard with a late goal from Junior Firpo defeating Southampton to a 1–0 win.
But the lilywhites suffered back-to-back defeats to Fulham and Chelsea, leaving them hanging precariously above relegation, ahead of 18th-placed Everton on goal difference.
Armas played for the likes of the LA Galaxy and Chicago Fire in MLS during his career, before earning his first senior managerial role with New York Red Bulls and then Toronto FC in the same league.
Armas was hired as Ralf Rangnick’s assistant coach at Old Trafford from December 2021 to May 2022, but his five months at the club were marred by reports that players had brutally nicknamed him ‘Ted Lasso’ behind his back.
His role with Rangnick at Manchester United was his first outside the United States, drawing comparisons to the hapless Apple TV character Lasso.
The former US international was hired as Jesse Marsch’s assistant at the end of January
Manchester United players compared him to the hapless Apple TV character Ted Lasso.
In the show, Lasso is an American football manager who is given the chance to take charge of Premier League side AFC Richmond, having to learn the rules along the way.
Reports from his time at United claimed that Armas was the butt of jokes in the dressing room, with players comparing his methods to Lasso’s.
Speaking at the time, former United States international Hérculez Gómez said of the rumours: ‘It’s a cheap blow and a very cheap blow. The fact that Chris Armas is American plays a factor in this.
‘They are still trying to earn respect around the world. it is a reality. In their eyes, it is not a soccer nation, or a soccer nation itself. But that’s all it is.
“Chris Armas can do one of two things: he can pack up and go home or he needs to change how they feel about him, the way they look at him and make them respect him. Either way, it’s a situation you can’t ignore.
