Director of Football Husillos follows Pellegrini out of West Ham
Husillos is a close ally of Pellegrini
Written by Simon Austin — December 29, 2019
DIRECTOR OF FOOTBALL Mario Husillos has left West Ham following the sacking of manager Manuel Pellegrini yesterday.
Brighton’s Dan Ashworth has previously said that a Technical Director’s role is “best described as looking after the interests of the club in the medium to long term”. Usually, this person would play a key role in appointing the manager and stay on following their departure.
However, roles were reversed at West Ham, with Pellegrini recommending the appointment of Husillos in June 2018, a few weeks after he himself had joined the club.
The duo had worked together at Malaga in 2012/13 and Husillos is a close friend of Pellegrini’s assistant, Ruben Cousillas. So when the axe fell on the Chilean yesterday, following the club’s ninth defeat in 12 games, Husillos went too.
Three of Pellegrini’s coaching staff have also departed: Cousillas, assistant Enzo Maresca and fitness coach Felix Fernandez Cao. So too has Husillos’s son, Mario Jnr, who was the club’s senior scout.
In a statement, joint chairman David Sullivan said: "It has become clear that a change is required to get the club back on track in line with our ambitions this season.
"We felt it was necessary to act now in order to give the new manager as much time as possible to try and achieve that goal."
