Soler during his playing days with the Bay City Rollers—er, we mean Hamburger SV.
Red Bull New York introduced former Norwegian international and European club pro Erik Soler as its new General Manager and Sporting Director today. Soler, who is a trained psychologist (insert Red Bull-woes joke here), has also worked as a player agent and a commentator. From 2002 to 2008, he was a co-owner and chairman of the Norwegian club IK Start.
Soler will hire the team’s next coach, and will control all player personnel decisions. He replaces Jeff Agoos, who, as of today, is still with the club in an altered role. (Can that last much longer? We wonder.)
The new GM, who made 39 appearances for Norway in the 1980s, will have several crucial decisions to make in the run-up to the crucial 2010 season for RBNY. The team is coming off a terrible 2009 season (league-worst 21 points) and will move into a gorgeous new stadium in Harrison, N.J., with an opportunity to shed its sorry history and make a fresh start with the New York-area soccer fan.
But the 2009 Red Bulls roster will almost certainly be gutted, so Soler—who has no experience with, and limited knowledge of, MLS and its unique single-entity system, the American player, and U.S. soccer culture in general—will essentially be building an entire team from scratch. In addition to hiring a coach and front-office staff, he’ll have to rebuild the roster and decide what to do with the team’s second Designated Player slot.
With the 2010 home opener mere months away, it seems like an uphill battle—and a roll of the dice from a franchise that can scarcely afford another snake eyes.
Here is Soler at today’s presser:
Mr. Soler has his work cut out for him.
Backpost 
Read a rumor that Soler will hire Tony Adams as bait to lure Tierry Henry. Sounds like a Ruud Gullit-esque fiasco to me.
I think John Stamos will make a fine General Manager for the Red Bulls. Just fine.