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Columbus Crew director of scouting Neil McGuinness hired as LAFC technical director

Crew director of scouting and player recruitment Neil McGuinness has been hired as Los Angeles Football Club's new technical director.

McGuinness had been with the Crew since 2019 and during that time helped the club with acquisition of players such as Lucas Zelarayan and Cucho Hernandez. He becomes the first member of the Crew's front office to leave for another MLS team since winning the 2023 MLS Cup.

"Neil is a tremendous person and a talented executive who possesses a keen knowledge of our sport and what it takes to succeed at the highest level," Crew president and general manager Tim Bezbatchenko said in a statement. "Neil has been instrumental in developing and managing our club’s process for identifying players who possess specific characteristics to match our team’s needs and ultimately acquiring those talents."

Being scouting director of the Crew requires a balancing act from Neil McGuinness: finding exciting, talented players, but ones that fit within the organization's financial constraints. [Eric Albrecht/Dispatch]
Being scouting director of the Crew requires a balancing act from Neil McGuinness: finding exciting, talented players, but ones that fit within the organization's financial constraints. [Eric Albrecht/Dispatch]

Columbus will travel to face the 2023 MLS Cup runner-up LAFC on July 13.

bmackay@dispatch.com

@brimackay15

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Crew director of scouting Neil McGuinness hired by Los Angeles FC