Football
Jeff Carlisle, U.S. soccer correspondent 5y

Sources: Galaxy, Dennis te Kloese in talks over head of soccer operations job

The LA Galaxy are in talks with Dennis te Kloese over becoming the head of the team's of soccer operations, sources have confirmed to ESPN FC.

MLSSoccer.com was the first to report the Galaxy's interest in te Kloese.

A Galaxy spokesperson declined to comment beyond a statement that read, "The LA Galaxy have spoken with a number of candidates both foreign and domestic for the job openings here in Los Angeles."

The Galaxy fired vice president of soccer operations Pete Vagenas earlier this week following a season that saw the team fail to make the playoffs for the second year running. The head coaching job is also available after Sigi Schmid resigned in September. Galaxy team president Chris Klein has said that interim manager Dominic Kinnear is a candidate for the full-time managerial post, but has declined to name any other candidates.

Te Klose has worked for the Mexico Football Federation (FMF) since 2014, most recently as the director of national teams, overseeing both the men's and women's programs from youth all the way to senior level.

Following a modest playing career in the Netherlands, te Kloese studied law at the University of Amsterdam, and then transitioned into front office positions with various soccer entities. In 2003 he was named scouting director of Mexican club Chivas under then-manager and compatriot Hans Westerhof, lasting two years with the team. He then served as the director of soccer for MLS side and sister club Chivas USA from 2005-08.

Te Kloese then returned to Mexico to work as UANL Tigres' academy director from 2008-11, where he used his U.S.-based contacts to recruit American-born players to the club including former U.S. under-20 international Juan Pablo Ocegueda.

Following his stint with Tigres, te Kloese worked for the FMF for the first time as director of youth national teams. He then served as sporting president of both Chivas and Chivas USA for much of 2013, but left his position shortly before Christmas after a year of struggle for both clubs. He returned to the FMF in February of 2014.

During te Kloese's two stints with the FMF, Mexico's U-17 team finished in fourth place at the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup, while the U-23 team won the gold medal at the 2012 Olympics.

This is not the first time an MLS side has been interested in hiring te Kloese to a front office position. Back in late 2016, te Kloese was a finalist to be the GM of the San Jose Earthquakes, a position that eventually went to Jesse Fioranelli.

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