Galaxy midfielder Ema Boateng and interim coach Dominic Kinnear will both return next season
Midfielder Ema Boateng and interim coach Dominic Kinnear will both be returning to the Galaxy next season with Boateng signing a one-year contract while Kinnear has been named to the staff of incoming manager Guillermo Barros Schelotto.
Boateng, a former high school track star from Ghana who turns 25 next week, played in 27 games last season, scoring twice and picking up five assists. A former Gatorade prep player of the year at the Cate School in Carpinteria, Boateng has made 87 appearances and 58 starts in three MLS seasons with the Galaxy, scoring eight times and assisting on 12 other goals.
Details of his contract were not released but it is believed to be for one season with a one-year club option and includes a significant raise from the $130,000 in guaranteed salary he got last season, according to the MLS players union.
Kinnear, the third-winningest coach in MLS history and a two-time league championship, was an assistant for one year under Sigi Schmid before taking over the club on an interim basis when Schmid was fired in September.
Kinnear, 51, who was interviewed for the position on a permanent basis, joins a staff that also includes Schelotto’s twin, Gustavo, his brother’s assistant at Argentine clubs Lanus and Boca Juniors; and Ariel Pereyra, who played and coached alongside the Schelottos in Argentina.
Javier Valdecantos, who was also part of Schelotto’s Boca Juniors’ staff, will join the Galaxy as a fitness coach while former Galaxy assistant Junior Gonzalez will be transferred to the scouting department.
kevin.baxter@latimes.com | Twitter: @kbaxter11
