Today New York City FC confirmed that Head Coach Pascal Jansen will be absent from the team's next MLS match, when they travel to Stade Saputo to face CF Montréal at 7:30 pm the night of Saturday, June 28.
Longtime assistant coach and former New York City player, Mehdi Ballouchy, will fill in for Jansen in the visiting dugout in Canada this weekend, though Jansen is expected to be back in his normal place for the next NYCFC match against a Canadian opponent, when Toronto FC comes to New York City on July 3.
The news of the absence came as a surprise, shared by the team only a few days before kickoff, and on the day NYCFC holds its regular pre-match media availabilities with the Head Coach and a select player.
Scott Churchson of StreamPunk Soccer first shared word of Jansen's absence on social media, with the team releasing the following statement confirming the news at the top of their public press conference:
"Head Coach Pascal Jansen has returned to Europe for a personal matter and will miss our match against Montreal this weekend. Assistant coach Mehdi Ballouchy will lead the team on the sidelines in Montréal. Head Coach Pascal Jansen is expected to be back in New York City ahead of our game against Toronto FC. We will not be fielding any questions on the matter."
Mehdi Ballouchy has been a member of the New York City coaching staff since January 2020 but now gets his first chance to run the team, temporarily, in Montréal on Matchday 19 of this season.
Ballouchy was in Jansen's usual hot seat with the press ahead of the match, discussing the unique opportunity in front of him, but also insisting that the recently-hired Jansen is still firmly in charge.
"Pascal is the head coach of the club and my role hasn't changed, we're preparing this game as we've prepared the previous 18...We are in touch every day, he's able to watch the sessions during video calls with the whole coaching staff, so the preparation is no different than what we've been doing," said Ballouchy of his lead-up to the Montréal game.
Jansen is in his first year as New York City coach, officially joining the team in early January after decades of coaching almost exclusively in Europe. While two previous NYCFC managers – Patrick Vieira, Ronny Deila – have left the team at midseason, neither did it during their very first year in charge of the Boys in Blue. For now, it would seem wise to stand down from any "Pascal Out?" speculation or panic.
Information explaining the details of Jansen's absence might not be forthcoming, but we will keep you updated if anything changes and if he's not, in fact, back in the fold in time for Toronto FC on Matchday 20.
