Charlotte MLS have appointed Thomas Schaling as the club’s director of scouting, it was announced Thursday.
Schaling previously was the International Senior Scout with PSV Eindhoven where he helped land Mexican international stars Hirving Lozano and Andrés Guardado as well as two-time Premier League winner Oleksandr Zinchenko.
During his time there, PSV won three Dutch Eredivisie league titles. He previously scouted for AZ Alkmaar, which won their first league title in 28 years when he was with the club.
“We are delighted to welcome Thomas to our team. He is a special talent with a great process and work ethic and who embraces new trends and developments in modern soccer,” said Tom Glick, president of Tepper Sports and Entertainment, in a statement.
“His track record at PSV Eindhoven speaks for itself and has enabled them to find great talent from around the world and compete with the big guns in Europe. He is the right leader for our scouting team as we build our new club from the ground up.”
Schaling’s expertise is in identifying European and Latin American talent, but he also offers a wealth of experience with finding young American talent. Both Christian Pulisic and Josh Sargent were brought in for trials as youth prospects by his scouting team.
“Thomas’ ability to lead, organize and motivate his scouting team will undoubtedly produce results very quickly,” Charlotte MLS sporting director Zoran Krneta said. “In addition to welcoming Thomas to the growing team at Charlotte MLS, I am looking forward to closely working with him and his team in bringing the best soccer talent to the city of Charlotte.”
In addition to heading the club’s scouting team, Schaling will also oversee the video scouting department while helping design and build player databases that will form the basis of player recruitment for years to come.
“After meeting the people involved in Charlotte MLS, I was convinced this is the right choice for myself and my family,” Schaling said. “I am looking forward to working together with Zoran, Tom and the club’s technical staff to build something successful here in Charlotte.”
