Pelzer to oversee scouting

The Fire continued building their technical staff Saturday, announcing the hiring of Sebastian Pelzer as technical director.

The team said Pelzer, 39, will work on “all aspects” of the Fire’s soccer operations, including domestic and international scouting. He also will assist the members of the technical and coaching staff and with budgeting and salarycap compliance. Contract details were not revealed.

Pelzer was the second hiring in as many days for the Fire, who on Friday named Raphael Wicky as coach. Like Wicky, Pelzer previously worked with Fire sporting director Georg Heitz. Pelzer was a consultant at Heusler Werthmuller Heitz AG, the sports and business consulting agency Heitz co-founded.

“I have worked closely with Sebastian in the past, and we see football in the same way. We share a similar perspective,” Heitz said in a statement. “I’m excited that he has chosen to join us. He is the type of teammate and colleague we wanted to bring to this club. Sebastian has a great eye for talent, he is a great communicator and he knows the intricacies of the sport.”

Pelzer, a native of Trier, Germany, spent the majority of his playing career in the second and third divisions of Germany.

The Fire said Eddie Rock will continue in his role as senior director of soccer operations. Rock and Alex Boler, senior manager of team operations, were among the few staff members retained after former coach Veljko Paunovic was fired last month.