SAN JOSE — Rome’s sprawling piazzas were barely in the rear view mirror when Jesse Fioranelli uprooted his life to take on one of the biggest challenges in Major League Soccer.
In what is perhaps the Earthquakes’ single-most important hire in the past decade, Fioranelli, 37, has been plucked from storied Italian club AS Roma to transform a lost team into a vibrant playoff challenger.
We have heard it all before on the cusp of a season. But as the Quakes’ 2017 campaign opens against the Montreal Impact on Saturday at Avaya Stadium, team executives talk as if they are on the verge of a long-sought breakthrough.