Doug McIntyre
Football Journalist
Only 11 men have coached the U.S. men’s national team since the modern soccer program began in 1989, when the U.S. broke a 40-year World Cup drought by qualifying for the following year’s tournament in Italy.
Of those 11, only two, Bora Milutinovic and Jurgen Klinsmann, were not U.S. citizens.
Inside the hallways of U.S. Soccer Federation headquarters in Chicago, there has long been a belief that the USMNT should be led by someone who is a native or at least has close ties to the United States, someone familiar with the domestic club scene or someone who “understands the American player mindset.”
This belief is supported by the fact that no foreign coach has ever won the World Cup, with both the men’s and women’s World Cups having been won 31 times.
That’s probably one of the reasons Gregg Berhalter was chosen to rebuild the USMNT program after Klinsmann’s disastrous second-round performance. When Klinsmann and his replacement, Bruce Arena, failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, it was the first time the country had missed out in 28 years. That’s one reason Jesse Marsh was a finalist for the job before Berhalter was hired again for World Cup II in June 2023.
That’s why Steve Cherundolo, Jim Curtin, Pellegrino Matarazzo, Hugo Perez, David Wagner and other U.S. passport holders were immediately mentioned as Berhalter’s heir apparent even before he was fired, shortly after the U.S. national soccer team became the first Copa America host nation to fail to advance beyond the group stage of the tournament last week.
(Related: USMNT Coaching Rumors Tracker: The latest on who the U.S. might hire)
In an ideal world, the USSF would like to have an American lead the home team when the World Cup returns to this country in less than two years. The national team coach’s primary job is to win soccer games. But he is expected to help convince a skeptical American public that the United States can truly compete with the best in the most popular sport on the planet.
But faced with the sobering reality that there is currently no U.S. coach who has consistently won at the highest level (or perhaps none at all), U.S. Soccer Sporting Director Matt Crocker has instead set his sights on recruiting the most capable international coach possible, multiple sources told FOX Soccer this week.
Croker, a Welshman whose entire professional career was in England before taking up his current position in August last year, admitted as much when speaking to a group of national reporters shortly after Berhalter was sacked.
“I just want to hire the best coach I can to help the team win,” Crocker said. “Whether it’s from the U.S. or from another country, they have to fit the profile of a coach who has had a winning streak.”
With Gregg Berhalter out, how should the USMNT approach its coaching search? | The Herd
That’s exactly what Crocker got when he successfully recruited Emma Hayes from England to take charge of the U.S. women’s national team last fall. The intention to target a star on the men’s side became clear when multiple British outlets reported that U.S. Soccer approached her before former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp made it clear that the German was still planning to sit out a career for at least a year.
Other big names have been linked to the USMNT job since then, but none have won as many trophies as Hayes or Klopp. According to the Washington Post, representatives for Spain’s European Championship-winning coach Luis de la Fuente have personally informed Crocker that their client is interested. CBS reports that former Champions League winner Rafael BenÃtez is also in the running. BenÃtez most recently led Celta Vigo in Spain’s La Liga and has coached USMNT midfielder Luca de la Torre.
Former Tottenham, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino is a candidate, according to Ole in his native Argentina and the Telegraph in London. Pochettino won Ligue 1 and the French Cup during his 18-month spell at PSG and briefly overlapped with Croker at Premier League club Southampton in 2013.
And then there’s Gareth Southgate, the former England manager who has long been respected in American football circles. Southgate worked closely with Crocker at the Football Association and was only recently made available after leaving the Three Lions following back-to-back appearances in the Euro finals. Still, there are suggestions that Pochettino and Southgate would prefer to return to the Premier League.
(Related: Could Gareth Southgate be the right candidate for the USMNT coaching vacancy?)
Southgate has never won anything as a manager. The same goes for Patrick Vieira, who was suddenly released after being parted ways with Strasbourg in France on Thursday. Could he consider an outsider like former Republic of Ireland midfielder Lee Carsley? Probably not. Carsley is adept at developing young players, having led England U-21s to a European title last year, but U.S. soccer will want to make a bigger splash ahead of the 2026 World Cup. Domestic options like LAFC’s Cherundolo and Columbus Crew’s French coach Wilfried Nancy, who are two recent MLS Cup champions, are seen as unlikely for the same reason.
It’s not yet known which of the European names mentioned above will ultimately take the U.S. job, but according to FOX Sports, Crocker seems to be prioritizing this type of coach. Crocker is said to be meeting with potential candidates overseas this week, which in itself is a significant departure from recent USMNT practice.
Doug McIntyre is a football reporter for FOX Sports, covering: USA Men’s and women’s national teams in the FIFA World Cups of the five continents. Follow him. @ByDougMcIntyre.
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