U.S. soccer still clueless
We’re coming up on a pathetic anniversary: the most humiliating day in U.S. men’s soccer history.
On Oct. 10 last year, the national team lost 2-1 to Trinidad and Tobago, knocking the Americans out of the World Cup for the first time in 28 years. That is significant — because a whole lot of nothing has happened since then.
After that humiliation, Bruce Arena resigned as head coach. The U.S. team has been without a permanent head coach since then. No one expects interim Dave Sarachan to get the full-time job, even though he no longer is referred to as “interim.” A year isn’t exactly short-term.
A disturbing lack of urgency was one of the signatures of the U.S. team in the previous World Cup cycle, exactly why the team ended up in such an embarrassing situation. That characteristic doesn’t seem to have left the program.
The World Cup cycle goes by quickly, especially for teams that need to be remade virtually from scratch. Arena clearly was going to be a placeholder, so there should have been a plan for his successor.
The American program has wasted a year when young players could be evaluated by the head coach, then tested and pushed. When chemistry could begin forming. Instead, someone will get the job sometime — maybe by the end of the year — and be asked to succeed in what will be basically a two-year time frame.
Since last October’s loss, the men’s team has brought in intriguing young players like Cameron Carter-Vicks (Swansea City), Weston McKennie (Schalke) and Tim Weah (Paris Saint-Germain). They need to start working with the coach who will lead them through qualifying and to the 2022 World Cup in, ugh, Qatar.
Former national-team winger Earnie Stewart, a Dutch native, has been in the general manager position since June and will be the main person making the decision.
It would be fun to dream of a flashy hire like Zinedine Zidane or Jose Mourinho if he gets fired by Manchester United — but that’s not realistic. The stalled process seems to ensure that U.S. Soccer will end up with a coach from Major League Soccer.
That hasn’t worked well before and would be an indication of lack of ideas, mediocrity and the weird conflict of interest between the league and U.S. Soccer. Which might mean more of the same.