Suggestions for next USMNT Asst Coach

Discussion in 'USA Men: News & Analysis' started by keller4president, Jul 23, 2019.

  1. keller4president

    Jan 5, 2006
    As it's been announced that Josh Wolff will be leaving the team at the end of 2019 to join Austin FC, here are some suggestions for Berhalter to consider for a new assistant:

    1) Pablo Mastroeni. Did a decent job coaching Colorado for three years. Has plenty of World Cup and qualifying experience. Assuming he speaks Spanish, that would also be a plus to help connect with our Latino players.

    2) Dominic Kinnear - Current assistant for LA Galaxy, also longtime head coach in MLS. He's got loads of experience, would make a great senior team assistant. Question is if he wants it, or wants to stay in LA.

    3) Ante Razov - Current assistant for LAFC. Based on the season they're having, I expect him to get some head coaching offers.

    4) Mike Lapper - Longtime MLS assistant in both Columbus, then New England. Also has USMNT experience. Won't step on anyone's toes.

    5) Pat Noonan - 6 years of assistant experience in MLS. Currently at Philly Union. 15 caps.

    6) Kerry Zavagnin - Been an assistant at SKC for 10 years now, so not clear he wants to move anywhere. But maybe it's time for him to make a change. 21 caps.

    7) Brad Friedel - Plenty of international experience, but not sure how great a coach he was for two years in New England. Also not sure he would even consider an assistant job.

    8) Jason Kreis - Already named coach of u-23 team. Think it might be overload to have him also be assistant for senior Nats.

    9) Preki - Current assistant for Seattle Sounders. 28 caps.

    10) Davy Arnaud - Current assistant for Houston Dynamo. Played in 2009 Gold Cup. 7 caps.

    11) Robin Fraser - Longtime MLS coach and assistant. Currently in Toronto. He was a defender, like Berhalter, so might be nice to have an attacking mindset on staff as well. 27 caps.

    12) Steve Ralston - Longtime MLS assistant, currently out of work. 36 caps.
     
  2. TimB4Last

    TimB4Last Member+

    May 5, 2006
    Dystopia
    13) Kitchen Sink - just throwing him in, might help drain the pool. Uncapped.
     
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  3. Patrick167

    Patrick167 Member+

    Dortmund
    United States
    May 4, 2017
    Michael Bradley
     
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  4. thedukeofsoccer

    thedukeofsoccer Member+

    Jul 11, 2004
    Wussconsin
    Club:
    AFC Ajax
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Tabare Ramos or Jason Kreis would be national promotions and they'd have the chops. Could take over potentially if things went well with the Berhalter tenure, or maybe if it didn't even.
     
  5. Maximum Optimal

    Maximum Optimal Member+

    Jul 10, 2001
  6. juvechelsea

    juvechelsea Member+

    Feb 15, 2006
    So we burned 2018 waiting on Stewart from the Union (August) and then GB from the Crew (EOY). And then when Austin wants Wolff, he is released mid-year like magic from USMNT.

    Personally I wasn't a fan of his being made a senior team assistant, but it's the principle of the thing. Your contracts are sacrocsanct -- and we have to wait until your timescale for release -- but you can have our NT coaches in July.
     
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  7. juvechelsea

    juvechelsea Member+

    Feb 15, 2006
    I'll repeat my arguments from before. I want my USMNT coaches sharper than the players they are teaching. So I want someone better than Wolff, either by coaching history or as a player. I also like the idea of position coaches with specialties, so I would want to replace like for like. That rules out the defenders and keepers. I want someone who could teach Sargent, Weah, Jozy, etc. something helpful to their games. A forward.

    I like the idea of Dolo -- I think we have a lot of raw back talent that needs work -- but that would be a separate slot to me. But then there are a list of head scratchers on GB's staff that could be swapped out. Very little we are doing is optimized.
     
  8. QuakeAttack

    QuakeAttack Member+

    Apr 10, 2002
    California - Bay Area
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Thanks for putting together the list. Honestly, the list doesn't really excite me. Dominic would be good as a defensive coach, but his system doesn't match GGG. Jason Kreis would be the one that I would be most excited, but he would probably prefer the head coaching job.

    Why does the list only include ex-US players? Frankly, it would be great to get an assistant with a lot more experience who could mentor and help guide GGG. Almost like finding a head coach who doesn't want to be the head coach. Sure, it would probably be hard to find, but let's not lower our sights. Oh wait, too late...
     
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  9. manfromgallifrey91

    Swansea City
    United States
    Jul 24, 2015
    Wyoming, USA
    Club:
    Southampton FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Not sure Tab would take the job, I can see there being some animosity there for him not getting the full time job, and hed probably prefer to just sit at the youth level, where there is considerably less pressure and not as much turnover in contracts.

    Id actually prefer someone outside of the USMNT world, someone with experience at the national team level with the ability to tactically adjust on the fly, or the exact opposite, a nobody with a good vision and not a lot of experience. Of those mentioned so far, IMO Dolo would be the best. I think Thierry Henry would be an interesting option as well, he seemed to do well with Belgium before flopping as a main coach.
     
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  10. juvechelsea

    juvechelsea Member+

    Feb 15, 2006
    #10 juvechelsea, Jul 23, 2019
    Last edited: Jul 23, 2019
    I would buy that Henry would have something to teach forwards. The question to me would be do I apprentice to a midtable MLS coach who is not my buddy when I have already been Roberto Martinez's assistant at a world cup where you make the semis. That sounds like a come down. Mind you, Monaco went badly. And I think he like JK has a particular affinity for America.

    I think Tab would rest on his YNT laurels until the right opportunity, and is probably waiting for the right club job to burnish his resume. If the knock on him is no adult HC experience, NT assistant doesn't change that. I am not sure I'd want to bet on the Fed to hire an assistant when GB goes. I'd go have success at another level and make it where USMNT had to take you seriously as a head coach option on your own merits.

    Also, I am not aware that he and GB are pals, nor would I want my fate riding on whether GB succeeds, which remains in the air.
     
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  11. juvechelsea

    juvechelsea Member+

    Feb 15, 2006
    Friedel didn't do well at NER and dropped the US in the grease for an international retirement that happened a full decade before he stopped playing pro. And his skill set would suit him to keeper coaching -- not field player work -- and I assume we have one.
     
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  12. juvechelsea

    juvechelsea Member+

    Feb 15, 2006
    Kinnear is a system 442 coach and we don't play his system.
     
  13. Clint Eastwood

    Clint Eastwood Member+

    Dec 23, 2003
    Somerville, MA
    Club:
    FC Dallas
    Kreis has already taken a job on the staff of Inter Miami. Once his U23 duties are over, that'll be his full-time position.

    Assistant coaches are usually trusted sidekicks of the head coach. So Mike Lapper sounds about right. Did he stay on Bruce Arena's staff in New England?
     
  14. juvechelsea

    juvechelsea Member+

    Feb 15, 2006
    The problem is that the Bruce Arenas of the world have earned the right to have their buddies around from resume items and GB lacks those resume items. What he is offering is hope that he is better than his resume. At which point I think it's dubious to revert back to 2-3 Crew players and most of his Crew staff. I thought the whole point was that if we put him in a position with better "stuff" around him he would flower. For that to happen he has to be willing to abandon the nest. Otherwise it's a little too close to letting him do Crew-Plus.

    I agree on Kreis, I don't see the YNT coaches wanting to accept assistantships. They will go coach club and make their own claim for the job based on their youth teams plus club gigs. I also feel like that idea is more stale than Berhalter was. if Berhalter was flavor of the month c. 2015, how long has it been since Kreis was a star coach?

    If we were smart we would enlist some of the more obscure but interesting coaches or some of the recently retired. People for whom this is a step up rather than a come-down. Wynalda is former NT and clearly into coaching but hasn't gotten a bigtime job yet. Dolo has had a few interesting assistantships but not a good commitment. Reyna is in soccer but not coaching. Landon. What about Beasley, who is retiring? Balboa, Lalas? Vanney. Mike Bradley. Keller. Offer some names like we effing mean it.

    I mean, most of the names in the OP above it's like tepid stuff who won't teach them anything but won't pose a threat to the coach. I want the needle moved, the players coached up, and the HC to feel like he better get off his butt because we can hire his assistant and not suck. I mean when I heard GB I thought we'd do better for assistants than his benchmates from 2002. If we are working inside the box get the best the box offers and not the leftovers.
     
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  15. juvechelsea

    juvechelsea Member+

    Feb 15, 2006
    To me a lot of the old name brands express like they care about the team, but from a TV booth. Which leaves second rate folks like Berhalter actually coaching. Solution: get me the ones I think have something to teach in coaching positions.
     
  16. Cannons

    Cannons Member+

    May 16, 2005
    Im trying to calmly respond to this question but I'll try. As a Revs fan from day one, I can say that Brad Friedel is 100% clueless. How was he as a coach? TERRIBLE. Maybe the worst ever. He was so bad that the team quit on him near the end and we were losing big (6-0 vs Chicago). His whole game plan was to high press for 90 minutes. If the team couldn't do it (it stopped working once other teams saw it) there was no plan B. He would then throw the team under the bus in post game interviews. When Friedel was finally fired, and the GM that hired him shortly after, it was like a two giant weights were lifted off the team and the franchise. Enter the replacement ... Bruce Arena... I'll say that I was never a fan of his when he coached the Nats. However, he has totally turned the Revs franchise around since he arrived. We have not lost a game with basically the same team that Friedel couldnt beat anybody with. That should answer any questions anybody has with Friedel as a coach. I would be amazed if he ever gets another gig after the huge mess he made in New England
     
  17. Cannons

    Cannons Member+

    May 16, 2005
    Lapper did well after Friedel was fired but daBruce wanted the midget, Richie Williams next to him so Lapper and Bruce overlapped for about 2 games and then he was gone
     
  18. truefan420

    truefan420 Member+

    May 30, 2010
    oakland
    Club:
    Chelsea FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I’d rather he continue his work in Europe. He can potentially open more doors for American coaches there in the future than if he returns and the goes to MLS.
     
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  19. Lloyd Heilbrunn

    Lloyd Heilbrunn Member+

    Feb 11, 2002
    Jupiter, Fl.
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Like for like: what's McHead doing with himself?
     
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  20. tomásbernal

    tomásbernal Member+

    Sep 4, 2007
    Club:
    Portland Timbers
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    He starts with Austin at the end of the year.
     
  21. tomásbernal

    tomásbernal Member+

    Sep 4, 2007
    Club:
    Portland Timbers
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    We're talking NT assistant coach, not MLS coach.
     
  22. Clint Eastwood

    Clint Eastwood Member+

    Dec 23, 2003
    Somerville, MA
    Club:
    FC Dallas
    Suggestion.

    The USSF has talked a bit about having more "vertical integration" in the program. So how about a current USYNT coach that can take on an assistant role with the full USMNT as well. We've done this before.

    Might I suggest Rafael Wicky, our current US U17 coach.

    A player at a high level for club/country (Atletico Madrid, Hamburg, 75 caps for Switzerland including World Cup 06), who has also coached at a high level. He coached at the various youth levels for FC Basel before being named head coach there.

    So here we have an experienced guy already in the USSF staff who can be another coach in the room for tactics/scouting of opponents/etc. He has successfully worked with young players quite a bit, and the USMNT is going to be skewing quite young over the coming years. And as his full-time job is the US U17s, he presumably won't rock the boat and be seen as a "threat" by Berhalter.

    When you read interviews with Wicky, he seems to "get it." I was very impressed with how the US U17s played in the CONCACAF Championships. Wicky had very little time to prepare the group or get to know the pool. But they just improved every game. He seemed to push a lot of the right buttons, and that team improved every game. They went unbeaten in the knockout round. Then they won their round of 16, quarterfinal, and semifinal games by a combined score of 15-0. Eesh. Lost the final in extra time to Mexico in a really close contest.
    https://www.ussoccer.com/stories/2019/03/raphael-wicky-qa-its-an-exciting-moment-to-join-us-soccer
     
  23. DHC1

    DHC1 Member+

    Jun 3, 2002
    NYC
    Given the familiarity that Berhalter has with MLS that's been frequently stated as a reason that he consistently brings in a disproportionate number of MLS players, it would be nice to have a counter-balancing perspective that is more familiar with the non-MLS pool.
     
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  24. truefan420

    truefan420 Member+

    May 30, 2010
    oakland
    Club:
    Chelsea FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I’m talking about his coaching trajectory and returning to be an assistant to Gregg will only lead to the MLS. Staying in Europe will lead to better opportunities for himself and potentially open future doors.
     
  25. juvechelsea

    juvechelsea Member+

    Feb 15, 2006
    Here is the difference between Friedel and Arena. One was a new coach who had a YNT position. Bruce won NCAA 5 times (coaching players like Reyna, Harkes, Meola, Agoos, Olsen), then won MLS 5 times, qualified USMNT twice, won the Gold Cup 3 times, and made it as far as the World Cup quarters. People take out on him how qualifying ended, but he lost like 2 games in a year and a half. Anyone who beefs about that resume has a Eurosnob problem. I get arguing he was past it but I think NER is putting that back to bed.

    [Similarly, Bradley was Arena's assistant, then won the league and cup double with an expansion team, got the US qualified and to the knockout rounds, almost qualified Egypt during a revolution when the league was shut down. Sampson won NCAA, with Santa Clara of all schools, plus a MLS/USOC double. There was a time we had standards.]

    Beyond that, I revert to my argument on quality and that GB needed more talent to flower. In that context he needs the best staff and the least Crew-fixation possible. Nor does he need flip choices like Friedel. To me he needs -- the team needs -- the smartest soccer minds we have sitting around interested in coaching. So many of these names listed are like mediocre former players who made little impression and/or made little impression or a bad one in pro ball as coaches.

    I threw a lot of resume stuff on the table because to me I want top notch former players or people with their own coaching resumes, on the NT staff. That is going to be either playing resume or coaching resume or both.

    If you want to do the exercise right, pretend you have nothing to do with US soccer, are not trying to kiss Fed butt, are not trying to come up with an unthreatening lapdog. You want to set up a coaching staff of the best soccer minds from our country. What former players, coaches, or broadcasters would you put together? Most of that list wouldn't get a second thought. For that matter, Josh Wolff wouldn't have been hired to try and teach Jozy or Sargent a darned thing.
     
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