Next Coach

Discussion in 'USA Men: News & Analysis' started by nbarbour, Dec 3, 2022.

  1. falvo

    falvo Member+

    Mar 27, 2005
    San Jose & Florence
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    Italy
    #151 falvo, Dec 4, 2022
    Last edited: Dec 4, 2022
    You are right.

    Three or four years is a long way away.

    These are the guys available today but if there is a new coach or not , I doubt the same group will be together come 2026.

    I’ve seen many World Cup rosters change from one WC to the next and usually, there are maybe only 5-6 holdovers.

    Even with expanded rosters, some will emerge, others will get older, become injured or lose form so it is not a given these guys will all be around in the next 3 & 1/2 years.

    Whether there is a new or if the existing coach remains, he will have to also concentrate on finding newer or even better talent.
     
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  2. xbhaskarx

    xbhaskarx Member+

    San Jose Earthquakes
    United States
    Feb 13, 2010
    NorCal
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I think this is probably correct, but if I was at US Soccer I would at least pursue Marcelo Gallardo

     
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  3. Guinho

    Guinho Member+

    San Jose Earthquakes, bless their hearts
    Estonia
    May 27, 2001
    San Francisco, CA
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States

    Utterly insane. It take no small amount of luck to succeed.
     
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  4. TheHoustonHoyaFan

    Oct 14, 2011
    Houston
    Club:
    FC Schalke 04
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Yes, Berhalter does not do in-match tactical adjustments.
     
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  5. CyphaPSU

    CyphaPSU Member+

    Mar 16, 2003
    Not Far
    Club:
    Philadelphia Union
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I thank Gregg for his ability to recruit, get the players to play for him, winning a couple of tournaments against our rivals, guiding us back to the WC and knockout rounds, and the instilling of an attitude that we can possess the ball and control play with our midfield. But, I want fresh ideas and a new perspective at the helm in the next cycle. However, I also am skeptical US Soccer sees it quite the same way I do.
     
  6. LouisianaViking07/09

    Aug 15, 2009
    What are his options? Would a club in the top 5 be interested in him or would his best shot be in a second division or midtier league somewhere?
     
  7. xbhaskarx

    xbhaskarx Member+

    San Jose Earthquakes
    United States
    Feb 13, 2010
    NorCal
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    People gave Klinsmann a ton of credit for recruiting, now people are giving Gregg a ton of credit for recruiting... Do we have any evidence that those players wouldn't have chosen the US in any case? Maybe the US has become a more attractive national team to play for over the last decade than it was previously, and fans haven't adjusted their expectations upwards?
     
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  8. bakerkdb

    bakerkdb Member

    Sep 6, 2010
    Club:
    Norwich City FC
    Wait, I thought Low got Germany job because Klinsmann didn’t know anything about tactics and Low was the actual Tactician as his assistant. Strange.
     
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  9. dams

    dams Member+

    United States
    Dec 22, 2018
    I think in many cases, this cycle at least, that it's the idea that they can actually make the team and have a shot to play at such a young age that was a big part of it.
     
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  10. Editor In Chimp

    Editor In Chimp Member+

    Sep 7, 2008
    IIRC the only dual nationals JK recruited of any actual note were Brooks, Green, Danny Williams and Aron Johansson. Jones, Chandler, Fabian Johnson were all either capped or about to be capped by Bradley.

    Only half those guys made any real impact to the program. Berhalter’s ‘crootin probably outpaces all those guys sans Jones, FJ and Brooks (only bc of the Ghana goal really)
     
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  11. Clint Eastwood

    Clint Eastwood Member+

    Dec 23, 2003
    Somerville, MA
    Club:
    FC Dallas
    And by the way, a bunch of those guys that Klinsmann gets credit for recruiting were part of USYNTs prior to that. It includes Brooks, who was unquestionably a Rongen recruit. Klinsmann put on the finishing touches.
    ASN article: Thomas Rongen Recalls Bringing John Brooks to U.S. (americansoccernow.com)

    [Same as Dest, Weah, etc. with this cycle. Berhalter finished the recruiting job, but Dest was part of the US program for years.]

    I think Berhalter created an environment that young players wanted to be part of. And not just the ones that made the World Cup squad, but Pepi, Slonina, etc. were on the fence.

    It takes a village to do dual-national recruiting. Yunus Musah has talked about how important Nico Estevez (then USMNT assistant; now FC Dallas coach) was in his recruitment. So its UYSNT coaches, USMNT assistants, USSF officials like McBride/Stewart, youth and regional scouts, etc. etc.

    Honestly...................I think Berhalter was a good coach for this cycle. Overhauled the USMNT creating a good environment and casting out the negativity from last cycle. Won trophies and made the knockout rounds of the WC in doing so. But now we need a better X's and O's guy in order to seriously compete for the 2026 cycle. Berhalter has taken the group as far as he can.
     
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  12. deejay

    deejay Member+

    Feb 14, 2000
    Tarpon Springs, FL
    Club:
    Jorge Wilstermann
    Nat'l Team:
    Bolivia
    Klinsmann was good at recruiting because he was Klinsmann. Instant access to any player's ear.
    Berhalter was good at recruiting because he created a great group environment.
    Berhalter did a lot of grunt work that "legends" and "tactics" guys just won't. He created a very professional group with a good set of values and expectations. This is an excellent platform for future iterations of the MNT. This is also a good time to switch coaches.
     
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  13. dspence2311

    dspence2311 Member+

    Oct 14, 2007
    Over the last few days I have seen some interesting discussions of this issue among pundits and others. The factions seem to be converging on a few ideas and questions.

    1. Berhalter may want to leave. Many, many people doubt Berhalter wants to stay. Coaches want to coach — not scout and recruit and select match sites, etc. Club coaching has more of what they want day to day. The USMNT job is an honor and an interesting challenge, but it’s maybe not something that most people want to do twice.

    2. Those positive Berhalter vibes are significant. Everyone acknowledges the atmosphere of support and togetherness that GB created. It helped recruit important dual nationals, and could continue doing so in the future to the extent that it persists. There is no particular reason that a new manager couldn’t continue to build on that culture and cultivate it further. But some observers fear losing that, especially with some of the big name (read: big egos) candidates being discussed. On the other hand, having gotten some WC experience, maybe this group is ready to graduate to a tougher, more competitive, more disciplined environment. For those who believe that that is what’s required to take the next step, then this vibes point doesn’t resonate.

    3. We need a better, more flexible tactician. Even the biggest Berhalter supporters recognize that his tactical inflexibility is a minus. He was too dedicated to a system for too long, and not able to adjust in the game as well as more experienced coaches. The dedication to a particular style of play also created roster and line up choices that seemed contradictory or nonsensical. On the other hand, he did become more tactically flexible over time. In the words of many observers, “he seemed to do the right thing eventually, often at the last minute.” If he wants to stay, perhaps he would be amenable to hiring a wise head on tactics and taking that person’s advice?

    4. Depth: we need more, and we need to use what we have regardless. One lesson that almost everybody seems to be taking away from this tournament is that our guys ran out of gas. To some that was of necessity, because the drop off in talent (after MMA, Jedi, Dest and Weah, all of whom eventually tired) was too big. To others, it was a failure to use the depth we have: particularly Reyna, LDLT, and Scally. I have my own views, but regardless, we’re going to need to be able to rotate more in the future. And we can’t make finding clones of those players a prerequisite to doing that. Is that a conclusion that Gregg could embrace?

    5. We need to become more threatening on offense. A consistent weak spot throughout the Berhalter era was creating chances during the run of play. Greg deserves full credit for his creativity and ingenuity and creating such a stout defense. Defense does indeed win championships, but the subtext of that slogan is that you need a competent offense too. In tournament soccer especially, you have to score goals to advance. Given the skills of the attackers on our roster (center forwards excluded) our attack needs to be better. And that may require using players who are not always the top defender available at every individual position. The plethora of creative AM types in our pool reinforces that idea. Is that a conclusion that Gregg could embrace?

    6. We need a more competent striker. As we’ve seen on this board, lots of observers talk about finding a #9. On the other hand, lots of teams have this problem. Great 9s don’t grow on trees. We have a pool of very young 9s trying to develop in Europe, and one or two may emerge in the next season or two. Can we reasonably hope for more? (I worry more about wing depth, assuming — as I do — that Reyna is an attacking mid.)

    7. We need to play tougher opponents more regularly. Suddenly almost everyone is unanimous that we need to get into Copa America and find top 15 opponents for friendlies, that we ought to treat Nations League and Gold Cup as training grounds for new or young players.mGregg was hobbled by NL and the pandemic from addressing this, but it virtually everyone sees the problem. And many of them doubt the Fed’s ability to solve it, which is worrying.

    To this list I would add prioritizing (or having a plan for) Mexican dual nationals, simply because we will have more and more of them over time. This is Herc Gomez’ pet issue and I think he is right. Our Fed isn’t good enough at this yet.

    Whatever the Fed does about a manager, I hope the interviews and decision criteria really try to address all of these factors. Hiring the wrong guy could be wasteful. So could continuing with Gregg in a way that doesn’t seriously tackle these mshortcomings.
     
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  14. ChambersWI

    ChambersWI Member+

    Nov 10, 2010
    Club:
    AC Milan
    The only names from MLS I feel confident in saying should get a look are Churundolo, Wolff, and Curtain.

    Outside of MLS it gets tricky to name candidates.

    People of course will look at Pelligrino Matterazo and David Wagner ad they are available. Wagner has really hurt his stock during his tenured at Schalke and Young Boys. Dunno enough about Matterazo to comment.

    I doubt Jesse Marsch is ready to leave Leeds so unless he gets fired I don't think he's likely.

    I've seen some mention Ricardo Gareca but he will be 65 in February so who knows if he'd be interested.

    I wouldn't be shocked if we look towards a Dutch coach due to Stewart's background there as an executive.

    I wouldn't go after Roberto Martinez. People have highlighted things like winning the FA cup at Wigan, qualifying for Europa with Everton, and the 3rd place finish With Belgium in 2018. But his team's tend to be at their best his first year and the quality of play goes down gradually. He also tends to really struggle moving away from players.

    I'd kick tires on Herve Renard. He's come to the international spotlight for Saudi Arabia beating Argentina but he had a very good career winning multiple AFCONs with weaker Ivory Coast and Zambia sides

    Maybe kick tires on Ronny Deila who seems to be doing solid with Standard Leige and knows MLS?
     
  15. dspence2311

    dspence2311 Member+

    Oct 14, 2007
    Is “knowing MLS” as important as knowing Europe? Most of the core of this team will be playing there.
     
  16. don Lamb

    don Lamb Member+

    mine
    United States
    Aug 31, 2017
    Can we stop this "playing at top clubs" nonsense, already? It's at least as much about a player's role in the club that he plays.

    These guys will be able to take big steps in that regard, but, by and large, our players are very young and without big roles at their clubs.
     
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  17. gomichigan24

    gomichigan24 Member+

    Jul 15, 2002
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Well when Low was in charge everyone said Flick was the tactician. Now Flick is in charge and no one knows whose running the tactics.
     
  18. ironduke2010

    ironduke2010 Member

    Mar 18, 2005
    A2, MI USA
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    yeah, but how many of those roster changes started with a team as young as this 2022 usa team? sure, if we had a bunch of 27 - 32 year old players we'd expect the turnover you observed, but those guys didn't make the team this year, and didn't make the 2018 world cup when it was their turn. i think there is a very good chance much of this team is on the 2026 team, hopefully with some strikers added....
     
  19. gomichigan24

    gomichigan24 Member+

    Jul 15, 2002
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I agree with most of this, but I don't think Berhalter has taken this group as far as he can. That may put me in the minority, but I think there's still room for growth if he continues as coach.

    Now both sides need to do something think as to what they want to do next. And part of that thinking from US Soccer should be gauging interest from coaches around the world. Because if we're really going to want to replace Berhalter, it'd be good to have a sense of the alternatives first.
     
  20. ChambersWI

    ChambersWI Member+

    Nov 10, 2010
    Club:
    AC Milan
    I ended that too early. When I say MLS I mean understands the American player and atmosphere
     
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  21. don Lamb

    don Lamb Member+

    mine
    United States
    Aug 31, 2017
    This is a very good summary.

    One thing that I think most people are discounting is Berhalter's growth as a tactician since he took the job. I am positive this growth will continue, but I'm not positive that he ever gets to the point where we need him to be to really challenge at the top level. The other side of that is the fact that this job requires so much more than just a tactician.

    Either way, it will be a gamble. Gregg is obviously the safe route, but does he get us to the heights that we want to get to? Another coach might have a higher ceiling, but is he able to manage all of the other things that Berhalter has created as a foundation for the program?
     
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  22. gomichigan24

    gomichigan24 Member+

    Jul 15, 2002
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I think Germany had like 10 or 11 guys from their 2010 team (which was a younger team) who were on the 2014 team which won the World Cup.

    We also may have 3 less roster spots in 2026 and that itself means less guys will likely be back.

    I sort of put the roster into the following groups

    Core guys (10): Pulisic, Reyna, Aaronson, Weah, McKennie, Musah, Adams, Jedi, Dest, Turner
    In the mix (5): Scally, LDLT, Ferreira, CCV, Sargent
    In a battle (3): Horvath, Acosta, Wright
    Long Shots (3): Morris, Moore, Roldan
    Unlikely to be back (5): Yedlin, Johnson, Long, Zimmerman, Ream

    I think you can expect most if not all the core guys back as long as they stay healthy over the next 4 years. The in the mix guys are the ones who have a good shot and will definitely be involved over the course of the cycle. Then you have guys like Acosta who is still the only backup 6 in the pool, but someone could very well surpass over the next 4 years. Wright similarly is young enough to be back, but we have lots of options at his position. Then you have the group of guys like Roldan and Morris, who are young enough to come back in 4 years, but almost certainly going to be passed by others in the pool. And then you have the guys who aren't likely to return because they'll just be too old.
     
  23. Clint Eastwood

    Clint Eastwood Member+

    Dec 23, 2003
    Somerville, MA
    Club:
    FC Dallas
    Shrug. It just depends what you think the goal should be for the next coach. There is probably more that Berhalter can do.

    If one thinks the goal for 2026 should be to compete seriously for the semifinal, etc.......................then I don't think he can do that.

    Some may think that's not realistic at this point for ANY coach.

    I'd say that if we hire a foreign coach NOW, that gives him plenty of time to become familiar with MLS and the American player, etc. prior to 2026.

    If we hire a foreign coach without much MLS experience, simply hire an assistant that has that knowledge. We currently have Luchi Gonzalez as an assistant. He'll be leaving to take over San Jose. But there are other guys out there like Luchi.

    If we want to throw in a carrot for that type of assistant, put him in charge of the 2024 Olympic team. Caleb Porter currently doesn't have a job. He already served as the U23 coach, and wouldn't be my choice. But anyway, there are guys like that available to serve on the staff.
     
  24. falvo

    falvo Member+

    Mar 27, 2005
    San Jose & Florence
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    Italy
    #174 falvo, Dec 5, 2022
    Last edited: Dec 5, 2022
    Sure but just because they are young and healthy now, there is no guarantee they will all be at the same level in 3 or 4-years’ time.

    I mean they could lose their starting jobs, lose form, get injured, become out of favor with their clubs.

    Everyone thought 22-year-old Mario Götze would be Germany’s savior in 2014.

    He was criticized greatly at the 2016 Euro and missed out on the 2018 World Cup.

    Götze was recalled now at 30 years of age after five years.

    He is just one example that we all know about but there are tons of players just like him.

    You have the Concacaf Gold Cups, possible tournaments and friendlies as well as other, newer players emerging.

    I wouldn’t count on all these current players being on the roster in 2026.

    Coaches also have favorites.

    If Berhalter remains, he could hang on to the same core group of players but if another guy comes in, he may not like one player over another.

    Landon Donovan was left off the 2014 by Jürgen Klinsmann.

    Granted he was a 32 year old but he should have been a starter and captain in many pundits views.

    He was left off because of a personal issue between the coach and the player and that could happen with these current guys as well.
     
  25. jond

    jond Member+

    Sep 28, 2010
    Club:
    Levski Sofia
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Well it was years ago but Bradley turned his Egypt stint into the Stabeak job. Then Le Havre a year later, then Swansae.

    So maybe G can get an opportunity in a 1st division 2nd tier Euro club- Sweden/Denmark? He's still likely gonna have to climb the ranks at the club level as it's different than international soccer.

    The unknown might be all the current American owners spread across Europe. Both in the C'Ship/Prem and there's a number in Italy. But like Bradley/Marsch he's gonna have the prove himself.

    That's part of the profession though. Most coaches go thru that. Shouldn't be looked at as a negative.
     
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