I did not take his comments as Benitez definitely being interested in the job however. But he does fit the profile of sort of coach who takes an international job in that it’s either typically an up and comer without a ton of experience or the older club coach whose career is on the decline or they are looking for a slower pace at the end of their career. And it’s been awhile since Benitez has had success anywhere as it’s been probably at least a decade since a coaching gig went well for him.
Maybe I'm misinterpreting the Golazo piece but sounds like they said Xavi would be interested as well?
Hard to say. He was sort of just talking about Spanish coaches and he also just said Xavi wants a break post Barcelona. The most relevant part of his comments were that Spain’s coach has issues with the federation over his pay.
I don't know why folks would even think this might not be a great gig. You are talking 24 months, WC in the country of the team you would coach, with players that have potential, and with a country that will not crucify you (like Argentina, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy - pick your poison) if you don't win the whole enchilada. All kinds of upside for quality foreign coaches - with minimal downside.
Depends on what coaches you are talking about. No non-Americans cares that it's a the US, and I really don't think coaching a foreign country on their home soil is such a big thing that it's a huge draw. If you make less money, the money is a draw. If you are a Top 4/5 league coach, you probably already make more. If you are an EPL coach, you'd be taking a pretty massive pay cut. Club is far more prestigious and better for advancing your career. Most coaches like coaching day to day. For some, there is the hook of less work. But look at how few coaches actually are that sort of "International Gun for Hire" type rather than someone who is coaching their country, or is only coaching internationally because they got fired from their last club job, etc. We hear a lot of interest, but some are clearly using the US for leverage and some are just rumors. Even someone that seems reasonable, like David Moyes -- he's never actually coached internationally despite the apparent interest. Tons of chatter but he's never pulled the trigger. The US is a pretty good job in the context of international jobs. Many of the better ones will almost exclusively hire their own nationality. So we should have a decent shot at the Herve Renard's of the world. But compared to club jobs? We're banking on someone who wants a step back, has no other options, or is coaching a lower paying level.
The Spanish national team is such a strange situation. Half the country literally roots against them (Catalonia, the Basque region, and even many in Galicia, which are regions where Spanish is their second language) and doesn’t really even believe in the concept of “Spain.” Does Spain even play matches in those regions? I know they didn’t use to because they would be booed. But maybe there is some change in that with younger generations. I just wonder if the Spanish federation may have less revenue and resources than it otherwise might appear, as a result.
The factionalism of Spain is well-established but how often does it extend to cheering against the national team? Is there any evidence from 2024? I'd imagine it was politically charged under Franco. For decades Basque players have been essential to their chances -- including both scorers yesterday -- and of course Catalans have featured prominently in their glory days. I'd mostly assumed that they managed to put their feelings about the nation aside when their own players were featuring prominently. Not much if at all. WC 1982 was carefully structured to keep them in Valencia and Madrid. 1992 Olympics, again all their games in Valencia until the final. That one pretty much had to be at the Camp Nou given that Barcelona was the host of the Olympics. Euro 2020/21 they were supposed to play home games in Bilbao, but those got moved to La Cartuja (non-club stadium) in Seville. I keep coming back to the uncertainty of having your federation investigated. It's like Rubiales had them as corrupt as many of the worst federations around the world but in a society which is far more amenable to taking the hard steps to root it out. Modern Spain loves to show how responsibly European it can be. (I studied for a semester in Madrid three decades ago, so my views on Spanish culture may be dated.)
Yeah, I think Crocker will make a good hire. I don't hold out much hope for 2026 anyway. We just haven't tried enough to be ready. Same ol', same ol' gets you same ol'. The soccer community got what they wanted then blamed Berhalter for the result (or refs, or the red card du jour). Hopefully there will be patience with a new manager trying new stuff.
There's no time for patience or projects. We need to hire someone who knows what the hell they're doing and won't need a couple years to get things figured out, whether it's related to tactics or the player pool. Lord help me for saying it, but a Tuchel-type manager is what's needed.
A new manager is going to experiment a bit and they should. That’s what friendlies are for. The goal is be peaking in the summer of 2026 and the time between now and then is for trying things out.
I just pointed out the double-standard some of “Nancy’s Bois” have. I think he’s a great coach as well, but he’s not a mother truckin’ Mayor!
TBQH hosting the WC in 2026 has combined with the generational ebb and flow and the awful 2018 cycle to create an unfair sense of panic around this bunch of players. In 1994 there weren't message boards aside from Usenet etc. but it didn't feel as panicky when they hired Bora. So yeah, another 0 point group stage would have been viewed as a disaster. Failing to advance would have been mildly embarrassing (first WC host to fail in groups, that would look bad) but even finishing 3rd felt like an accomplishment. What if we don't beat Colombia and finish with 1 point? Does the sport die out? Does MLS, lacking the star power of the '94 guys, fail to take off? Maybe but I'm skeptical. We just try again in 98, 2002, etc. like we do every time. Anyway major tournaments are full of luck. We're treating this "once in a lifetime" occasion (dubious if you're younger than me) like the very last tournament the US ever gets to play so we'd better get it right. But even if we nail this hire, it's no guarantee of anything.
I haven’t been this optimistic about USMNT performance going forward in a long time. Not sure what all the worry is about. I do t know about results, because those are so many factors beyond the teams control. But I expect a much sharper, more organized and balanced attack in the future.
My experience is that people root for their players and champion their individual contributions when they play for the national team, but they despise that Spain national team uniform. And I do think that it is still a legacy from Franco. Catalonia still occasionally plays exhibition matches as a “national team,” or at least they did until fairly recently.
I went looking for evidence and found a fascinating 2018 piece. It's anecdotal, and was just after the biggest point of conflict in ages (Puigdemont / confiscation of the ballot boxes): https://www.vice.com/en/article/zm8...atalans-really-support-spain-at-the-world-cup Even so, it seems to break down pretty evenly -- 57% cheer for Spain per a 2017 survey cited, but more would cheer for a Catalunya NT. As you well know, not everyone in Barna or elsewhere in Catalunya is ethnically Catalan. They even have some Madrid fans!
Yeah a lot of pressure is being put on 2026 because it’s at home and it’s a chance to grow the game. But it’s also the case we aren’t where we were in 1994 and the game is going to continue to grow no matter what. FIFA is also going to make so much money off this World Cup they will want to be back sooner than you’d think. I’d be more worried about needing to get it right if we had talent to win the whole thing, but we aren’t at that point right now. But it’s also true our best World Cup performance of the modern era was not at home and I actually think 2030 is the cycle where this group is going to peak.
Man on Call It What You Want, Brian McBride just backed up Jesse Marsch for calling out the integrity of US Soccer in the hiring process. He just took the Federation out unequivocally. That was interesting to hear.
I’ll be curious what the actual comments are but I give it alot more credence coming from McBride versus Marsch.
I think it depends on the coach. Can USSF pay Renard $6M. I don't know his resume would dictate that imo
I think USSF can pay the right coach substantially more than what they paid Berhalter. It’s just more of a question as to who they’d do it for (and whose a big enough name that they’d be able to raise money to pay them).