The US men’s national soccer team concludes its World Cup journey, leaving significant vacancies in its organizational hierarchy. Mauricio Pochettino’s future remains uncertain as his contract, partially financed by wealthy donors, reaches its end following this tournament. Additionally, Matt Crocker stepped down from his position as sporting director in April to accept a similar role in Saudi Arabia.
With these key roles unfilled, a resolution may not come swiftly.
“We are going to take a break after the World Cup and rest and recuperate,” stated US Soccer chief executive JT Batson during a media roundtable when questioned about Pochettino. “I didn’t get to do too much resting and recuperating, but we’re excited about the discussions. [Pochettino and his staff] have been active about long-term planning. As a recent example, [they] were active in our discussions with Steve [Cherundolo] around the U-23 role. We’re feeling good about where we are overall, and we’re looking forward to the discussions.”
Regarding the vacant sporting director position, Batson emphasized the strength of the federation’s workforce, which boasts over “We feel confident we have a great team, and that great team has soccer expertise from deep within the American system and soccer expertise from other parts of the world,” dedicated to achieving their goals, rather than relying solely on one executive leader.
Both Batson and USSF chief operating officer Dan Helfrich, who attended the roundtable, refrained from confirming whether a new sporting director would be among the “As we are talking about and making strategic choices, we have [vice-president of sporting] Oguchi Onyewu and [head of development] Barry Pauwels and [head of women’s youth development] Tracey Kevins and Emma Hayes who are part of the discussions we’re having, both about near-term choices and about longer-term structure. “I anticipate, in the months to come, there’s a little more clarity on structure, but the fundamentals of the team are there.” of upcoming hires.
“We feel confident we have a great team, and that great team has soccer expertise from deep within the American system and soccer expertise from other parts of the world,” Helfrich remarked. “As we are talking about and making strategic choices, we have [vice-president of sporting] Oguchi Onyewu and [head of development] Barry Pauwels and [head of women’s youth development] Tracey Kevins and Emma Hayes who are part of the discussions we’re having, both about near-term choices and about longer-term structure.
“I anticipate, in the months to come, there’s a little more clarity on structure, but the fundamentals of the team are there.”
