The US men’s national soccer team exits the World Cup with significant voids in its organizational structure. Mauricio Pochettino’s future remains unclear as his contract—partially financed by wealthy benefactors—concludes with the tournament’s end. Additionally, Matt Crocker stepped down from his position as sporting director in April to accept a similar role with Saudi Arabia.
Despite these critical vacancies, it appears solutions may not come swiftly.
“We are going to take a break after the World Cup and rest and recuperate,” said 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.”
Turning to Crocker’s vacated position, Batson noted a federation workforce of 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,” striving toward their overall objectives, rather than relying solely on a single executive.
Both Batson and USSF chief operating officer Dan Helfrich, who participated in the roundtable, refrained from specifying whether the search for a new sporting director would be included among “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 stated. “As we are discussing 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.”
