The focus for U.S. Soccer CEO J.T. Batson and his colleagues now that the World Cup has concluded “pivots to what they can do to ensure this summer is the start of something momentous rather than a flash in the pan,” according to Pardeep Cattry of CBSSPORTS.com. The USSF “laid out the bare bones of a long-term plan on Thursday,” hoping to “fill in the gaps somewhere along the way.” Batson and COO Dan Helfrich have “plenty on their plate,” but perhaps most pressing is filling several roles, with the “most high-profile” vacancies being sporting director and USMNT head coach. Batson said that the parties of USSF and USMNT coach Mauricio Pochettino remain in “active discussions” but do not have a timeline set for the decision, though the “picture on sporting director is murkier.” Cattry noted Matt Crocker departed the role in April, and the job is “almost by committee in the interim, though Helfrich technically has the final say.” Batson previously said that the sporting director “may not have a traditional look in the future,” while Helfrich suggested that the next set of people who join U.S. Soccer’s sporting operation “should offer a wide variety of viewpoints.” The federation “hopes to use” the under-23 tournament at the 2028 L.A. Olympics “as a key peg not only to grow the fanbase, but to accomplish its goals with the senior team” (CBSSPORTS.com, 7/17).
TAKE SOME NOTES: In San Diego, Mark Zeigler noted Spain had a “roster worth a combined” $1.4B, but it is “how those players were developed and how they’re deployed that defines La Roja.” Maybe U.S. Soccer, in “its eternal quest to become relevant in the men’s World Cup, should be taking notes.” Spain coach Luis de la Fuente has been with the federation since 2013, first as the under-19 national coach, then the U21s, then the U23 Olympic team. He won U19 and U21 European titles and finished second at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, with the senior team “filled with his former youth players.” Zeigler noted Spanish kids “start young — often by age 5 or 6 — and focus on technical skills and relatively advanced tactical concepts over the physical attributes U.S. coaches covet in the obsession with winning and winning now.” Zeigler: “The result is soccer players, not athletes who play soccer” (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 7/18).