It's been just over a year since Trinidad and Tobago ended an entire era of American soccer. Last October, the United States somehow lost 2-1 to an awful T&T team that was playing mostly backups, ending the USA's chances of qualifying for the World Cup. There have been many changes since then, but we're still waiting on the biggest one: Who will be the next full-time coach of the team?
It's been a year for soul-searching. Who are we as a soccer nation, if we can't get so much as a draw with Trinidad and Tobago when we need one? That question drove U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati into an unwanted early retirement, forever tarnished Bruce Arena's coaching legacy. It led to several national-team stalwarts — midfielder Michael Bradley and striker Jozy Altidore chief among them — to endure torrents of abuse from fans around the country.
Former assistant Dave Sarachan has been interim coach for nearly a year now. Once a new coach is hired, we'll start to see how U.S. Soccer is planning to get past this nightmare. New national team general manager Earnie Stewart seems to have a few names at the top of his list.
The reported leading candidate is current Columbus Crew head coach Gregg Berhalter, who's shown a knack for getting the best out of limited resources in Columbus. Berhalter brings a possession-focused mentality that is paired with a pragmatic tactical attitude. His teams have focused on pressing and creating offensive chances through possession, but have done it from all sorts of formations.
That flexibility might be the key to his candidacy. The United States doesn't have the talent to compete with the greats of world soccer, something the former national-team defender is well aware of. The manager of Brazil or Spain might have the luxury of selecting players to fit a certain system, but the USA coach is going to have to tailor plans to who is available. Berhalter can do that well. While it seems like a basic requirement, two and possibly three of the last five USMNT head coaches have been unable to do so, depending on who you ask.
Other candidates in a similar vein are former New York Red Bulls coach Jesse Marsch and current Sporting Kansas City coach Peter Vermes. Both have led MLS teams to consistent success despite their clubs not being among the biggest spenders in the league.
Marsch, a former national team assistant, left New York earlier this year to take an assistant coaching job with RB Leipzig in Germany, an added perspective that could help his candidacy.
Vermes, who has managed Kansas City for nearly a decade, might know the domestic game better than anyone else.
