The fact that Julen Lopetegui was undefeated while coaching Spain men’s national soccer team or that he was at the helm of La Liga giants Real Madrid wasn’t enough to convince the US Soccer Federation to consider him to take the vacant manager’s role with USMNT.

Sports Illustrated’s Grant Wahl reported that Lopetegui expressed interest in coaching the United States men’s national soccer team, but his approach was rejected. According to sources close to the team, the US Soccer’s reason was that they were “too far along in the process.”

The USMNT is without a permanent head coach since October 2017, when Bruce Arena stepped down after failing to qualify for World Cup. Arena’s former assistant Dave Sarachan is currently USMNT’s interim head coach.

US Soccer’s decision not to give Julen Lopetegui an opportunity to interview for the job is really odd considering his previous success. He coached both Spain U19 and Spain U21 team to European Championship in consecutive years and had a solid run with one of the most successful clubs in Portugal, FC Porto. Lopetegui took a head coaching job with Spain’s senior team in 2016 and went on 20-games undefeated run during which he won 14 games and had six draws.

Lopetegui was then appointed as manager of Real Madrid in the summer of 2018, but he couldn’t continue his successful run there and was sacked after coaching the team for only 14 games.

Julen Lopetegui’s unfortunate stint with Real doesn’t change the fact that he is one of the top managers available on the market and even if he wasn’t good enough for USMNT, there is no doubt that he will soon land another high-profile job.
US Soccer, on the other hand, continues their long search for a managerial solution, and it seems like they won’t wrap it up anytime soon.

The post Julen Lopetegui Was Interested in Coaching USMNT but Got Turned Down appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The U.S. Soccer Federation has announced on Wednesday that Bruce Arena’s assistant, Dave Sarachan, was named interim coach of the United States men’s national team. Sarachan, who has a contract until the end of the year as the rest of the Bruce Arena’s staff, will lead the team in the match against Portugal in November. Alongside Sarachan, Pat Noonan, Matt Reis, and Kenny Arena are also on the U.S. Soccer Federation’s payroll. It is expected that they will not get new contracts as the federation looks for a new figure to coach USMNT. That process, however, may take a while.

“As this is the start of a five-year project to qualify for the 2022 World Cup and grow the national team, we want to give ourselves the best opportunity to find the right coach to lead the program,” – the USSF said in a written statement. “As such, there is no specific timetable. We are developing a strategic approach to selecting the next head coach, and we will be thorough and methodical.“

Dave Sarachan is a longtime collaborator of Bruce Arena who hired him as his assistant in 1984 at the University of Virginia. The pair then worked together in D.C. United, the U.S. squad from 1999 to 2002, and the Los Angeles Galaxy before returning to the U.S. team once again this year. As a head coach, Sarachan managed Cornell University and Chicago Fire.

As the USSF begins its search, a couple of high-profile names popped up as the early favorites. One of them is current Atlanta FC coach, Gerardo Martino who also managed Argentina and Barcelona in the past. Former PSG coach Laurent Blanc is also a favorite and might be more realistic option since he is currently unemployed.

The first big challenge for the new USMNT coach will be the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

The post Bruce Arena’s Assistant Dave Sarachan Named USMNT Interim Coach appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The fact that Julen Lopetegui was undefeated while coaching Spain men’s national soccer team or that he was at the helm of La Liga giants Real Madrid wasn’t enough to convince the US Soccer Federation to consider him to take the vacant manager’s role with USMNT.

Sports Illustrated’s Grant Wahl reported that Lopetegui expressed interest in coaching the United States men’s national soccer team, but his approach was rejected. According to sources close to the team, the US Soccer’s reason was that they were “too far along in the process.”

The USMNT is without a permanent head coach since October 2017, when Bruce Arena stepped down after failing to qualify for World Cup. Arena’s former assistant Dave Sarachan is currently USMNT’s interim head coach.

US Soccer’s decision not to give Julen Lopetegui an opportunity to interview for the job is really odd considering his previous success. He coached both Spain U19 and Spain U21 team to European Championship in consecutive years and had a solid run with one of the most successful clubs in Portugal, FC Porto. Lopetegui took a head coaching job with Spain’s senior team in 2016 and went on 20-games undefeated run during which he won 14 games and had six draws.

Lopetegui was then appointed as manager of Real Madrid in the summer of 2018, but he couldn’t continue his successful run there and was sacked after coaching the team for only 14 games.

Julen Lopetegui’s unfortunate stint with Real doesn’t change the fact that he is one of the top managers available on the market and even if he wasn’t good enough for USMNT, there is no doubt that he will soon land another high-profile job.
US Soccer, on the other hand, continues their long search for a managerial solution, and it seems like they won’t wrap it up anytime soon.

The post Julen Lopetegui Was Interested in Coaching USMNT but Got Turned Down appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The U.S. Soccer Federation has announced on Wednesday that Bruce Arena’s assistant, Dave Sarachan, was named interim coach of the United States men’s national team. Sarachan, who has a contract until the end of the year as the rest of the Bruce Arena’s staff, will lead the team in the match against Portugal in November. Alongside Sarachan, Pat Noonan, Matt Reis, and Kenny Arena are also on the U.S. Soccer Federation’s payroll. It is expected that they will not get new contracts as the federation looks for a new figure to coach USMNT. That process, however, may take a while.

“As this is the start of a five-year project to qualify for the 2022 World Cup and grow the national team, we want to give ourselves the best opportunity to find the right coach to lead the program,” – the USSF said in a written statement. “As such, there is no specific timetable. We are developing a strategic approach to selecting the next head coach, and we will be thorough and methodical.“

Dave Sarachan is a longtime collaborator of Bruce Arena who hired him as his assistant in 1984 at the University of Virginia. The pair then worked together in D.C. United, the U.S. squad from 1999 to 2002, and the Los Angeles Galaxy before returning to the U.S. team once again this year. As a head coach, Sarachan managed Cornell University and Chicago Fire.

As the USSF begins its search, a couple of high-profile names popped up as the early favorites. One of them is current Atlanta FC coach, Gerardo Martino who also managed Argentina and Barcelona in the past. Former PSG coach Laurent Blanc is also a favorite and might be more realistic option since he is currently unemployed.

The first big challenge for the new USMNT coach will be the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

The post Bruce Arena’s Assistant Dave Sarachan Named USMNT Interim Coach appeared first on SportzBonanza.