United States Soccer sporting director Matt Crocker spoke to the USWNT coaching search on TNT following the USMNT’s 4-0 defeat of Oman on Tuesday.
The new boss shared plenty, giving a timeline for the hire of Vlatko Andonovski and also making it clear he saw the same glaring problems as many others at the World Cup.
[ MORE: USMNT 4-0 Oman — Recap & Player Ratings ]
Twila Kilgore is currently overseeing the USWNT’s friendlies, but Crocker knows it’s important to get the new boss in place for December’s camp as the Yanks try to bounce back at the Olympics next summer.
“If you look tactically — We already know we have a great group of athletic women, and a huge pool to pick from, so things like our ability to transition really, really quickly is a key strength. Defensively we’ve been really strong but we’d like to develop a possession-based style, and have a Plan B, and a coach that has the ability to make in-game changes in key moments. And a coach that is a development coach to can integrate young players. The final attribute is the human skills, the leadership skills who can build fantastic relationships and drive the program forward.”
He said he’s looking for a coach who will want to affect all 27 teams of the federation.
“I’m really lucky with Gregg, what I call a legacy coach who doesn’t just want to improve the performance of the senior team. He views his import as supporting the entire pathway, and we want to do the same on the women’s side. We want someone who’s in the office 24-7-365. My job is to build a really strong identity and culture to feel a part of something really visionary going forward.”
It’s a reassuring to hear the work going into the USWNT job after what seemed a second-straight insular search for a men’s coach (that ended with the hiring of the same coach). Fortunately, that men’s coach (Gregg Berhalter) is off to a flying (re)start and Crocker has to feel good about his new job.
