NEW YORK (AP) — The shakeup of the United States men’s soccer team that began after a public feud erupted between two notorious American soccer families accelerated Thursday when sports director Earnie Stewart announced he was leaving the United States Soccer Federation. United to join PSV Eindhoven.
Men’s general manager Brian McBride also resigned, leaving coach Gregg Berhalter in limbo following his contract expiration on December 31. Berhalter is under investigation for a 1991 domestic violence incident and Anthony Hudson, one of his assistants, led his first game as interim coach on Wednesday..
The president of the US Soccer Federation, Cindy Parlow Cone, said it will likely be many months before the coach’s situation is resolved. Sportsology Group, a company that has worked with the Los Angeles Rams and various football teams, was hired to lead the search for athletic directors and screen coaching candidates. The sports director will then make the coach’s decision.
“We are hopeful that we can fill these two positions by the end of the summer so that the men’s team has enough time to prepare for the World Cup before 2026,” Cone said. “Greg is still a candidate.”
After the elimination of the Americans in the round of 16 against the Netherlands on December 3Berhalter told a management conference in New York that he almost sent a Qatari player home due to lack of haste. training. The comments were clearly referring to 20-year-old Gio Reyna, the son of former captain Claudio Reyna and former women’s player Danielle Egan Reyna.
Reyna’s parents complained to Stewart and McBride about their son’s lack of playing time in Qatar, where he was limited to a couple of substitute appearances.
Danielle Reyna notified Stewart about a 1991 incident in which Berhalter kicked a woman who later became his wife, Rosalind Santana Berhalter, who was Danielle’s college roommate. The USSF has hired the Alston & Bird law firm to investigate in an ongoing investigation. Berhalter has said, “There are no excuses for my actions that night.”
Stewart, 53, played for the US in the 1994, 1998 and 2002 World Cups and was hired as the team’s first general manager in June 2018. as part of a management shakeup that followed the failure of the Americans to qualify for the 2018 World Cup. Stewart recommended to the board in December 2018 that Berhalter be hired as coach..
Stewart was elevated to athletic director for the men’s and women’s programs in August 2019. and McBride, a former star US forward, was hired as general manager by Stewart in January 2020..
McBride said he told the USSF about his planned department in October.
“I didn’t want the team to concentrate on anything before or during the World Cup.” said in a statement.
McBride was apparently a candidate to succeed Stewart and said “another opportunity came up within the federation” during the tournament and “I’ve spent the last month researching the position.”
“The position has been suspended for the foreseeable future,” McBride said, “which brings me to this statement.”
Cone said McBride will leave on January 31, and it is unclear if he will be replaced.
Stewart, who was born in the Netherlands and grew up there, will leave on February 15 to become PSV’s director of football. The USSF is releasing him from his contract, which ran through 2026, and Cone hopes to hire a replacement before she starts the Women’s World Cup on July 20.
“This is not the process we chose to follow,” he said. “I know this moment feels a little uncertain. What it really is is a blank canvas.”
Cone, a former women’s player, became president of the USSF in March 2020.. JT Batson, hired last September as CEO, said Berhalter’s investigation “had no impact” on departures. The athletic staff will report to Batson until he replaces Stewart.
Hudson, former Bahrain and New Zealand coach. he will lead the USA against Colombia on Saturday, a pair of CONCACAF Nations League games in March and likely June, and the CONCACAF Gold Cup this summer, as will Dave Sarachan as interim head coach. from October 2017 until the hiring of Berhalter.
“On the head coach job. I will work directly with Sportsology on that to further advance that search,” Cone said. “And then when we bring in the athletic director, that athletic director will join me in leading that search. And, ultimately, this new sporting director will have the task of hiring the coach of the men’s team.
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