U.S. Soccer appointed Dave Sarachan as interim manager of the senior men’s national team, the federation announced Tuesday morning. This comes as the side prepares to face Portugal in a friendly on November 14th.
https://twitter.com/ussoccer/status/922825010410131456
Dave Sarachan Named Interim USMNT Manager
Sarachan takes over for Bruce Arena who resigned in the wake of the U.S. failing to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1986. A long-time assistant under Arena, him and the rest of the technical staff will remain on board at least through November’s friendly. It includes fellow assistants Kenny Arena, Pat Noonan and Matt Reis who will maintain their existing posts.
Many observers expected current U-20 manager and youth technical director Tab Ramos to assume the role at the helm of the senior side after Arena’s departure. However, Sports Illustrated’s Grant Wahl is reporting that Ramos wanted assurances that he wouldn’t be taking over purely on an interim basis. It’s a primary reason he opted against taking the job.
Sarachan’s lone stint as a manager came from 2002-07 with the Chicago Fire in MLS. During his first season in charge, Chicago won the Supporters’ Shield, the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and made an appearance in MLS Cup where they fell to the San Jose Earthquakes. The Fire made the U.S. Open Cup final two more times under Sarachan, winning it once more in 2003.
U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati indicated that the process for appointing a permanent manager will take time. The belief is that it won’t occur at the earliest until after February’s election for a new federation president. Gulati is expected to seek a fourth term but will likely see multiple challenges unlike previous elections when he ran unchallenged. It comes with his performance under fire as a result of the direction U.S. Soccer has taken under his watch.
