Jul 07
Will Marcelo Bielsa be the Next U.S. Manager?
Fresh off a round of 16 exit in the World Cup at the helm of Chilé, a source with ties to Bielsa’s native Argentina has informed me that the USSF is pursuing Marcelo Bielsa to take over as manager of the U.S. National Team. Bielsa has also received interest from other countries, including Japan, Mexico, and an extension offer from Chilé.
My source says Bielsa is looking for a talented team that has a calm environment as well. It seems as if the U.S. job fills both requirements, as do the jobs of Chilé and Japan. Mexico, on the other hand, is a pressure filled environment (see what happened to Hugo Sanchez and Sven Goran Erikkson), and may not suit Bielsa in that regard, despite being arguably the most talented of the bunch.
Bielsa is also notorious for his dislike of the media. In Chilé, he virtually ignored the press, sometimes not showing up to press conferences and outright refusing to do exclusive interviews. This likely would be a big problem in the U.S. where the media feel a right to ask questions and have them answered truthfully.
Clearly, the situation is fluid, considering that Bob Bradley is still under contract, and he hasn’t even sat down with Sunil Gulati, president of USSF, yet. I wouldn’t expect anything to be resolved in the near future, as there is no rush to find a new manager with Bob Bradley still employed at the moment. However, it is an interesting development that USSF is preparing for life without Bradley, and is going out and pursuing a coach renowned for attacking soccer.
–Max Zeger
Follow me on twitter @mcmz403 for news, banter, and opinion.
July 7th, 2010 at 1:28 pm
interesting. i don’t know how i feel about it yet. I like that he is such an attacker but i don’t know if we have the options for such a role.
I also don’t like that he doesn’t like the media. but i’m glad we are talking to big names from countries who have done well.
July 7th, 2010 at 2:03 pm
[...] running for the United States Men’s National Team job. Goal.com contributor Max Zeger had this post on his blog Yanks Soccer today addressing that very rumor, and my friend (and psuedo-boss) Trevor [...]
July 8th, 2010 at 10:12 am
[...] be replaced. Talk of a possible replacement thus far has generally been about Jürgen Klinsmann. Well, there’s a new name to toss into the hat, Marcelo Bielsa, the Argentine who took Chile to the Round of 16. Here’s one take on what Bielsa’s [...]
December 31st, 2010 at 5:08 pm
[...] was rumored to have been pursued by USSF in July, following the World Cup [...]
March 3rd, 2011 at 11:58 pm
sounds great… USA under Bielsa sounds like we are willing to take a step forward in football if this is true and it actually happens. I believe he would be a great asset to the players that we have right now and look forward to Brazil 2014. USA, finally a team that has the ball and constantly offends the opponent. That’s the type of team I see with Bielsa and I find it sounds great.
November 10th, 2011 at 8:10 pm
I’m impressed, I must say.