My father is in his seventies. He has never owned a cell phone or a computer. No, he is not Amish or the Unabomber. He’s just an older guy who never had an interest in or need for such things. However, his company recently issued all employees a smartphone and now requires him to do certain tasks via email and online. They might as well have handed him the keys to the Space Shuttle and asked him to take it for a spin. After a class from my uncle, my father could answer a call, but he still talks into the camera lens. I seriously doubt that he will ever send an email. Downloading an App? Ha!
In recent weeks, USMNT coach Bob Bradley has been named in English media as a candidate for the managerial positions at Fulham and Aston Villa of the Barclay’s English Premier League. Whether Bradley ever had a real chance at these positions or not, his name even being mentioned is noteworthy given America’s history. It may be my own ignorance, but I do not know of any American currently coaching overseas. Bill Moravek was the first American to coach a foreign national team when he coached the British Virgin Islands in 2000. Moravek also served as an assistant for the Jamaican national team and Southampton in England. As far as I know, the only native-born American coach to have ever held a major job overseas was Steve Sampson when he coached Costa Rica’s national team in 2002-2004. Bruce Arena reportedly put his name in the hat for the Scottish National Team in 2007, but was not appointed. John Murphy was briefly the manager of Livingston Football Club in Scotland’s first division in 2009. Dan Gaspar was the goalkeepers coach at Sporting Lisbon and an assistant on the Portuguese and South African national teams. Brent Goulet was a head coach in the German Third Division from 2004-2008. The most recent American who had a shot at the big time was Martin Vasquez assisting Jurgen Klinsmann at Bayern Munich in 2008. There may be one or two other guys out there that I have missed, but you get the point. Bob Bradley even being mentioned for a job overseas is big news.
However, being mentioned is not enough anymore. We need some coaches to do what we have been telling players to do for so long -- get overseas and get some high level experience. It is hard to get an accurate count, but I believe there are around seventy Americans currently playing in foreign leagues. So, on my score card, it is currently: Players 70, Coaches 0. If this rate continues, we will soon be at the point where our players are going to have more experience than our coaches. Some may argue that we are there now. In 2010, the U.S. had the most experienced professional roster it has ever had for a World Cup. DaMarcus Beasley and Tim Howard have played in Champions League matches. Clint Dempsey had played in a Europa League Final. Jose Torres played in a FIFA Club World Cup. Steve Cherundolo had played in the Bundesliga for nine years and currently captains his team. Maurice Edu had scored a game winner in the Old Firm and has won two Scottish League championships. Jay DeMerit and Marcus Hahnemann had gone through the pressure of winning promotion to the English Premier League. As the list goes on, it becomes apparent that the top level experience of the players dwarfs that of the coaching staff.
A team must have technical and tactical ability to be competitive on the international level. The U.S. players have gone abroad and increased their technical experience and it is time for the coaches to do the same for their tactical ability. The pressure of coaching in a league with relegation, where every game is important, where every point matters, and where every match is analyzed in the national media, is not present in the U.S. right now. American coaches need to test themselves under these conditions and to do that they must go abroad. No, it is not easy to get a coaching job overseas. I believe there is a bias against U.S. coaches that prevents them from getting fair consideration. There are also language barriers and work permitting issues. However, this is nothing that a U.S. player has not had to overcome. Perhaps, our former players have the best shot of overcoming the stigma and getting involved in the game as coaches overseas. I do not know his coaching ability, but I bet Brian McBride could get a managing job somewhere in Great Britain. Perhaps, a coach needs to swallow his pride and go to a lower division and work his way up. Maybe one of the Americans who own an English Premier League team can make a spot for an American as an assistant.
However it is done, the U.S. needs to get started getting some coaches placed overseas today. As the U.S. continues to export players overseas while our coaches stay home, our American coaches risk becoming like my father when he was handed his smart phone. They will have a powerful tool at their disposal, but won’t know how to use it.
