Gareth Southgate departed the England national team to leave it in the same spot as the USA: without a head coach. For Southgate, the Englishman left on his own accord after reaching a second European Championship Final. Berhalter guided the United States to an embarrassing group-stage exit at the Copa America, a tournament happening on home soil. While that leaves the two sides in different positions in terms of recent success, the situations in the United States and England are not overly different.
Both England and the USA face one major question. Do they stick with hiring a coach with knowledge of the domestic scene, or do they take a stab at an intriguing international prospect? Southgate and Berhalter were similar hires for the two. Both had brief spells among the senior national team as players. They were, by many accounts, safe hires that the US Soccer and England could have had a say over. Their tactics were often dreary and uninspired, and each faced ample criticism from those supporting the team.
England is in the beginning stages of its coaching search. The federation only just returned from Germany after a monthlong tournament. Therefore, the Three Lions have limited coaching prospects currently. The leading candidates currently are Eddie Howe of Newcastle or the out-of-work Graham Potter and Mauricio Pochettino.
The history of the two sides with hiring coaches is similar, too. There are several tendencies that each follow. That generally hovers around hiring American or English coaches for the USMNT and England, respectively. There have been several exceptions. For England, those were recently Sven Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello. The USMNT had Jürgen Klinsmann and Bora Milutinovic as international managers in the last 30 years.
Yet, the current frontrunner for the USMNT is Steve Cherundolo, the head coach of LAFC. It is a stark contrast from the splash signings of Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira or Jürgen Klopp. US Soccer would need to pony up more wages to sign a coach like this, and that is something it is hesitant to do.
When comparing the earnings of coaches at the 2024 Copa America, Gregg Berhalter was on some of the smallest wages. His $2.2 million salary may surpass Euro 2024 champion Luis de la Fuente, but it is not in the top 10 among coaches at the Copa America. International coaches, knowing the value of what they bring to the table, would demand more money from US Soccer. Coaches like Cherundolo with an American background would certainly be less inclined to take massive contracts because of the honor of coaching the USMNT.
England is a different job than the USMNT. Yet, the English FA has been one to lean on the expertise of those with knowledge of the English Premier League. Before taking over the Three Lions, Southgate managed Middlesbrough and the England U-21 side. It was not a flashy resume like that of Pochettino, who had stops with Chelsea, Spurs and PSG. Even Howe would be taking a risk professionally to join a volatile spot like the England national team. That could explain why England went with coaches like Roy Hodgson, Sam Allardyce and Steve McClaren.
International managers have done well. Eriksson reached three quarterfinals in three international tournaments. Fabio Capello had success. In his lone tournament with the England national team, the Three Lions was hard done by officiating.
They could be the impetus for England, and the United States, to seek out international representation in the dugout.
PHOTOS: IMAGO
