Earnie Stewart is tasked with returning the United States to the world’s biggest sporting event.
The United States Soccer Federation announced Wednesday on its website it has hired Stewart as general manager of the U.S. men’s national team. Stewart, who once played for USA and currently works as sporting director for Major League Soccer’s Philadelphia Union, will assume his new role Aug. 1.
“Having played for the U.S. Men’s National Team, I’m honored by the opportunity to return to help lead this rebuilding phase,” Stewart told reporters in a conference call, per USSoccer.com. “We have a tremendous amount of young talent and passion in the U.S., and I’m ready to jump in, hire a new head coach and build a culture of success, with the ultimate goal of the U.S. Men’s National Team becoming a world champion.”
One of Stewart’s first tasks will be to lead the search for a U.S. national team coach. Dave Sarachan has served as Team USA’s interim coach since Bruce Arena resigned last October in the wake of USA’s failure to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
U.S. Soccer president Carlos Cordeiro believes soccer “experts” at the helm will improve Team USA’s fortunes.
“With his breadth of experience as both a player and a technical director, Earnie is the ideal leader to guide the long-term success of our Men’s National Team program,” Cordeiro said. “Combined with the structural changes at the Federation that we announced in April, this is a further step in our commitment to ensure that soccer operations are run by soccer experts.”
U.S. soccer fans patiently await news of whom Stewart will recommend as head coach and what impact his long-term plan will have on the soccer landscape in this country.
