There’s finally something worthy of appreciation for US Soccer. Bitten by a series of failures in both women’s and men’s teams in the past year, the federation needed impactful solutions to overcome what was looking like a downward spiral. Confidence has now been restored among the fraternity after a brilliant performance by the USWNT at the Paris Games 2024. However, after facing a lot of jeers, the director of the USSF, Matt Crocker, is now being credited for a visionary turnaround not just for the women’s team but also for USMNT hiring Mauricio Pochettino.

Speaking on the Futbol Americas podcast recently, senior journalist Jeff Carlisle praised the appointments of two world-class coaches for the USMNT and the USWNT.

“Credit to Matt Crocker, I wouldn’t say he made a lot of promises but he made a lot of statements to the effect, ‘this is what we’re ‘going to do in terms of a managerial search,’ and he’s delivered on just about every single one of them,” Carlisle mentioned.

He continued, “Whether it was hiring a big name, or investing in a coach. We don’t have particulars yet, but we can bet Mauricio Pochettino is commanding a very big salary. Everything about it that Matt Crocker said he was gonna do, he’s done,” he said, claiming him to be a man of his word.

But more importantly, his signing of Hayes hit the bullseye, which impressed journalists and many supporters. Carlisle further stated, “And you follow that on with what he’s done on the women’s side with hiring Emma Hayes. So that’s two really impressive hires in a row,” despite Crocker, being speculated of demanding to be fired from US Soccer.

Both the USMNT and the USWNT have faced serious reputational setbacks. Firstly, the women’s team. They had their worst World Cup campaign last year since its inception losing out in the round of 16 and the men faced group-stage exit despite being hosts of the 2024 Copa America. This left the USSF sporting director under heavy scrutiny.

In addition, a few claimed Crocker supported coach Gregg Berhalter. It added to the pressure of replacing Berhalter with a worthy men’s coach for the 2026 World Cup. Nevertheless, recent reports about Pochettino and the Olympic gold heroics of the women’s team might be a good damage control measure. But everything isn’t done on the men’s soccer front.

Matt Croker’s job still cut out after facing issues in hiring Mauricio Pochettino

The Federation solved the USWNT issues after recruiting Emma Hayes. Yet, the men’s team situation remains in a see-saw battle. As exciting as the announcement was, the former Chelsea coach has still not signed the contract with the Stars and Stripes men keeping Matt Crocker’s ambition hanging. Reports first stated the London club owed him $13.2 million, which could have caused delays in his arrival. The 52-year-old’s Chelsea contract was terminated mutually for sporting reasons one year before his contract expired.

But it is now claimed that Chelsea has denied any issues with dues, as Mauricio Pochettino reportedly looks for common ground through third-party sponsorships that can provide him with more financial assistance. This becomes an issue as the USMNT, being a national team, is expected to pay a bit less to the Argentine. Hence, the coach will miss the team’s September friendlies against Canada and New Zealand.

In addition, the equal pay policy US Soccer incorporated in 2022 could prove to be a burden on the 52-year-old. On the other hand, Emma Hayes got her due to becoming the most-paid women’s coach in soccer. However, the financial terms between Pochettino and US Soccer remain a mystery. Hence, with such intricacies within the hiring process, Crocker will wait until the issue is sorted between Chelsea and Mauricio Pochettino.

Until then, it remains the entire deal hanging on a loose thread.