Report: Marcelo Bielsa discussed as candidate for USMNT head coach

Another big-time name has been added to the United States Men’s National Team head coaching candidate’s list. According to a Telemundo Deportes report, former Leeds United coach Marcelo Bielsa is being discussed as a potential candidate to take over as the next USMNT head coach.

Bielsa has had a distinguished coaching career that has spanned more than 35 years. He has coaching stints on the club level at Newell’s Old Boys, Atlas, Club América, Vélez Sarsfield, Espanyol, Athletic Bilbao, Marseille, Lazio, Lille, and most recently Leeds United. On the international level, he coached Argentina to a runners-up medal at the 2004 Copa América and the gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics, the first Latin American team to win gold in soccer since 1928. He also coached Chile from 2011-2013.

With his most recent stop at Elland Road, he led Leeds United back to the Premier League for the first time since 2004 when Leeds won the EFL Championship in 2020. He coached them for a season and a half in the Premier League before being let go early last year.

While reports are that he is being discussed as a USMNT head coaching candidate, fans have to consider the news as potentially premature. With the recent announcement that Earnie Stewart (sporting director) and Brian McBride (USMNT general manager) are leaving the U.S. Soccer Federation, the federation has publicly stated that their priority begins with a search for a new sporting director. They hope to have a new sporting director in place by the start of the Women’s World Cup in July. The new hire would then be responsible for picking the next coach to lead the USMNT.

This means that fans should not expect a head coaching hire anytime soon, which will keep Bielsa on the available market. However, with reports that he turned down the Everton FC job and that he is a desired target by many to take the Mexico job, Bielsa appears to be a popular coaching candidate. However, it appears unrealistic due to the current U.S. Soccer timeline that Bielsa will still be available this summer for a new sporting director to consider.

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