Jesse Marsch was criticized by some for having a huddle with his players after the game. 1:45
A certain type of American soccer story is embodied by Mike Keeney. You know the one: a young man with a bag of clothes, a dream, and a couple hundred dollars in his pocket, hops a plane to Europe and plays football. He battles negative perception and reality while embracing any opportunity. He becomes indispensable and builds a career when he finds a place.
I was trying to make a living, but I was sacrificing a lot of time and energy to train a few teams. If two kids were kicking a bottle in the parking lot, I probably went over there and tried to make them better. Why? In a country like Finland, they reward you for being able to show your ability.
A veteran with experience at a dozen clubs, including FC Samorin, and a Finn passport, Keeney is nearly 15 years into this journey. He has a good reputation with connections throughout Europe. The story of Keeney is one of success, but he isn't a player. A small but growing number of Americans are making it in the European coaching ranks, forging paths not just for themselves but for the people who will come after them.
Big names in the American-in-Europe coaching profession. The U.S. men's national team manager, Bob Bradley, had managerial jobs in Sweden and France. Jesse March was with FC Salzburg and less successful at RB Leipzig. LAFC's Steve Cherundolo previously worked as an assistant at Hannover, which has experience with the Bundesliga.
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Others, such as Kenney, Enochs and former University of Connecticut and Temple assistant Brian Clarhaut, don't have the name recognition. A chance taken creates another opportunity for someone else in football.
As American players had to deal with prejudice and prevailing perception about the quality of soccer in the United States, coaches do the same. Bradley drew the ire of the fans for saying "PK" and "road games" and mispronouncing the league. Marsch caused a collective commentator meltdown after holding a post match team huddle on the pitch, while Manchester United assistant Chris Armas can't get away from the Ted Lasso comparisons. We will get to the FC boss soon.
While there is a negative perception of the U.S. as a backwater football culture, leaning into the stereotype of being an American can have benefits.
Clarhaut, a proud 35-year-old New Jersey native, said that he tried to embrace it. Who is this kind of crazy American guy?
American managers might be crazy, but are they any good? It is a mixed bag.
The World Soccer League ratings were used to determine how much better or worse a coach's team was during his first 30 matches in charge. The most improvement of any of the 771 manager tenures tracked was made by Matarazzo and Marsch. Berhalter, Bradley, and Wagner are rated between slightly better and slightly worse.
Ted Lasso was not horrible, either.
While Americans coaching in Europe mostly have the same stories about their paths, they have vastly different opinions about their favorite football coach.
Cherundolo said that they did a great job.
Enochs and his wife binged both seasons of the show. I like it. He said that no of his assistants in Germany know anything about it, which is a boon when it comes to avoiding the dopey-American-coach stereotype.
He doesn't think it favors the image of an American abroad.
One issue not covered in a fictional show that is very real for Americans is the fact that U.S. Soccer coaching licenses are not valid in Europe. One cannot manage a team in a top-tier league for more than 12 weeks without a pro license. Getting one requires successfully completing the B and A Licenses, and being approved for a Pro course, which happens at the discretion of national federations.
Clarhaut said that it was a huge disadvantage for American coaches. It is a problem.
It is not unique to Americans as all non-European managers can have difficulty earning their badges, but it greatly limits the opportunities for coaches coming from the United States. The low standards in which the European governing body holds the USSF coaching-licensing program indicates the lack of reciprocity. The Hoover Soccer Club in Alabama had a coaching and player exchange program with Celtic. He impressed the Scottish club's coaching staff, but they didn't want to hire him.
It is almost impossible for us to get you hired.
It took a lot of time for Keeney to apply for visas and work permits after he was offered an opportunity in Finland.
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