U.S. Soccer has continued its string of bold coaching changes this year. It started by naming Jurgen Klinsmann as men’s national team coach in July, then filled the U.S. under-23, under-20 and under-18 jobs in the last week. By all indications, the recent selections weren’t easily agreed upon, and numerous names were considered. And just like Klinsmann, once the initial fanfare wears off, each relatively inexperienced new hire faces real challenges to move the federation forward. Here’s a look at each of them:
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Caleb Porter (under-23)
Outside of Klinsmann, Porter is the sexiest coaching name in the country; D.C. United failed to lure him to Washington two years ago. The confident, successful 36-year-old has one national title and has turned out a series of top MLS picks in quick succession at Akron, including five of the first eight in last January’s draft, one of which was D.C. United rookie Perry Kitchen.
He also has the best U.S. job next to Klinsmann, guiding next summer’s Olympic team. But choosing, managing and coalescing a group of full-time professionals is completely different than recruiting, a task at which he clearly has excelled.
“I’ve been coaching my Akron team not like a college team but like a pro team in our style of play and the way that we approach teams,” Porter told reporters in a conference call last week. He’s not leaving the Zips behind, either, but sharing the two jobs. Akron duties will keep him out of his first U.S. camp next month in Germany.
Tab Ramos (under-20)
The Uruguayan-born, New Jersey-raised 45-year-old is regarded as the most technically gifted player ever to wear a U.S. jersey, and his savvy remains well respected, especially by those who run U.S. Soccer.
But until he took over the under-20s on an interim basis earlier this year, Ramos had coached only at the youth level. He has been an under-20 assistant coach since 2009.
Richie Williams (under-18)
The personification of rugged, hard-tackling, defensive-minded soccer, Williams will lead a group still in a developmental stage that is expected to play the exact opposite style. Williams, 41, also has never been a head coach. He has spent the last five years as an assistant in New York, where he has been handed an interim tag twice but never offered the full-time job.
– Craig Stouffer
