US Soccer named José Mourinho to its list of potential head coaches for the United States Men’s National Team. The federation also named Zinedine Zidane to that list, but the Frenchman “politely declined” the opportunity.
Currently, US Soccer named Anthony Hudson as the team’s interim head coach. Gregg Berhalter remains under investigation by US Soccer following a domestic violence incident 31 years ago. Berhalter admitted to kicking his now-wife during an argument. This all stemmed from a blackmail accusation by Claudio Reyna and his wife, Danielle.
To smooth over the situation, US Soccer could look for a new coach with no ties to the US. Jose Mourinho is on that list of potential names for US Soccer in that role. The current coach of AS Roma has expressed his desire to coach a national team.
“Yes, I want to coach a team. I want to live the experience of a World Cup and a Euro Cup, the emotion of the short competition”, Mourinho said at a press conference while leading Spurs.
The Portugal native has ties to that country but understands the challenges of training for his home country.
“Portugal is the one I want to do? On the one hand, yes, what my heart is like, ”she added. “But it’s very difficult to do it with the country you were born in.”
Interestingly, no foreign-born head coach has ever won the World Cup. Of course, José Mourinho is not exactly an ordinary head coach.
US Soccer wants winning mentality from José Mourinho
Mourinho’s tenure as manager includes stops at Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Manchester United. In each of those places, he won a trophy. In fact, the only place he didn’t win a trophy was with Tottenham.
His tour includes two UEFA Champions League, two Europa League, one Europa Conference League and five national cups. The highlight was winning the treble with Inter Milan in the 2009/10 season. Clearly, the Portuguese knows his way around a tournament.
That is what makes US Soccer want to bring José Mourinho. As one of the co-hosts of the 2026 World Cup, Mourinho could lead a host nation to win the World Cup for the seventh time, and the first in what would be 28 years.
tempting job
While it may be noble to win the World Cup, Mourinho could do well to bring experience to a young USMNT team. Most of those who represented the US made their World Cup debut in 2022. However, there are still a large number of players who have not been tested at the World Cup.
Mourinho has a fiery personality, a stark contrast to previous US coaches. Still, he could be the difference as the USMNT makes waves at their own World Cup.
PHOTO: IMAGO / Insidefoto
