Rudderless U.S. still searching for an identity

Image Credits: Twitter/@ussoccer_mnt

It has been over a year since Bruce Arena resigned as head coach of the United States and a 3-0 defeat to England on Thursday showed they remain rudderless in the absence of a permanent replacement. 

A shambolic failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup 13 months ago led to the departure of Arena, who himself was an ill-fated, stop-gap appointment after Juergen Klinsmann was fired in November 2016. 

Without a permanent head coach in the dugout, a young American side lost comfortably to England in a one-sided game at Wembley, where the lack of direction from the bench was all too evident. 

Despite having spent the bulk of his career as a number two, Arena`s former assistant, the 64-year-old Dave Sarachan, has been in charge of the team for the past year, although a new appointment is expected to be made in January.

It is an extraordinarily long time for a team to be left without direction and the players are among those looking for a new man to take charge. 

"Dave is doing what he can and obviously he wants to win these games too, just like we do," U.S.`s top player, Borussia Dortmund winger Christian Pulisic, said. 

"It is going to help a lot once we get a permanent head coach, moving forward with a guy who has a real plan and a style we want to play."

Certainly there was nothing on show at Wembley to suggest that a plan or style has been established by Sarachan. The U.S. gave England plenty of space as the home side took a 2-0 lead midway through the first half.

FIGHTING SPIRIT

Four years ago in Brazil, the United States reached the last 16 of the World Cup with a team that impressed many neutrals with their fighting spirit and aggression.

Those were the team`s traditional qualities that were also evident in Bob Bradley`s side at the 2010 World Cup and in the team which reached the quarter-finals in 2002 during Arena`s first spell in charge.

Going back to 1994, when the U.S first truly emerged on the international stage and hosted the World Cup, American soccer`s main strengths have been resilience and work-rate.

There is a feeling among fans and pundits, however, that such qualities are no longer enough on their own in the modern game and the new man will have to forge a different identity and a style of play that can cope with the likes of England and Tuesday`s friendly opponents Italy.

U.S. Soccer`s General Manager, Earnie Stewart, has been in charge of the search for a new coach. 

While numerous foreign bosses have been linked with the position, former U.S. international Gregg Berhalter has been tipped for the job. 

Berhalter, whose brother Jay is the federation`s chief commercial and strategy officer, is head coach of Columbus Crew in Major League Soccer.

In his five years in charge of the team, he has a mediocre 38.34 win percentage and has yet to win a trophy, although they were MLS Cup runners-up in 2015. He previously had a spell in Sweden with Hammarby.

Whether the job is given to Berhalter or a surprise alternative, Pulisic is impatient for change.

"You are never happy to lose 3-0. It is a tough result. We need to get a lot better as a team," he said.

"We can talk about continuing to gain experience. That is not why we are here. We want to win now. We need to win these games. I’m a competitive guy and I know everyone else is in the locker room."