Is The USMNT Hiring Someone Like Jurgen Klopp Or Pep Guardiola Even Feasible? We’ve Got Bad News

The differences in the definitions of “possible” and “feasible” are subtle yet substantial.

Whereas “possible” is defined as whether or not something is *able* to be done, “feasible” is defined as whether or not something is *capable* of being done.

For example: is it possible to survive trying to climb up the Empire State Building? Well, sure. But is it feasible? I think you know the answer.

So, yes, is it possible that the United States Men’s National Team could hire a world-elite manager like Jurgen Klopp or Pep Guardiola? Sure! Especially when money is involved, anything is possible. But whether or not it’s feasible is another question entirely, and its answer is likely not one that American soccer fans will want to hear.

First, let’s start with the recently retired Klopp, who departed from Liverpool earlier this year after spending nine years with the storied English club. Klopp’s reason for leaving, above all else, was that he was “running out of energy.”

This admission is both positive and negative when it comes to his potential prospects as a USMNT manager. On one hand, his retirement just started, so it’s highly unlikely that he will get back into management until 2025, at the earliest.

On the other, however, is the fact being a national team manager is far less demanding than being a club manager. Still, though, if Klopp were to decide to go down the international management route, his native and beloved Germany would certainly take priority over the United States, no?

Granted, Klopp’s affection for American culture has never been a secret, given his relationship with Fenway Sports Group, his constant wearing of Yankees or Red Sox hats, vacations to New York City, his love of the Rocky movies, and so on.

The final factor that breaks in USMNT fans’ favor as far as Klopp is concerned is that, despite his status as one of the game’s all-time great managers, his options are surprisingly limited due to his own loyalties.

He’s already said he’d never manage in England again (other than Liverpool) and it’s difficult to see him going to a world power like Real Madrid, PSG, or Barcelona. His Dortmund ties in Germany also mean he’d never manage Bayern Munich, and he’s not the type to sell out and manage in the Middle East. He’d also likely never manage the England national team given that Liverpudlians largely see themselves in opposition to what the national team stands for.

As for Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, his prospects are simultaneously more straightforward yet more complex, as Pep is both more attainable and less predictable than Klopp.

With Pep, as he’s proven with Barca, Bayern, and City, he needs to be in an elite set-up where he’s given carte blanche to build the program as he pleases. While the USMNT is not currently structured this way, a legendary figure like Guardiola might be able to bend them to his will. If the US Soccer Federation were to offer him that, plus a ton of money, Guardiola would likely mull it over.

What makes Pep harder to pin down than Klopp, however, is that his principles make it unclear what his future holds beyond Man City. If Pep leaves the club in the summer of 2025, which recent rumors have suggested, there is truly no telling where he could pop up next. Returning to Barca? Taking a crack at Italy with a club like Juventus or one of the historic Milan sides? Cashing a check in Saudi Arabia or MLS? The Spanish national team? All of these options are — you guessed it! — feasible when pondering Pep’s future.

When stripping away all hypothetical reasoning, though, there are technical and tangible elements preventing US Soccer from hiring someone like Pep or Klopp, most notably the newly-installed equity regulations within the federation, i.e., whatever obscene amount of money it would take to coax one of them to take the men’s job, US Soccer would have to pay the women’s team manager the same rate.

And that, ultimately, is the biggest hurdle in the US Federation making a truly bold hire that would change the arc of the sport in the country, particularly ahead of a historic World Cup: the ambitions of the very body that governs the team.

Following the 2022 World Cup, the USF had the chance to replace Berhalter, as the expiry of his contract plus numerous swirling controversies gave both parties an opportunity for a clean break.

Instead, the USF chose the safe route, the risk-averse route, the vanilla route, and got exactly what they deserved on Monday night when Berhalter was holding up his two pointer fingers to indicate that the score of the Panama-Bolivia game was 1-1, only to watch his team concede seconds later, personifying and embodying the federation’s ambitions: utter mediocrity, in terms of profile, results, and ultimately, cost.

Could the United States Men’s National team hire a Klopp or Pep? Yes. Will they? Absolutely not.