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Report: Ali Curtis, Earnie Stewart interviewed for USMNT GM position

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Two more candidates have emerged for the U.S. Men’s National Team’s General Manager position.

According to MLSSoccer.com, current Philadelphia Union sporting director Earnie Stewart and former New York Red Bulls sporting director Ali Curtis have interviewed for the position. Carlos Bocanegra and Garth Lagerwey have previously been linked to the role, although Bocanegra has since withdrawn himself from contention.

Stewart was hired by the Union in 2015 after previously working for NAC Breda and AZ Alkmaar. The former USMNT midfielder started every game of the 1994, 1998 and 2002 World Cups, earning 101 caps during his international career.

Prior to joining the Red Bulls, Curtis had an extended playing career before joining the league office, where he helped create several of the league’s roster mechanisms. Curtis was Red Bulls’ sporting director from 2014-2017.

The USMNT GM will be responsible for hiring the team’s head coach and is expected to be named some time before the end of the summer.

Comments

  1. Earnie Stewart has done a lousy job so far in Philadelphia and Ali Curtis got fired from the Red Bulls. sounds good.
    as a Sounders fan I would be thrilled if they would take Garth ‘Moneyball’ Lagerwey off our hands…

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    • Curtis was fired not for poor performance but because he and Marsch disagreed on the direction of the club and the owners decided to go with Jesse. In terms of his job as a GM at RBNY, I would say he did a pretty damn good job.

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      • Wrong , Curtis was not the Red Bull’s General Manager He was only Director of soccer operations. Anyway he doesnt have the experiencie .

      • If your standard for a good team is the first 4 or 5 games, clearly TFC are terrible. Doing well over a few games is better than not winning, but it is hardly a sign that anything has turned around yet.

      • And of course, Curtin is still coach. I always thought he was about as good as Alexi Lalas as a player, a big brute who could defend, but only in the most physical way. As a coach, he has not shown himself to be particularly clever either.

      • Dennis – Check out the Union, This is not your father’s Union. I like the way they are playing, lots of 1-touch and they have the horses to do damage from the wings. I’m not so happy with Sapong as the sole CF, he can’t score in tight spaces.

  2. What I like about Ernie Stewart is he got a lot of experience in developing young guys in a league that is known for development. This is the player you are now…this is how you improve. He thinks in terms of potential and progression; any idiot can just look out on the field and select right now (and far too many of them do.) He also has experience in both MLS and over the pond, and that balanced perspective is probably needed right now, as divided as our federation seems to be at the moment.

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    • Surely the manager will be in charge of selection though leaving this a moot point? I guess I still don’t get what this GM role really does, but oh well. The key will be the working relationship to the manager and finding a balance of power.

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  3. John O’Brien, courtesy call for JOHN O’BRIEN. Seriously would have been nice if he would have stayed in the US Soccer circle. Could have been a big asset in the growth of our national team and league.

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    • Of course, I think, the job is more about personnel management informed by soccer knowledge, than a pure soccer job. The best soccer players tend to be able to make quick simple decisions based on what is in front of them in that instant.

      Managing people requires a more deliberate decision making process. I am not sure that being good at one naturally leads to being good at the other.

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    • JOB comes from money. If I am not mistaken, his father invented froze fruit bars. He grew up in La Jolla. He was some player!

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  4. Curtis = MLS-centric. Arguably, they both are, aren’t they? Between the two, I’d prefer Stewart based on his work at AZ. Hope more candidates pop out of the woodwork.

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  5. They both seem like reasonable candidates, I guess that’s a start. I’m still not clear on what they want (or will let) the GM to do, it’s got to be more than just hiring the manager…

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  6. Ernie was certainly the better player and he has served in management in Germany. Curtis was pretty successful building the Red Bull up in a few years on a modest budget, while Stewart’s Union has not flourished in the same way.

    With regard to fan recognition and international experience Stewart is the better.

    To the extent that a soccer team plays as well as its players and coach selected are capable of, Curtis seems to have the upper hand in that.

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    • It’s pretty irrelevant who was the better player. What matters is who is the better general manager. At this point, Curtis and Stewart both have solid reasons to be considered.

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