For the first time in quite a while, Brian McBride is a free agent.
The MLS and US men’s national team legend is pondering his next move after leaving the USMNT’s general manager post in January. U.S. Soccer CEO JT Batson had tabbed McBride for a new, more business-oriented post at the federation over the winter, only to be stymied by a USSF budget deficit running north of $42 million for the 2023 fiscal year.
“JT had come to talk to me while we were in Qatar during the World Cup, and then everything was moving forward pretty soundly until early January, when they let me know that position was going to be put on hold,” McBride, who says he decided to step down from the GM job in October, told MLSsoccer.com on Monday. “So as of right now, I don't foresee that happening anytime soon.
“So I'm sitting here and I'm ready to get back in. I definitely have the itch to get back into the day-to-day side of soccer.”
While not as outward-facing as Gregg Berhalter or Earnie Stewart, McBride was a key architect of the USMNT’s 2022 cycle, working behind the scenes to plan national-team activities and cultivate positive relationships with clubs in regards to call-ups and the like.
World Cup conundrum
Were he still on the job, this week would be a hectic time in that regard, with the US Under-20 national team set to release their roster for the upcoming FIFA U-20 World Cup which kicks off in Argentina later this month. Negotiating call-ups for events like this, for which FIFA does not require clubs to release their players, is a complex challenge, as shown by the growing list of players who won’t be joining coach Mikey Varas’ squad.
“I had a lot of those conversations. I think it's a delicate situation, because the club has to think about the player and the player’s desires long-term,” said McBride. “Then the importance of the player developing is another thing they need to look at. When I look at it from a club aspect, you can understand why some clubs say, ‘Hey, we're not going to let them go for this long because they’re starters and playing 90 minutes every MLS game.’ And there the developmental side of it, you can make an argument they might be developing better in MLS, in better matches than say, some Under-20 games.”
Varas will likely have to do without several key pieces.
Chicago Fire FC are set to decline call-ups for midfielder Brian Gutiérrez and goalkeeper Chris Brady, both of whom are regular starters for them. Croatian side Hajduk Split plan to keep hold of midfielder Rokas Pukstas, while Eintracht Frankfurt will reportedly do the same with Paxten Aaronson. LA Galaxy coach Greg Vanney recently hinted that a shortage of healthy defenders would force him to keep Jalen Neal with the club.
Conversely, the Philadelphia Union say they’ll release their players, despite the likes of Jack McGlynn and Quinn Sullivan logging significant minutes with their first team. Coach Jim Curtin has framed it as central to the club’s developmental ethos as well as a chance at high-level exposure to overseas clubs mulling potential future transfers.
“It's a shop window,” said McBride, “[but] there's been tons of conversations I've had with clubs, and they've [said], ‘Listen, the U-20 [World Cup] might get eyes, but the reason a top European club’s going to purchase one of our players is him being able to play at a high level inside MLS, against professionals. And so the value side of it, probably there's an argument that they'll get more money because the player has been playing professional soccer rather than a club taking a chance on a youth player that excelled at a World Cup.”
McBride played in three World Cups during his glittering career as a striker and also captained the US team as an overage player at the 2008 Olympics, so he also recognizes the allure of major international tournaments.
“These are the discussions that you have with the clubs when you're on the national team side,” he said. “Listen, when you're trying to bring a player into your club, and they understand that they're going to be able to live out their dreams and playing for a national team at a World Cup, whether it's a youth national team or a full national team, I think that's attractive to players coming into that club.
“The player has to have some sort of say, or you have to be communicating with that player on a regular basis, knowing that it might be an issue. And the last thing you want to do is take a player out of a positive mindset that is going to help you in games, if they get frustrated.”
Future of US Soccer
While the USMNT subsequently entered a phase of profound turnover as he, Stewart and Berhalter subsequently vacated their positions, McBride is proud of what they achieved, not only on the pitch in Qatar last autumn but in terms of building stronger relationships and synergy between the youth and senior national teams.
Like the rest of the program’s leadership infrastructure, the GM role is under review as Matt Crocker, Stewart’s successor as sporting director, arrives to chart the course towards the 2026 World Cup on North American soil. It could continue, be subsumed into other existing roles or be phased out entirely. Whatever the outcome, McBride hopes its responsibilities are not neglected.
“The communication and the time spent with our youth national teams is really important. To have that integration across each team, I think a GM plays a lot of a part in that,” said the former Fire and Columbus Crew star.
“That's not just on the technical development side, but being there for advice for coaches, and the process with our talent ID department. Those are things that I think are really important that they're fostered, and to help grow those areas. I think we were making really good ground on that integration side and the work that our youth national team coaches do together, and then how that blends in with our full men's national team.”
McBride and his wife Dina still live in the Chicago area, where both of them grew up. But with Freya, the youngest of their three daughters, moving into high-school age, he’s prepared to look further afield for his next opportunity.
“I enjoyed my time as a general manager of the men's national team,” he said. “There's different challenges on the club side that I'd be excited to take on, and the base that I'll come in with as far as a culture and communication – understanding different aspects of what's happening behind the scenes, but also with that knowledge of on the field and understanding what's needed on the technical side.”
