Matt Crocker built U.S. Soccer's future — then left for Saudi Arabia 2 months before the World Cup
Just two months before the World Cup, Matt Crocker is stepping down as the U. S. Soccer’s sporting director after three years to work for the Saudi Arabian federation.
Crocker is not a coach or a player; he’s essentially a general manager. So his surprise departure, first reported by Fox Sports, will have no direct impact on U. S.
success or failure this summer. In terms of World Cup build-up, his work is done here. How the Americans fare — and whether, with the spotlight at its brightest on home soil, they lift the sport as a whole to new heights — will rest to much extent with Crocker.
After all, the 51-year-old Welshman led the campaign to hire Mauricio Pochettino, the highest-paid coach in U. S. Soccer history by a wide margin.
With so much at stake this summer, Crocker needed to get it right. He did get it right with the women’s program, hiring Emma Hayes in the lead to the 2024 Olympics. Hayes orchestrated a gold medal campaign on short notice and put the Americans on a path to contend for the World Cup trophy next year in Brazil after the 2023 failure under Vlatko Andonovski.