Canada men’s national team head coach Jesse Marsch took something of a parting shot at his former American counterpart, Gregg Berhalter, for making the players feel too comfortable in their roles.
Marsch, who was passed over for the USMNT job, helped lead Canada to the semifinals of the Copa America over the summer.
Meanwhile, he watched as his home nation crashed out in embarrassing fashion in the group stages of the tournament they were hosting.
Speaking to CBS Sports’ ‘Call It What You Want’ podcast ahead of Saturday’s USA-Canada friendly matchup in Kansas City, Marsch was asked if the player pool for the USMNT needs to get tougher.
‘Look, I don’t know… But here’s the funny thing is a lot of the players that were clamoring to get Gregg back, were also the ones that are now saying that it’s time to move on,’ Marsch observed.
Jesse Marsch said that players shouldn’t be made to feel comfortable within a squad
That seems to be a parting shot at the recently fired United States manager Gregg Berhalter
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‘I don’t know. For me, this sport and this world that you play in has to be about constantly being challenged to be your best, period. I don’t care who the coach is.
‘And there shouldn’t be a comfortability. There should always be a drive to be better. And yeah, it’s fun to be on teams, right?
‘You want the process of growth and improvement to be an enjoyable one, but it has to be about demands, right? And this life should never be about complacency, right?
‘If you want to be a good professional coach, a good professional player, a good professional team, this has to be about the drive and the obsession to be your best.
‘And the only way to do that is to constantly to be challenged and to be put over your head, to be asked more, to have higher standards, higher demands.
‘So I don’t care if it’s the US team or it’s any team. That’s what professional football is.’
Back in July of this year, in the aftermath of the loss to Uruguay that doomed them to an early exit, USMNT midfielder Weston McKennie said, ‘We all have a comfortability with Gregg, and we all understand him; we’ve had him for a long time.
‘He’s progressed the team very far from where we started off four or five years ago, and I think the connection that we have with him is important… Whatever happens, happens, but I think if he’s the coach we’re all happy.
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Similar sentiments were expressed by team leader Tyler Adams: ‘I absolutely have faith in him. I didn’t think it’s a coach’s job in a lot of situations. You know, we put a game plan in place; guys need to follow the game plan, of course, but you’re a footballer at the end of the day.
‘How many times have you played the game? You need to be able to find solutions on the field, as well. He’s stuck with us through a lot of tough moments; I think we’re going to stick with him as well. I think that’s important.’
The US did not stick with Berhalter, moving on from him after conducting a review in the wake of the defeat.
Adams recently told Men In Blazers, ‘For myself and the young team and kind of where we’re at. I think we need someone that’s almost a little bit ruthless coming in.
‘And putting everyone in their place and understanding that, ‘Listen, this is what needs to be done and this is the way that we’re gonna do it.’
‘There’s no really ifs, ands or buts, it’s not really a conversation, it has to be more of a decision that’s made and this is the way we’re gonna play.’
Reports indicate that US Soccer officials are flying to Barcelona to finalize a deal to make Mauricio Pochettino the new USMNT manager.
