What Happened to the USMNT

Prior to the 2002 FIFA World Cup, the U.S. Men's National Soccer Team had won just four World Cup matches in 72 years. They'd been humbled with a last place finish at the 1998 World Cup, scoring just once across three games. Major League Soccer was still in its infancy, and generally struggling. But the 2002 squad managed to beat powerhouse Portugal to advance out of the group stages, toppled Mexico 2-0 in the round of 16, and stood up ably to Germany in a quarterfinal loss that nonetheless had the crowd chanting, "USA! USA!" as the players exited the field with heads held high. Fast forward 15 years, and the popularity of soccer in the United States was booming. Cries of "I believe that we will win!" rang out at every match. With greater resources invested, the U.S. was producing talent of a high enough caliber to compete abroad in England's Premier League, and the national team had Jürgen Klinsmann at the helm, promising an injection of worldliness and European flair to the American game. Yet while the American women's team had made World Cup victories a regular expectation, the men failed to even qualify, for the 2018 tournament. What happened to the USMNT? Columbia Business School adjunct professor and acclaimed author of The Real Madrid Way Steven Mandis turns his lens inward to examine what it will take for the U.S. men to achieve lasting success on the international stage and how it differs critically from building a successful club team. This meticulously researched, probing investigation challenges conventional wisdom and speaks to the utmost importance of authenticity when cultivating an organizational identity. If the Italians have their cantenaccio, the Spanish their tiki-taka, the Dutch their "total football," and the Brazilians their ginga, Mandis argues that cultivating a unique "American way" of soccer is not only possible but absolutely essential.