U.S. Soccer hires ex-defender Onyewu to assist in coaching search

Former defender Oguchi Onyewu has been appointed by the US Soccer Federation as assistant to new Sporting Director Matt Crocker in the search for a national team coach.

The USSF has been undergoing a overhaul of their operations after Earnie Stewart and Brian McBride quit their roles as sporting director and general manager in January.

Onyewu, who was part of the US World Cup squads in 2006 and 2010 and had 69 caps for his country, played for Standard Liege in Belgium as well as for Sporting Lisbon and Sheffield Wednesday.

After his playing career, Onyewu has held administrative roles with US and Belgian clubs and has served on the US Soccer Board of Directors.

Crocker, currently Southampton's director of football, was appointed as the sporting director last month.

"We are thrilled to welcome Oguchi Onyewu to our team at U.S. Soccer,” said Crocker in a statement.

"His experience as a player and sports executive, coupled with his deep understanding of U.S. Soccer, Oguchi will be invaluable as we continue to strengthen our sporting initiatives. We all look forward to working closely with him."

The first task for Onyewu will be to help find a coach to lead the team towards the 2026 World Cup which will be co-hosted by the US with Mexico and Canada.

The US have been without a permanent head coach since last year's World Cup finals in Qatar.

World Cup coach Gregg Berhalter's contract expired after the tournament, but his future was thrown into question after an investigation into decades-old allegations of domestic violence.

Those allegations emerged in the wake of Berhalter's treatment of Borussia Dortmund's Gio Reyna at the World Cup. 

A subsequent US Soccer investigation cleared Berhalter to remain as a potential candidate for reappointment.