
<p>Former United States men’s national team defender Oguchi Onyewu is reportedly a candidate for US Soccer’s vacant sporting director job. According to sources at <em><a href="https://www.foxsports.com/stories/soccer/u-s-soccer-considering-oguchi-onyewu-for-sporting-director" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">FOX Sports</a></em>, the 40-year-old retired player is being considered for the role. The news outlet reached out to both Onyewu and U.S. Soccer for comment, but both neither confirmed nor denied the report.</p>



<p>Onyewu made 69 total appearances for the <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/nations/usmnt-tv-schedule/">USMNT</a> in the decade between 2004 and 2014. The center back started matches during the 2006 and 2010 World Cup tournaments. He helped the Yanks collect three CONCACAF Gold Cup trophies, as well. Onyewu was included in the team of the tournament for the 2005 Gold Cup and named the U.S. Soccer athlete of the year in 2006.</p>



<h5>Experience in club official roles</h5>



<p>After announcing his retirement as a professional player in 2018, Onyewu then transitioned to more behind-the-scene roles. His first shot at sporting director came in 2018 when he was chosen to lead the Orlando City B team. After just a year at the position, the former defender returned to college to earn a bachelor’s degree in international business and French.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<div class="ck-twitter"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Former United States FIFA World Cup defender Oguchi Onyewu is a candidate to fill U.S. Soccer&apos;s vacant sporting director job, multiple sources told FOX Sports. Read more from <a href="https://twitter.com/ByDougMcIntyre?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ByDougMcIntyre</a> here ⬇️</p>— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) <a href="https://twitter.com/FOXSoccer/status/1632907954705043457?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 7, 2023</a></blockquote></div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<p>Onyewu’s most current job with a team was with Belgian second tier club Royal Excelsior Virton. He was the club’s secretary general for 16 months before departing the team in November. He is now currently a studio analyst for CBS Sports.</p>



<h2>Oguchi Onyewu on shrinking list of Sporting Director candidates</h2>



<p>U.S. Soccer has been without a sporting director since <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/us-soccer-parts-ways-with-earnie-stewart-and-brian-mcbride-20230126-WST-417038.html">Earnie Stewart left the post</a> for a similar role with PSV Eindhoven. Stewart previously oversaw the U.S. men’s, women’s, and youth national teams beginning in 2019.</p>



<p>The pool of potential candidates has been shrinking in recent weeks. Peter Vermes and Earnst Tanner were reportedly approached by U.S. Soccer; however, the duo both <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/peter-vermes-ernst-tanner-nix-us-soccer-sporting-director-job-20230224-WST-421177.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">rejected the opportunity</a> to become sporting director. Vermes instead signed a new contract to remain Sporting Kansas City’s head coach. Tanner, on the other hand, will remain sporting director of Philadelphia Union.</p>



<p><em>PHOTO: IMAGO / Belga</em></p>


Former USMNT defender Oguchi Onyewu is reportedly a candidate for the US Soccer sporting director job, vacated by Earnie Stewart.

Oguchi Onyewu in the running for US Soccer Sporting Director


<p><a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/teams/arsenal-tv-schedule/">Arsenal </a>promoted Edu to the club’s sporting director on Friday. Previously, the Brazilian held the position of technical director at Arsenal.</p>



<p>The difference between sporting and technical director is what Edu oversees. In his prior role, Edu played a key role in transfers involving the men’s and women’s teams. Now, Edu adds the academy to his collection of control at Arsenal. </p>



<p>Arsenal is surely pleased with the work Edu is doing with the first team. The squad’s bold transfers in the summer of 2021 seemed like a gamble. Last season, the additions of Ben White, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Aaron Ramsdale and Martin Ødegaard made Arsenal the <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/arsenal-transfer-market-gamble-20220203-CMS-368648.html">youngest squad in the league</a>. Not only did the squad pay heavily in terms of money, the<a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/arsenal-fall-out-of-premier-league-contention-after-worst-start-in-118-years-20210825-CMS-342997.html"> team struggled early on</a>. </p>



<p>However, Arsenal showed incredible promise in the latter stages of 2021/22. Despite a fifth-placed finish in the league, the groundwork existed.</p>



<p>That carried over into the present. Arsenal currently leads the <a href="https://www.premierleague.com/tables" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Premier League table</a>, including pivotal wins over <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/teams/liverpool-tv-schedule/">Liverpool</a>, <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/teams/chelsea-tv-schedule/">Chelsea </a>and <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/teams/tottenham-tv-schedule/">Tottenham</a>. After 14 league games, Arsenal has 12 wins and one draw. The lone loss in the campaign came at <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/teams/manchester-united-tv-schedule/">Manchester United</a>. </p>



<p>Much of that stems from <a href="https://www.transfermarkt.us/fc-arsenal/transfers/verein/11" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Arsenal’s key signings</a>. <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/2022/06/27/gabriel-jesus-signing-helps-mikel-artetas-aims-at-arsenal/">Gabriel Jesus</a> may have tempered off slightly, but he is still pivotal to the Gunners. Ukrainian <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/2022/07/22/arsenal-seal-swoop-for-man-citys-zinchenko/">Oleksandr Zinchenko</a> has been a revelation at full back, a position Arsenal battles injuries with.</p>



<h2>Edu: Sporting Director at Arsenal</h2>



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<div class="ck-twitter"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">We are delighted to announce that Edu Gaspar has been appointed as our first-ever Sporting Director.</p>— Arsenal (@Arsenal) <a href="https://twitter.com/Arsenal/status/1593544711599431681?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 18, 2022</a></blockquote></div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<p>Interestingly, Edu is the first ever sporting director at Arsenal. Of course, he retains his roles from his technical director position. He simply adds the academy in for more oversight.</p>



<p>According to <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-11443633/Arsenal-hand-Edu-Gaspar-promotion-appointed-sporting-director.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mail Sport</a>, other clubs expressed interest in getting Edu on their staffs. It speaks as a testament to Edu’s achievements in returning Arsenal to glory.</p>



<p>Edu, as a player, was part of the Arsenal Invincibles of 2003/04. While the unbeaten season is not possible this campaign, Arsenal positioned itself to compete against <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/teams/manchester-city-tv-schedule/">Manchester City</a> for a title.</p>



<p><em>PHOTO: IMAGO / PA Images</em></p>


Arsenal extended the stay of Edu at the club, promoting the Brazilian and former player to the role of Sporting Director.

ALL POSTS TAGGED "sporting director"

Earnie Stewart

Oguchi Onyewu in the running for US Soccer Sporting Director

Arsenal

Arsenal raise Edu up to sporting director after success