What Lionel Scaloni and Argentina can tell us about U.S. Soccer's coaching search to replace Gregg Berhalter

When managers are appointed, fans can be quick to judge them on their merits and credentials for the role. In the case of Lionel Scaloni, when he took over Argentina in 2018, he only had managerial experience for the U-20 side and as an assistant for Sevilla . Even that role overseeing the U-20s didn't last a year, because later in the same year, Scaloni was appointed as manager of the senior side. When appointed, Scaloni was criticized due to his lack of credentials for the role by people, including Argentina legend Diego Maradona.

Fast forward six years and Scaloni has now won four trophies in charge of Argentina and is in the process of overseeing one of the greatest national teams in the modern era of soccer. Sometimes, club or international legends like Zinedine Zidane and Xabi Alonso will take over a team and lead them to greatness, but Scaloni was a good, not great, player who only had seven senior caps for La Albiceleste in his career before now leading the national team to the top of their game.

That brings us to the question of what makes Scaloni so great and such a good fit for this team. International management is a results-based business, and to do that, a manager needs to be adept at managing their stars while also having excellent attention to detail. It's something that Scaloni has done well. Things are easier having a generational talent like Lionel Messi on your side, but during this Copa America triumph, not only was Messi not the star for Argentina but they had to collectively come together to win the match for their captain when he watched the finish of the match from the bench due to exiting with an injury.

"If we hadn't won, we would have moved on," Scaloni said following Argentina's Copa America triumph. "That's the way to face things. Getting up and building something again when you lose. Today we are fine and enjoying the present."

This statement from Scaloni seems simple but eventually, everyone will lose games. Losing doesn't make the Copa America a failure and all Argentina would need to do is regroup to come back for a deep World Cup run in 2026. Not getting too high and not getting too low is a way to celebrate success while still keeping an eye on continuous improvement. Under Scaloni, most of Argentina's old guard has rotated out with Messi, Angel Di Maria , and Nicolas Otamendi being the final remaining members.

In 2026, there's a chance that none of the trio will take the pitch for Argentina but Scaloni has made sure to bring in the next generation along the way. Young players like Alejandro Garnacho , while not involved much during this tournament got critical experience in camp that will be needed for the World Cup.

Like most things, international management isn't a one-size-fits-all role and people like Scaloni show that it's not about the experience that one has when they take over the role, but the mentality that they instill when they take over. As the United States men's national team looks to find a replacement for Gregg Berhalter, these are things to keep in mind.  The vision from top to bottom that Argentina's soccer federation and Scaloni have implemented is unmatched.

During Berhalter's first stint in charge of the USMNT, he did a good job of raising expectations and restoring respect to the USMNT, but after being brought back following the 2022 World Cup, he wasn't able to maintain the success and keep performance levels high. It's not easy to do what Scaloni has done and maintain consistent performance for a national team for more than one World Cup cycle, but it is doable with the right person at the helm.

It will take a unified plan between U.S. Soccer and the manager to instill something similar but that's something that comes as a concern due to onetime candidate for the job and current Canada boss Jesse Marsch's comments on not being interested in the national team role . While Marsch is currently in a job overseeing Canada, his specific rebuff to the role and calling out that U.S. Soccer needs to change things is what's a concern for where the USMNT can go in the future.

We're at a crossroads where most discussion is around whether a seasoned international hire or an upstart American is the right choice for leading the USMNT into 2026 but in a way, we already know what sporting Director Matt Crocker is looking for. When Berhalter was rehired, U.S. Soccer released a breakdown of what they were looking for in the next manager. Some things included building relationships, decisive decision-making, and developing a vision-led identity.

These are things that described Berhalter in his first spell -- except maybe the decisive decision-making -- and they also describe Scaloni and most other top international managers. But what's not on this list is things such as titles or specific criteria for what a manager has accomplished. If you can do the job, like Argentina identified that Scaloni could, there's no reason why you shouldn't be given it.

Of course, experience can provide a guide to how well someone can do a job, but just like how in club soccer everyone is looking for the next Alonso, U.S. Soccer is looking for their own Scaloni -- a person who can appear from where you least expect it.