U.S. Soccer Federation sporting director Matt Crocker has found the man who will lead the United States men into the 2024 Olympics in Paris, and he’s hiring from within the building.
Crocker is promoting Serbian coach Marko Mitrovic from the U-19 gig to the U-23 head coach position and elevating Michael Nsien to the Mitrovic’s old spot.
Mitrovic, 45, came up through Red Star Belgrade’s academy and played professionally between 1995-2010, retiring to start his managerial career in 2011.
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His head jobs include Red Star Belgrade’s U-15 side, Serbia’s U-15s, and the U.S. U-19s, while he was an assistant under Veljko Paunovic with the Chicago Fire and Reading FC before moving into the U.S. youth set-up.
Mitrovic coaches Zach Booth (Leicester City), Josh Wynder (Benfica), Benjamin Cremaschi (Inter Miami), and Kobi Henry (Reims) during his time with the U-19s.
As for Nsien, the Dayton Flyers product and former Nigeria U-23 coach was born in Oklahoma. He coached FC Tulsa in the USL Championship from 2018-2022 before leaving to take the United States U-16 gig.
The United States won its berth in the Olympics through the CONCACAF U-20 Championship under Mikey Varas. The Yanks and Dominican Republic qualified through CONCACAF, and the U.S. will draw three of Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, France, Israel, Mali, Morocco, Spain, and Ukraine.
The tournament begins on July 24, 2024, and runs 18 days through the Gold Medal Game on August 10.