Massoud Roushander confirmed to The Washington Post that he and Vicente Montes emailed USSF athletic director Matt Crocker on Friday to say that de la Fuente was interested in the job. Roushander is president of Global Elite Sports Group, a management company in the U.S. and Spain. He works closely with Montes, a prominent Spanish sports lawyer who is also an adviser to de la Fuente.
A USSF spokesman said Sunday that the governing body did not want to comment on potential candidates.
The federation is searching for a replacement for Berhalter, whose second term ended Wednesday after the U.S. team was eliminated in the group stage of the Copa America. Crocker is overseeing the search, aiming to hire someone before domestic friendlies against Canada and New Zealand in September.
He will interview both domestic and international candidates. Among the candidates was reportedly Jurgen Klopp, the world’s most coveted unemployed manager, but the former Liverpool manager is not thought to want the job. Potential candidates from MLS include Wilfried Nancy of Columbus and Steve Cherundolo of Los Angeles FC.
The job would be attractive to many candidates because the U.S. team has an automatic berth in the 2026 World Cup and will spend the next two years preparing for the tournament without qualifying, which will feature 48 teams and be held in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
De la Fuente last month extended his contract with the Spanish Football Federation until 2026. He has been with the Spanish Football Federation since 2013, coaching the under-19 and under-21 teams before taking charge of the under-23 Olympic team at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. De la Fuente will take up the senior coaching role from 2022, with his only loss in 2024 coming in a friendly against Copa America finalist Colombia.
De la Fuente began his coaching career in the lower tiers of the Spanish league, working extensively with first division youth academies before taking charge of Athletic Bilbao and Alaves in La Liga. As well as winning this year’s European Championship, De la Fuente also led Spain to the 2022-23 UEFA Nations League title.
