Earnie Stewart Named USMNT's First General Manager

Earnie Stewart has been named the first general manager of the United States men's national soccer team after being approved by a committee featuring former international players and current directors, U.S. Soccer announced Wednesday.

Stewart was capped 101 times for the United States and was chosen by a group featuring former Fulham defender Carlos Bocanegra.

Stewart had been serving as sporting director of MLS side Philadelphia Union before leaving to take a position created earlier this year. The 49-year-old will assume his new role on August 1.

He is setting a lofty goal for the national team:

"Having played for the U.S. Men's National Team, I'm honored by the opportunity to return to help lead this rebuilding phase. We have a tremendous amount of young talent and passion in the U.S., and I'm ready to jump in, hire a new head coach and build a culture of success, with the ultimate goal of the U.S. Men's National Team becoming a world champion."

U.S. soccer president Carlos Cordeiro cited Stewart's experience within the game as a decisive factor in the decision to hire him:

"With his breadth of experience as both a player and a technical director, Earnie is the ideal leader to guide the long-term success of our Men's National Team program. Combined with the structural changes at the Federation that we announced in April, this is a further step in our commitment to ensure that soccer operations are run by soccer experts."

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Stewart's first task will be to appoint a new head coach for a squad not strong enough to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia this summer.

U.S. Soccer's official website also listed "ensuring that U.S. soccer's style of play, team tactical principles and key qualities are being implemented within the men's national team" and "creating a player profile for each position on the field based on the style of play, team tactical principles and key qualities" in the job description.

In addition, Stewart will be tasked with identifying, promoting and developing key talent at the youth levels of the U.S. game. It's something his time in the Netherlands will have prepared him for well.

He worked in similar roles at AZ Alkmaar, VVV Venlo and NAC Breda in the Eredivisie. The Dutch top flight has long prided itself in building through youth and refining promising domestic players.

Whoever Stewart chooses as the next head coach of the national team will need to do the same. In particular, it will be vital to build around the precocious quality of Borussia Dortmund forward Christian Pulisic.

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Stewart has deep roots in the MLS and represented his country in three World Cups, so he has vested interest in making sure gifted, young homegrown players are produced.

Grant Wahl of Sports Illustrated hinted Stewart may bring a more relaxed way of working to what is sure to be a difficult job:

Yet not everybody is convinced by Stewart's ability to revive the national team's fortunes.

Andrew Das of the New York Times noted some of the conflicting responses:

Meanwhile, writer Ryan Rosenblatt was blunter in expressing his doubts:

Only better results on the pitch will prove creating a general manager position has made a tangible difference to the U.S. national team. If Stewart can't help manufacture improved fortunes, the move will look more like empty rhetoric, an ill-judged public relations attempt to solve longstanding problems.