"We should be happy that he's gone." That's Landon Donovan, and he meant every word of it.
Matt Crocker's resignation as US Soccer sporting director — confirmed this week, roughly seven weeks before the United States co-hosts the 2026 World Cup — was always going to generate noise. What nobody quite anticipated was the volume Donovan would bring.
Crocker heads to Saudi Arabia
The USSF confirmed Crocker is stepping down to pursue a new opportunity in international soccer. The destination, initially kept quiet, was quickly identified: Saudi Arabia. Fox Sports first connected him to the Saudi football project, and a source close to the decision confirmed it to the Associated Press.
So the man responsible for shaping the American soccer program is leaving — weeks before the biggest tournament ever staged on US soil — to go work in the Gulf. You can understand why Donovan's temperature rose.
"My initial thought is if he doesn't want to be here, we don't want him here," the USMNT legend said. "And I always got the sense that he wasn't fully committed here and didn't really care about soccer in this country."
That's a serious accusation, and Donovan isn't some radio shock jock throwing grenades for attention. He's one of the most respected figures in American soccer history. When he questions someone's commitment to the program, the federation can't just wave it away.
The timing is the problem
A sporting director departure mid-cycle is disruptive at any point. This close to a World Cup — one the US is hosting and desperately needs to perform well in for the long-term credibility of the sport domestically — it's a genuine structural problem. Who fills the role? Who has decision-making authority when the tournament starts? These aren't abstract questions.
The USSF hasn't named a replacement. USMNT odds for a deep run at their home tournament were already drawing skepticism in some quarters given the squad's recent form. Front-office instability doesn't help that picture.
Donovan's closing thought landed cleanest: "I'm actually happy to get someone in that position who genuinely cares about the growth of soccer." Whether that person exists and can be found before June is the question nobody at US Soccer has answered yet.
