Alexi Lalas Offers His Services to Coach USA Soccer – ‘If The United States Soccer Federation Came to Me…’

The former professional soccer player Alexi Lalas is speaking out this week to offer his services coaching the USA soccer team.

The comments come as current coach Gregg Berhalter is on the hot seat for a dismal performance at the Copa America.

Lalas Sounds Off

On Wednesday, Lalas made it clear to Fox Sports that he’s extremely interested in coaching Team USA.

“If the United States soccer federation came to me and asked me to coach this team, I would do it in a second out of a sense of responsibility and, yeah, out of a sense of confidence, maybe even bordering on arrogance in terms of what I feel that we could do with this group … hell yeah, they should be so lucky to have someone like me leading this team,” Lalas said.

Lalas certainly has the resume for it. He spent two seasons in Serie A with Padova (1994-95, 1995-96) before spending seven seasons in MLS. He split this time period between the New England Revolution (1996-97), MetroStars (1998), Kansas City Wizards (1999) and LA Galaxy (2001-03). 

Lalas was also part of two American World Cup rosters (1994 and 1998). He was primarily a defender, and he went on to serve as the president/general manager of the San Jose Earthquakes in MLS from 2004-05. Lalas was then general manager of the MetroStars/New York Red Bulls from 2005-06. Later, Lalas was president of the LA Galaxy from 2006-08.

These days, Lalas is a soccer analyst for Fox Sports. Indeed, it should be noted that he does not have any coaching experience.

Related: USA Soccer Great Alexi Lalas: WNBA Needs to Harness Caitlin Clark’s Star Power

Calls For Berhalter To Step Down

This comes as calls are growing for the U.S. men’s soccer coach Gregg Berhalter to step down. The calls are coming in after the team failed to escape the group stage of Copa América.

“We are deeply concerned with the current state of our national team under Gregg Berhalter,” Barra 76, a Team USA firm, said in a statement released on Tuesday.

“We demand change to invigorate our team’s competitive edge and inspire pride amongst fans,” the statement added. They went on to say that they “believe replacing Gregg Berhalter as head coach of the USMNT is essential to revitalizing our national team’s strategy and achieving the results our players and supporters deserve.”

American Outlaws, the largest U.S. supporters’ group, issued a similar statement. However, this group did not mention Berhalter by name.

“There needs to be accountability and a plan to move forward for the USMNT. It’s time to make a change in the head coaching position,” their statement read.

Related: After Copa America Disaster, USMNT Coach Gregg Berhalter’s Job Under Fire

Lalas Rips Berhalter

Lalas has also been outspoken about wanting Berhalter to step down.

“I don’t think anybody would bat an eye. Most teams and federations, it would be a fait accompli,” Lalas told The Associated Press on Tuesday. “At a time where we need to be energized and excited about the leadership going into the next two years, I think we find ourselves questioning and negative and cynical and divided, let’s be honest, relative to what can be in 2026.”

Berhalter has been the coach of the U.S. men’s soccer team since 2018. It remains to be seen if he will heed these calls to step down.