Mikey Varas will take over as head coach of the U.S. men's national team on an interim basis for some upcoming games in September, according to multiple reports.
A search for a permanent coach is already underway, but Varas could be considered and will showcase his leadership when the United States faces Canada on Sept. 7 and New Zealand on Sept. 10 in a pair of friendlies.
Varas, 39, will take over a team that was beaten 4-0 by Morocco in the quarter-finals of the Paris Olympics after veteran coach Gregg Berhalter was fired on July 10 following a poor showing at the 2024 Copa America.
Varas, a San Francisco native, previously served as head coach of the U.S. U-20 national team. He took over as head coach in 2021 and in 2022 led the team to its third Concacaf U-20 championship. Varas was unable to repeat his success at the 2023 U-20 World Cup. The U.S. lost in the quarterfinals.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
Taylor Booth dribbles the ball during USMNT U23 training on July 23, 2024, in Marseille, France. (Andrea Vílchez/ISI/Getty Images)
Prior to that, he was an assistant coach for FC Dallas under Luchi Gonzalez from 2019-20 and helped lead the Toros to two consecutive MLS Cup playoffs. Varas began his career with FC Dallas as the head coach of their under-16 team in 2017. Earlier in his career, he led the under-14 team at the Sacramento Republic Academy in 2016. A year later, he was named the U.S. Soccer Development Academy Western Conference Under-14 Coach of the Year.
Despite Varas' vast experience with teenagers, he has an even deeper interest and philosophy in developing much younger players, which he shared in an interview with NYC FC radio host Glenn Crooks.
“The younger age groups are the most important for fundamental motor skills, so before the age of 6. But what you find is that when there is a deficiency, you need to extend it until the age of 12, probably. Then they hit puberty and puberty affects them. Then it is stimulated again during that period. So it's more or less before puberty and a little bit during puberty,” Varas said.
Joe Scally and Mikey Varas of the United States during USMNT training at Landon School on June 7, 2024, in Bethesda, Maryland. (John Dorton/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images for USSF)
MALLOY SWANSON LEADS USWNT TO FIRST OLYMPIC GOLD MEDAL IN 12 YEARS
Varas, in his interview with Crooks, said his philosophy stems from an interaction he had with a teacher, whom he did not name, who worked with Italian club ACF Fiorentina. Varas said the teacher preached an emphasis on training players from a psychomotor and coordination perspective at an early age, especially when children are doing less “unsupervised activities on the streets.”
“Street football is disappearing: pure, unsupervised activity on the streets, not even just football, [but also] “The ability to climb fences, climb trees and explore neighborhoods is disappearing. So there is a deficiency in terms of our fundamental motor skills,” Varas said.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
United States head coach Mikey Varas gestures during the FIFA U-20 World Cup Argentina 2023 quarterfinal match against Uruguay on June 4, 2023, in Santiago del Estero, Argentina. (Marcio Machado/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)
Varas added that playing other sports in an unstructured environment at a young age can give future soccer players and other athletes a huge advantage in motor skills.
“So, the generations that grew up running, swimming, playing multiple sports in an unstructured way (climbing fences, climbing trees), these people have greater adaptability in their coordination abilities,” Varas said.
Varas played at the University of San Francisco and then represented Chile's CD Santiago Wanderers for one season.
Follow Fox News Digital Sports coverage on Xand subscribe to The Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
