Will Carlos Cordeiro return to rule US Soccer two years after alienating the USWNT?

Imagine if, two years after resigning amid the Watergate scandal, Richard Nixon had run for president again.

It’s not a perfect analogy for the current state of US soccer politics, but it’s close. Two years after resigning in the wake of a legal filing that claimed female players had less ability than their male counterparts, Carlos Cordeiro is running for his old gig as president of US Soccer.

The election will take place on 5 March. And Cordeiro has a legitimate shot against incumbent Cindy Parlow Cone, the Hall of Fame player and NWSL champion coach who was elevated from vice-president after Cordeiro’s departure. It is fair to say not everyone is happy at the prospect of his return.

He’s going to run and likely going to win and US Soccer will be garbage because of it. In what world does his return improve the game, men’s or women’s, in the US? He’s proven himself unable to lead and Goldman Sachs alum running football in the US has never been a good idea. https://t.co/syDT1vew6t

If casual fans who aren’t well versed in US Soccer’s labyrinthine politics are surprised, they’re not alone.

“I couldn’t believe it,” says Alan Rothenberg, who oversaw World Cup 1994, the launch of Major League Soccer and the early organization of the 1999 Women’s World Cup during his eight years as federation president. “I don’t know what he’s thinking. When you think about how he left in disgrace, what he failed to accomplish, how he set the federation back – how could he think he’d be welcomed back?”

To answer that question, it’s important to remember that US Soccer isn’t just the overseer of the men’s and women’s national teams, writing paychecks to Christian Pulisic and Christen Press. Its mandate is to grow the game at all levels and in