The USMNT has hired Fabian Otte as its new head of goalkeeping.
Otte will leave his current club, Bundesliga side Borussia Monchengladbach, at the end of the season before taking up the USMNT role — where he works during international breaks — full-time.
The U.S. Soccer Federation confirmed the permanent switch in a statement on Thursday, stating the 33-year-old “will join the staff of USMNT head coach Gregg Berhalter full time this summer pending approval of a work visa”.
“In addition to serving as the goalkeeping coach for the USMNT, he will be responsible for developing the goalkeeping pathway through all of the Men’s Youth national teams,” the statement read.
Monchengladbach also announced Otte’s departure, with the club’s sporting director Roland Virkus commenting that “it is a big opportunity” for the German coach.
“Fabian has already been working as the USA’s goalkeeping coach during the international breaks since September,” Virkus said.
“He’s now received the offer to work full-time for the U.S. Soccer Federation. This is a big opportunity for him.
“Admittedly, we would’ve liked to continue working with Fabi, but we also understand that he’d like to seize this opportunity — even though this decision wasn’t easy for him.
“Fabi has done an outstanding job in the past two and a half years and we’re absolutely sure that he’ll continue to fulfil his role with full commitment until the end of the season.
“We’ve always communicated well with Fabian. He informed us about his plans at an early stage. Accordingly, we’ve been looking into finding a successor for a long time and have had some good conversations.”
Otte joined the Bundesliga side from Premier League club Burnley in 2021 having previously worked for Hoffenheim’s academy and the New Zealand Women’s national team.
He played at college level for North Carolina State University’s men’s team, where he graduated with a BS in Sports Management, and has also served as a coaching educator for the German Football Association (DFB) and the Oceania Football Confederation.
(Christian Verheyen/Borussia Moenchengladbach via Getty Images)
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