Canada Soccer isn’t shying away from going after big names in its search for a new men’s team coach.
Nizaar Kinsella of The Standard reports that Canada has reached out to former Leeds coach Jesse Marsch and ex-Manchester United bench boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
The report also says coaching heavyweights Frank Lampard and Jose Mourinho turned down a chance to interview.
Marsch was fired by Leeds in February. The 50-year-old American was the first coach of the then-Montreal Impact when they jumped to MLS in 2011 and he went on to coach the New York Red Bulls.
Solskjaer, a 51-year-old Norweigian, coached Manchester United from 2018 to ’21 before he was replaced by Erik ten Hag.
Kinsella’s report says other options for Canada include former Chelsea and Real Madrid coach Paul Clement and onetime Middlesbrough coach Aitor Karanka.
Bobby Smyrniotis, coach of Hamilton-based Forge FC, also is a candidate.
Canada has been looking for a new head coach since John Herdman left last year to take the Toronto FC job.
Mauro Biello is the interim head coach.
Canada is a co-host of the 2026 World Cup and qualified for the 2022 event for the second time in history, but the organization has been hurt by financial issues.
