U.S. Soccer has appointed Natasha Patel as head of analytics across the men's, women's and youth teams.
Patel, a highly regarded assistant academy director at Championship club Southampton, has a busy summer ahead of him, with the USMNT competing in the Copa America on home soil and the USWNT heading to Paris for the Olympics in July. He will begin his role in early June. She previously worked as Southampton's head of performance analysis and held the same role with New York Red Bulls in MLS.
Patel will be reunited with U.S. Soccer sporting director Matt Crocker, who was also director of football at the English club from 2020 to 2023.
She joins the federation that plans to host the 2026 World Cup in the United States and is also preparing to open its first national training center in the same year.
In an interview on the Training Ground Podcast in March, she said:
“You're giving so much time and energy. I think you really want to be fully involved, and I'm fully committed to everything I do.
“I hope it will lead me to meet more people and have new experiences. You only have one life, so enjoy it and make the most of it, not just by yourself but with your friends and family.” I want to make use of it.”
Southampton are currently taking part in the Championship play-offs for promotion to the Premier League. They will face West Brom in the second leg of the semi-final after a goalless draw last weekend.
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Patel returned to Southampton in January 2023 after playing for the New York Red Bulls for three years. Before that, from 2011 to her 2019, she worked at the club as head of performance analysis. She replaced Ed Vahid, who joined the Premier League.
It has been highly rated and has a good reputation from the staff. She has specific responsibility for Under-15s to Under-18s, supporting Academy Director Matt Hale (who stepped down at the end of last season) and, earlier this season, Andy Goldie.
According to the staff, she is very cooperative in dealing with problems, has very clear communication, is a really good person, and is good at guiding people.
(M. Anthony Nesmith/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)