For most of the three years since his dismissal from the Union, John Hackworth has worked outside of the spotlight. You might have followed his work if you’re a close observer of U.S. youth national teams, but other than that, he hasn’t been in the news much.
That changed in October, when Hackworth’s U.S. under-17 team reached the quarterfinals of the World Cup in India. The tournament came at the same time that the U.S. senior men were knocked out of their World Cup qualifying, and the under-17 success gave American soccer fans a much-needed shot of optimism.