United States men’s national team legend Clint Dempsey fired back at Jesse Marsch after the Canada coach said U.S. players needed encouragement to sing their national anthem during his time as a coach with the program.
Marsch, who served as an assistant to Bob Bradley with the USMNT from 2010-11, told reporters Thursday that the coaching staff sometimes had to “beg” American players to recite the anthem before matches.
Dempsey, serving as an analyst for Fox Sports during this summer’s World Cup, offered a feisty response to the comments Friday.
“Man, I can’t take this guy too seriously,” Dempsey said of his compatriot Marsch. “It was an honor for me growing up and representing my country. When the national anthem happened, I wasn’t someone who normally would sing. I put my hand over my heart, and I’d pray to the good man upstairs.
“I’m someone who’s bled for this country. I broke my nose playing for this country. I’ve come back from two heart procedures and played for this country. So, I’m not gonna take advice from someone who switched to the other side and singing another country’s national anthem. And as my boy (Thierry Henry) would say, stay in your own lane.”