Clint Dempsey did not like Jesse Marsch questioning the pride of U.S. soccer players.
The former USMNT star fired back at Marsch, now leading Canada into the World Cup, who claimed Thursday that staffers sometimes had to “beg” American players to sing the national anthem.
“I can’t take this guy too seriously,” Dempsey said when asked about his former coach’s comments on Fox on Friday. “It was an honor for me growing up and representing my country.”
Marsch, who served as a USMNT assistant at the 2010 World Cup, which Dempsey was a member of, made the comment while praising his Canada squad ahead of Friday’s World Cup opener against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Toronto.
“These guys belt it out to the top of their lungs because they want to show the country how proud they are to be Canadians and to represent what Canada is,” he said of his new squad.
That did not sit well with Dempsey, one of the most decorated players in U.S. soccer history.
“When the national anthem happened, I wasn’t someone who normally would sing,” Dempsey said. “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.
“I’m not going to take advice from someone who switched to the other side and is singing another country’s national anthem. And as my boy [Thierry Henry] would say, ‘stay in your own lane.’ It looks like he’s in a dang moped, so worry about your own team.”
Dempsey scored 57 goals for the national team, which is tied with Landon Donovan for the most in USMNT history, and played in three World Cups.
The back-and-forth came just hours before both teams opened their World Cup campaigns, with Canada playing north of the border and the U.S. beginning its tournament in Los Angeles.
Marsch, whose team will take on Qatar and Switzerland in its remaining group games, is the first American to manage Canada’s men’s national team. Canada finished their first match in a 1-1 draw with Bosnia.
The U.S. kicks off its tournament against Paraguay on Friday night.
