U.S. Men's National Team Set To Hire Mauricio Pochettino
After numerous reports in the media, mainly the confirmation from Fabrizio Romano, it seems that the U.S. Men’s National Team has found their next Manager. It should be announced as official soon, but the USSF have hired Mauricio Pochettino as the next Manager for the men’s side. The 52 year old Argentine Manager will take the next step in his coaching career after departing Chelsea FC at the end of the 2023/24 European season.
Pochettino began his coaching career in Spain as an Assistant Manager for the women’s side at Espanyol. In January of 2009, Pochettino would get the job as Manager of La Liga side Espanyol where he found mild success until having his contract terminated by the club in the winter of 2012. Pochettino would have the Spanish side finish as high as 8th during his tenure. Only a few months later he would get his next Managerial opportunity with Southampton in the English Premier League. In his only full season at Southampton, Pochettino would have the club finishing 8th in the Premier League.
Pochettino would then get the biggest opportunity of his then young career and be hired as the next Manager of Tottenham Hotspur heading into the 2014/15 season. In his first season at Tottenham, Pochettino had the club finish 5th in the league and qualify for a Europa League spot. The next year, Tottenham finished in 3rd place, only 1 point behind Arsenal, and qualify for Champions League for the first time in his career. Pochettino only improved once again with a 2nd place finish in his third season at Tottenham, followed by two more top 4 finishes and a UEFA Champions League Final appearance. In the winter of 2019, Pochettino would be let go at Tottenham Hotspur only a few months after his UCL Final appearance.
After an extended time off, Pochettino would get his next opportunity in France as the next Manager of Ligue 1 side Paris Saint-Germain. During his half season in charge at PSG, Pochettino would win his first two trophies of his career a French Cup and French Super Cup. The 2021/22 European season was his first full season in charge at PSG, and he would win his first league title of his managerial career. In the summer of 2022, Pochettino would be let go from PSG and before the 2023/24 season he would get another chance in the English Premier League… this time with Chelsea FC. His lone season in charge at Chelsea saw the club finish 6th in the league and runners up in the EFL Cup. After disagreements with the front office, Pochettino would mutually leave Chelsea FC at the end of this past season in England.
Now, Poch is back in the coaching ranks and this time testing himself on the international stage for the first time. He will bring his intense, pressing, and attacking style of soccer to the U.S. He is typically known for playing his 4-2-3-1 formation and aiming to move the ball into the opposition’s box. Pochettino likes to cause mistakes by his opponents and get the ball centrally into dangerous spaces. However, he likes to play out of the back when he can and controlling possession. Last season, Cole Palmer was the Golden Boot winner in the Premier League. This feels like an opportunity where a talented winger like Christian Pulisic can have numerous opportunities to score in any U.S. game.
The other thing that Pochettino is known for is valuing and developing youth at all the stops he’s been at. Now, we will see how he stays involved in the development side of things when he isn’t working with these guys on a day in and day out basis. My guess is that he will take opportunities to bring in younger talent when possible, but also work closely with the youth national team managers. The transition from club to international doesn’t always work well for managers. We’ve seen successes, we’ve seen failures, and ultimately we aren’t going to know how Pochettino transitions until his sides get on the field.
The thing that I like about the hiring of Mauricio Pochettino is that it shows ambition. This hiring is arguably the most high profile hire from the USSF… ever. Pochettino comes with a resume that (as laid out above) includes coaching three of the biggest teams on the planet in the modern era of the game. On top of that, all of his coaching roles have come in the form of jobs in top five leagues on the planet. Pochettino is going to enter a new challenge and one that will be much different from road trips to Manchester, England. Pochettino will have to prepare to play CONCACAF rivals like Mexico in the Azteca, a rising Canada side under Jesse Marsch, and then play in poor conditions in the Caribbean. He will have to also get his players, his staff, and his culture implemented all before the 2026 World Cup that is coming up within the U.S. I have hope and excitement around this hire, but, this does not mean I will excuse Pochettino. He will need to get the ball rolling and prove it just as much as anyone else.
