Written by: Mark Aguilar🇸🇻
Image via Getty Images
After an early and embarrassing elimination from the 2024 Copa América, the United States Men’s National Team finally fired their previous manager, Gregg Berhalter.
Following this, the U.S. Soccer Federation wasted no time in identifying and hiring their new manager that will take this current crop of American players, many labeling them as the ‘Golden Generation’, to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Mauricio Pochettino, previous manager for Tottenham Hotspur, Paris Saint-Germain, and Chelsea, was named head coach on Sept. 10, and he now has less than two years to prepare the Americans for their World Cup campaign on home soil.
Pochettino is arguably one of the best coaches in the world and was highly sought after when he left Chelsea at the end of last season.
Though Chelsea had a disappointing season due to their high expenditure of new players, Pochettino seemed to be getting everything right towards the end of it. Pochettino inherited a broken team that finished 12th in the Premier League the season before he arrived, and took them to sixth place and a Carabao Cup Final during his first and only season there.
Frustrated with uncertainty over his future at the club, and the hierarchy of Chelsea feeling disappointed, Pochettino departed on mutual terms with the club– he was not fired.
The USMNT was still with Berhalter when Pochettino became a free agent, up until the nation crashed out of the Copa América during the group stages. The U.S. became the first host nation to ever be eliminated from the group stages of the Copa América, making it an even more historic failure of the nation.
After this disappointing campaign, which saw Uruguay and Panama go through over the U.S., Berhalter was finally fired by the federation.
After Berhalter was fired, the U.S. Federation had high ambitions for their next manager. They initially approached ex-Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp for the position, though he would turn down their offer. This, however, showed that the U.S. was willing to talk to the best managers in the world and move away from their previous strategy of appointing American coaches.
Image via Chris Brunskill/Fantasia/Getty images
Within two months, Pochettino was announced as head coach. This appointment feels like a match made in heaven for the U.S., as one of Pochettino’s best qualities as a manager is getting the best out of young and emerging talents.
This was highly evident during his time with Spurs, where he got them to their first-ever Champions League Final in 2019. He also managed to get results from the very young Chelsea squad from last season, where he managed to get Cole Palmer to become a world-class player almost overnight.
Pochettino’s appointment is also impressive for the U.S. as they managed to convince him to leave club management. Usually, world-class managers continue managing clubs in Europe, and it is very hard to get them to become international managers.
A manager like Pochettino thrived in a league system and getting to work with his players on a day-to-day basis. Now, he will have to adapt to the international schedule and use the limited amount of time he’ll have with the U.S. players to get them playing his high pressing tactical style that he’s known for.
The Argentine manager will have his work cut out for him with the U.S., as they have been winless in their last five games, including losses to Panama at the Copa América, against Canada in a friendly match, and only being able to draw to New Zealand in another friendly. With the October international window quickly coming up, Pochettino will manage his first two friendly matches for the USMNT against Panama, and then against Mexico three days later.
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