Following the firing of Gregg Berhalter, the United States Soccer Federation (US Soccer) Sporting director Matt Crocker made his next task very clear.
“I just want to get the best coach I can,” Crocker said after deciding to change coaches following the disappointment of the Copa America. “And whether they’re from the United States or somewhere else, they have to fit the profile, which is a winning coach.”, Someone who can continue to develop this potential group of players.”
It certainly seems that Crocker kept his word. According to several reports, including Miami-based journalist Ivan KasanzewThe U.S. Soccer Federation has signed Mauricio Pochettino as its next head coach, with a contract through the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Kasanzew also broke News of Pochettino’s arrival at Chelsea dates back to April 2023. This has since been supported by reports of ESPN’s Mark Ogden and independent The journalist Fabrizio Romano.
The appointment is a major departure for U.S. Soccer, which has signed a coach with enormous influence and vast experience. While this will be his first national team appointment, Pochettino has experience managing big European clubs, having reached the Champions League final and won a Big Five league title.
However, despite his brilliant resume, there is still something risks inherent in the appointment that are important to understand and accept if US Soccer wishes to maximize Pochettino’s litany of strengths while also working around his shortcomings.
With the 2026 FIFA World Cup taking place on home soil in less than two years, Pochettino’s job will be to lead the host nation to tangible success with arguably the most talented squad the national team has ever had at its disposal.
Curriculum and career of coach Mauricio Pochettino
Argentina-born Mauricio Pochettino, 52, will become the first Latino coach in the history of U.S. men’s soccer, a significant step forward for a country with such a rich Latino culture embedded in its national fabric, especially in the soccer community.
Pochettino enjoyed a successful career as a defender, making over 150 appearances for Argentine club Newell’s Old Boys, 200 for Spanish club Espanyol and 70 for PSG. He was promoted to the national team, making 20 appearances for Argentina, and made his debut for La Albiceleste against none other than Marcelo Bielsa.
After retiring as a player, Pochettino took up his first managerial role at his former club Espanyol, joining them in January 2009 as the third manager of the season. Pochettino had received his UEFA coaching credential just a month earlier and joined the team when Espanyol were 18th in the table, but he comfortably saved the club from relegation as they finished in 10th place.
Pochettino spent three full seasons at Espanyol, finishing 11th, 8th and 14th. He moved to Premier League side Southampton in January 2013, where he beat Liverpool and Chelsea to finish eighth, the club’s highest finish since 2003.. It was at Saints where Pochettino crossed paths with Crocker, who was the club’s technical director. at the time of Pochettino’s signing, leaving later that summer to take up a place with the England national team.
Just over a year later, he was introduced at Tottenham just weeks after the 2013/14 season concluded, where he would go on to achieve international prominence as a manager. In his first season at Spurs, Pochettino came close to winning the Premier League title, finishing third behind Leicester City and Arsenal, and in the process brought Harry Kane from the club’s youth system into the first team.
Pochettino went on to finish second in the Premier League the following season and reached the 2019 Champions League final before suffering defeat to Liverpool in Madrid. Things eventually went south and he was sacked in November of that year and replaced by Jose Mourinho.
His next destination was PSG, but like so many other managers before and after him at the French club, he failed to get over the Champions League hurdle and felt the wrath of the club, sacked in the summer of 2022 after just 70 games in charge. After a year out of coaching, Pochettino was signed by Chelsea, tasked with developing the club’s extremely young squad. It took him a considerable time to get going, but things eventually looked like they were taking shape towards the end of the 2023/24 season. Surprisingly, however, Pochettino was sacked, with the American-owned club surprising many by opting for a different direction.
Maurico Pochettino’s tactics and coaching style
The Argentine coach employs a high-pressing tactical style, with a 4-2-3-1 formation that uses intense counter-pressing that seeks to win the ball back in dangerous areas, often sacrificing the team’s defensive structure. However, Pochettino is known for his flexibility and is very familiar with the 4-3-3 that the United States used to use under Gregg Berhalter.
While Pochettino’s teams show intensity after losing the ball, they also insist on building from the back in possession and reaching the opponent’s half of the field in an organised system, one that suits international football.
Unfortunately, Pochettino might have to be flexible when it comes to using talented full-backs or even wing-backs in advanced areas heavily, as it’s not a position with much depth in the United States. He loves to bomb a full-back high up the pitch (think Nathaniel Clyne at the Saints or Kieran Trippier at Spurs), with the back three providing cover on the byline and the winger on that side drifting into the centre (think Heung-Min Son at Spurs or Kylian Mbappé at PSG) to make room on the flanks and create attacking overloads.
Pochettino can be especially useful on a top-level CONCACAF team when facing low defensive blocks, something he frequently accomplished when PSG faced most other Ligue 1 teams. Even with so much offensive talent at PSG, Pochettino had to teach players like Mbappe and Neymar intricate passing moves to get past entrenched opponents. The U.S. national team, in turn, has often struggled to get past entrenched opponents when facing the numerous lower-tier soccer nations within its own confederation, and Pochettino’s experience in this area will be instrumental.
However, the Argentine’s tactics can sometimes be too detailed, an aspect that has been a concern in his first job with the national team. At Chelsea, Pochettino’s young side struggled to understand the intricacies of his high press, resulting in high attacking volume but also constant defensive lapses.
A hallmark of Pochettino’s coaching style is his reputation as a manager who players enthusiastically support. multiple informationChelsea players were “shocked” and “unhappy” at Pochettino’s sacking earlier this summer, just the latest example of his management style being welcomed by the team.
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Pochettino’s CV is exceptional, as detailed in detail above, and his three club exits can easily be explained away as circumstantial. At Tottenham, he was simply in one job too long, and in some ways his dismissal was a product of his own success. At PSG, the expectations of fans and executives were (as with those before and after him) too high to be realistic, and at Chelsea, he was only just beginning to see tangible results when the baffling and indefensible decision was made to sack him.
By all accounts, it’s a huge coup for U.S. Soccer to sign Pochettino. The Argentine will have plenty of resources at his disposal to prioritize short-term needs and build for the future, and he’s already proven his ability to both squeeze the most out of a team and develop players for a solid career.
However, there are some shortcomings that will need to be addressed before they threaten to destroy the positive vibes of this appointment.
In particular, the now-departed Gregg Berhalter was often criticized for being what is affectionately referred to as a “player’s coach.” American players became too comfortable under Berhalter, losing the passion to play at a high level in order to keep their place on the team. Hiring a coach known to have a similar reputation comes with significant risk.
Furthermore, Pochettino has plenty of experience at club level, but will be embarking on his first job with the national team. A common risk for new national team coaches is to expect their tactics to translate similarly to those at club level, which is almost always untrue. While club-level coaches receive months of daily training to establish their philosophy, national team coaches have a few weeks a year in short spurts. They must therefore simplify their tactical approach so as not to confuse players flying in from around the world for just a few training sessions at a time.
Pochettino’s tactics took almost two-thirds of a season to take hold with the young Chelsea man, and he won’t have that time to employ his high-pressing style.
Finally, there has been a recurring theme since the end of Pochettino’s tenures as a club manager in recent years: burnout. His coaching style and routine are highly demanding, and in several of his later spells with clubs, things often spiralled out of control quickly towards the end. Thankfully, the nature of international football can mitigate many of the risks involved in this case, but it is something to bear in mind.
If Pochettino, Crocker and the USMNT coaching staff can overcome these potential hurdles, the new boss has the potential to lead American soccer into uncharted and highly coveted territory over the next two years, and American fans will be rightly reinvigorated to look ahead.
