U.S. men’s national team manager Mauricio Pochettino revealed that he has rejected the advice of coaches to “understand the culture of American players” and instead insisted that “they need to know” his own personal soccer philosophy.
Pochettino was a surprise appointment by U.S. Soccer in September 2024. The Argentine tactician, four months on from being released by Chelsea after one sixth-placed Premier League finish, had no experience of America or the international level after conducting his 15-year coaching career exclusively among European clubs.
The former Tottenham Hotspur boss did have a strong reputation after impressing in the Premier League, although his failure to exert utter dominance with a glittering Paris Saint-Germain side hurt his credentials.
Nevertheless, Pochettino had no intention of ditching his strongly held ideals in favor of a more American philosophy.
“Sometimes you feel people don’t understand the culture of football... soccer,” the USMNT boss sighed in an interview with BBC Sport. “Sometimes you need to live with people who can help you.
“There are coaches out there who say you need to understand the culture of American players. I say, ‘No, the most important thing is the culture of soccer.’ They need to know, and we need to translate that to the American players.”
Pochettino: We Are Making Great Progress
There have been times when Pochettino’s message appears to have gotten lost in translation. Heading into last summer’s Gold Cup, the statistics surrounding his tenure were damning. Four consecutive defeats for the first time in 18 years, with four first-half goals conceded to a Switzerland in June a painful nadir, cranked up the pressure on the 53-year-old.
Fast forward five months and it is the USMNT who are now boasting 4–0 leads before half time.
“After one year, we are making great progress,” Pochettino declared, “and building with people who are starting to realize the language of soccer is only one—it doesn’t matter if you are American, Brazilian, English... there is only one language of football.
“We are excited to build a team which is competitive to win in our own country, to try and get the result.”
Pochettino has already made it clear that he is targeting nothing less than ultimate glory at this summer’s World Cup. A kind group stage draw with the likes of Australia and Paraguay will have only emboldened that stance as he continues to get his players to sing from the same hymnsheet.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as ‘They Need to Know’—Mauricio Pochettino Reveals Clash With Coaches Over USMNT.