Welcome Mauricio Pochettino

[ZAPHOD2319 4,798]

On 10/08/2024 at 20:00, Vesper said:

Former Chelsea, Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino a top target to become USMNT coach

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5689027/2024/08/08/mauricio-pochettino-usmnt-coach/

Former Tottenham and Chelsea head coach Mauricio Pochettino is a top target for the U.S. men’s national team opening, according to multiple sources briefed on the coaching search.

The sources said that the federation was still considering multiple candidates as of last week, but Pochettino is seen by some as the favorite in the pool, and U.S. Soccer is engaged in conversations with his camp.

U.S. Soccer has declined to comment on any specific candidates for the job.

Hiring Pochettino would be seen as a huge splash, especially at a time the U.S. fanbase is looking for a big-name manager. The Argentine has never managed a national team, but has had plenty of success at club level. He guided Southampton to an eighth-place finish in the Premier League in 2013, achieved record league finishes with Spurs, including a Champions League final appearance in 2019, and secured a Ligue 1 title with Paris Saint-Germain. Most recently, Pochettino led Chelsea to a sixth-place finish and European qualification before departing at the end of the 2023-24 season.

U.S. Soccer sporting director Matt Crocker and Pochettino overlapped during the Argentine coach’s year at Southampton. Crocker led Southampton’s academy at the time, and left in November 2013 to join the Football Association.

Argentine outlet Olé previously reported Pochettino was a candidate for the job.

While it is possible that U.S. Soccer could make and announce a hire before the September window, the federation is planning to have former U.S. under-20 men’s national team coach and current USMNT assistant Mikey Varas to lead the senior team in friendlies against Canada and New Zealand on September 7 and September 10, respectively, according to sources briefed on the program’s planning.

The USMNT have been without a coach since firing Gregg Berhalter after a group-stage exit in the Copa América this summer. Berhalter served as the manager from December 2018 through to December 2022, taking the U.S. back to the World Cup after they failed to qualify for the tournament in 2018, and then again from June 2023 until July 2024.

The U.S. fell flat in the Copa, beating Bolivia in their opening group game before losing to Panama after playing a man down for more than an hour following a red card to winger Tim Weah. The U.S. then lost 1-0 in the group finale to Uruguay.

GO DEEPER

Pochettino's Chelsea departure won't see him left on the scrapheap

Pochettino would be the highest-profile coach of the U.S. since Jurgen Klinsmann, a World Cup winner. While Klinsmann coached the German national team and Bayern Munich before taking on the U.S. job, his fame came more from his on-field accomplishments as a player. Pochettino has made his name as a manager, with teams that use positional play to try to dominate space, but that also like to press and attack opposition.

The 52-year-old will likely command a top-level salary, as reports have indicated he was one of the highest-paid coaches in the world at PSG and Chelsea. However, Crocker has said the federation won’t be limited by financial restrictions.

“It’s a really competitive market out there, salary-wise, and we have to be competitive to get the level of coach that I believe can take the program forward in terms of achieving the results that we want on the field,” Crocker said. “It’s a priority. It’s something we’re prepared to invest in and something that we will be investing in.”

Please God No! The team is bad enough after Nepotism Gregg!

[ZAPHOD2319 4,798]

 

[Wise Old Man 38]

TMI 

[Blue Armour 4,436]

3 hours ago, ZAPHOD2319 said:

 

Lol, obviously not a true quote, but funny nonetheless.

[Vytis33 1,261]

 

[ZAPHOD2319 4,798]

 

[Vesper 30,081]

2 hours ago, ZAPHOD2319 said:

 

roflmaoooooo

this pic from that X-tweet is 11 years old

back in his SOTON days

'

[ZAPHOD2319 4,798]

Ok, upping the team’s pay for a manager 3x is really a little more important than the pic. I don’t see him succeeding at all. Emma on the other hand will be there as long as she wants.

[Vesper 30,081]

7 hours ago, ZAPHOD2319 said:

Ok, upping the team’s pay for a manager 3x is really a little more important than the pic.

Not for me.

I do not care what they pay Poch. The US sr national team is not a team I follow.

[Sir Mikel OBE 4,920]

8 hours ago, ZAPHOD2319 said:

Ok, upping the team’s pay for a manager 3x is really a little more important than the pic. I don’t see him succeeding at all. Emma on the other hand will be there as long as she wants.

Emma gets the best players in the world to manage.

 

Poch is getting, well, not the same thing. We should have stuck with Berhalter through 26 IMO. Copa America, which we shouldnt have played in anyways, got people too reactive. Panama played the match of their life down here in Atlanta, and got lucky in beating us. We gave Uruguay hell in that loss. Shit happens in this sport. The same Paraguay that looked the worst team in that tournament just beat Brazil in qualifying 2 days ago.

[ZAPHOD2319 4,798]

2 hours ago, Sir Mikel OBE said:

Emma gets the best players in the world to manage.

 

Poch is getting, well, not the same thing. We should have stuck with Berhalter through 26 IMO. Copa America, which we shouldnt have played in anyways, got people too reactive. Panama played the match of their life down here in Atlanta, and got lucky in beating us. We gave Uruguay hell in that loss. Shit happens in this sport. The same Paraguay that looked the worst team in that tournament just beat Brazil in qualifying 2 days ago.

The Poch hire makes no sense at all. He is not a tactical manager that could improve the team with system changes game by game. The USSF is looking at World Cup, which have zero chance of winning. We should be focused on CONCACAF. Poch and his over training with a squad that has too many fragile players is a recipe for disaster. I have never been a fan of Berhalter, but given the squad, paying 3x the morning for a coach that does not improve the squad is terrible. I just do not like Gregg tinkering with playing people out of their club positions all the time.

Emma on the other hand took over an under performing talented team that needed game to game focus to march through tournaments. 

[TheHulk 2,402]

This thread should be trending weekly, fucking cuck from Argentine, fucking loser costed us the CL place.

Edited September 28, 2024 by TheHulk