Mauricio Pochettino Already Transforming USMNT
Poch put players through their paces and has brought a refreshing view to the game.
The United States Men’s National Team takes on Panama on Saturday evening and the stars and stripes will as a new look team with a new head coach. Mauricio Pochettino hasn’t been in charge long but he already appears to be making an impact.
Let’s just start with training. Tim Ream said on the Player Manager podcast that the USMNT has been practicing for two hours which are the longest sessions he has had since playing for the U.S.
Even more importantly, Pochettino is bringing a refreshing view to the game and how he wants the U.S. to play. In particular, MLS fans will be happy to learn that the head coach appears to be putting an emphasis on playing time no matter the league it comes in.
“I don't think that to be an elite player, you have to be in Europe,” Pochettino told CNN in a Spanish-language interview. “We are seeing today that great players like Messi are competing in MLS and for us I think that is something important to convey, that MLS is a competitive league and that also competing in MLS, you can also be in the United States national team, competing in the best way and competing for great things. I think that we also have to believe in that, that the players who are competing in MLS will also have the opportunity to be able to demonstrate their talent in the national team.
“There are many players who are in Europe and who don't play much and who don't compete and there are other players who are in MLS or in different leagues that compete,” he added. “And perhaps those players are in better shape to perform than players who perhaps don't compete weekly.”
The USMNT head coach is also willing to be flexible in how the team plays. He would rather players feel comfortable than force a style of play on the team.
“The priority always in soccer is to win, and sometimes we need to be clever,” Pochettino said. “Sometimes when we cannot play [out of the back], then we can play a long pass,” he said. “People sometimes say, ‘No, that is my philosophy, my idea, and I am going to die with my idea.’ No, I want to live, because life is amazing. I want to be clever, and I want to win. I don't want to die.
“Sometimes we need to find a different way to put our players in a comfortable zone, not in an uncomfortable zone that reduces the confidence to play,” he added. “We have a massive challenge ahead, and all that concept and idea is to translate, that is in the way to find the best way to compete, to be competitive. All the teams that win like, I don't know, I put Madrid, I put Argentina, even Manchester City - they are pragmatic, they want to win.”
Ahead of his first match on the sidelines, Pochettino is saying and doing all the right things. It is hard to not have confidence that the USMNT is entering a new era.
But sports are a matter of results not ideas. If the USMNT struggles to win games, Poch’s personality won’t win him job security.
Then again for the first time in a long time, there seems to be a sense of confidence hovering over the USMNT. It is hard to picture Pochettino not being successful in what might be his biggest challenge as a head coach yet, making the U.S. a true soccer nation.