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The U.S. men’s national team is entering uncharted but ambitious territory with the appointment of Mauricio Pochettino, who was officially named the team’s new head coach on Tuesday and introduced on Friday. The Argentine will be tasked with maximizing the team’s full potential when they co-host the World Cup in two years’ time, a responsibility he knows and which remains his claim to fame.
Before entering the sport’s upper echelons, Pochettino established himself as a rising managerial star during his first few appearances at La Liga’s Espanyol from 2009 to 2012 and then at Southampton in the Premier League from 2013 to 2014. He won praise for creating a high press, An attack-oriented playing style that turned his teams into powerful minnows in those early roles before he made his star at Tottenham Hotspur, creating a title-challenging side from 2014 to 2019.
The combination of players and Pochettino’s style led them to four UEFA Champions League places in five years, a second place in the Premier League in the 2016/17 season and a place in the 2019 Champions League final. wise beyond himself and revealed a lot about his management philosophy that seems very relevant for an American team with similar ambition and the potential to benefit from the strategies that have led Pochettino’s Spurs to success.
As Pochettino settles into his new role with the USMNT, here’s a look back at his transformation of Tottenham and why it makes him a good fit for his new job.
Dynamic tactics
Pochettino’s Spurs quickly adopted a now popular style of play that was both entertaining and effective, organizing the team primarily in a 4-2-3-1 that was possession-oriented, fast, pressing high and everyone involved in the attack plan involved.
The team built their attacks from the back, with Pochettino relying on centre-backs Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld during their peak years. The outside defenders in particular have been crucial in driving the attack forward, with the likes of Danny Rose, Kyle Walker and Kieran Trippier playing central roles during the Argentine’s stay in north London. The wide players would be the first to overload the opponent’s defense from the flanks, allowing a group of creative attackers to add extra pressure in the center of the pitch.
That setup allowed a dynamic and versatile attack to shine. Pochettino was able to rely on the top powers of Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli for much of his time in north London, while Harry Kane and Son Heung-min emerged as the stars of the Spurs show. Kane proved himself to be one of the best strikers of his generation through his creativity and ability in deeper positions, allowing Tottenham to boast multiple goalscorers. He was a perfect partner for Son, but also an ideal teammate for the other attack-oriented players on the squad.
A young team
Pochettino offered a new start for Tottenham from a tactical perspective, and the simultaneous effort to build a team complemented his vision. Some of Pochettino’s regulars were already key players for Spurs when he arrived, including Hugo Lloris, Mousa Dembele, Walker, Vertonghen and Eriksen. However, Kane was a youth product who made his Premier League debut two seasons earlier. He was yet to become a regular in the team, while Eric Dier joined the club when Pochettino did and Son and Alli arrived the following year.
The Argentinian managed to get the best out of each of these players, many of whom continue to enjoy distinguished careers. Kane and Son were the standouts for Pochettino’s Spurs, with the former scoring 169 goals and providing 27 assists while playing for Argentina, while the latter had 75 goals and 35 assists during that time. The pair were as good individually as they were as a duo and maintained a strong partnership even after Pochettino was sacked in 2019. The pair currently hold the Premier League record for combined goals and assists as a duo with 47.
Walker was the only notable player to upgrade during the Pochettino years by joining Manchester City, although the rest also enjoyed their best club seasons under his leadership. This was especially true of Dembélé, Dier and Alli, three players with modest promise at the start of their Tottenham careers, but who together created a midfield that tonally suited the manager’s intensive playing style. Alli scored 55 goals and provided 48 assists under the Argentine as he became one of England’s most exciting young talents, while Pochettino realized that centre-back Dier would be better deployed as a defensive midfielder. Most impressively, Dembele was one of the most skilled midfielders in the Premier League during those years, with excellent passing skills, resilience on the ball and the technique to beat almost anyone in the middle of the park. Pochettino recognized him as a diamond in the rough and later described him as “one of my genius players that I had the pleasure of meeting,” a group that also included Diego Maradona and Ronaldinho.
Focus on work ethic
Pochettino had an ideal squad to work with when it came to executing his tactical plans, but managed to sell them quite quickly on his vision, as well as the methods by which he hoped to achieve his goals.
He performed intense double sessions during his very first pre-season at the club, creating a fit squad that could cover a lot of ground in matches, something that Dembélé believed would ultimately be to the team’s advantage despite the higher difficulty of the workout.
“Training with this manager is also different than we are used to,” said Dembele. according to Sky Sports. “It’s much more difficult. I think it’s a good thing for us and I think it’s easier to develop than to become a better player.”
The Argentinian, like many other top managers, is not without idiosyncrasies and is willing to speak to players about seemingly small things. In ‘Brave New World’, Guillem Balague’s book that summarizes the 2016-2017 season in which Spurs finished second for the Premier League title, Pochettino called new signing Georges-Kevin Nkoudou disrespectful for his reaction to not being named in a match day selection. , where he was singled out for wearing headphones and a backpack and only taking them off shortly before kick-off.
Above all, he was able to build a team that worked with him for much of his five-year spell in charge.
“You just want to perform for him, work hard for him and win for him,” Kane said after a 1-1 draw with Barcelona in December 2018. according to the Evening Standarda few months before Spurs played in the Champions League final.
“He is very passionate. Sometimes you notice that he wants to be there, wants to make tackles, wants to run around. You respond to that. On such evenings, on big occasions, you just want to do him justice.”
Mixing and matching for the USMNT
Pochettino’s experience working with young players will come in handy in the new job as the USMNT’s player pool is still young. Only one outfield player over the age of 30 – Tim Ream – went to the Copa America and other than him, the oldest player in the line-up was often 26-year-old Antonee Robinson. The camp before the friendlies in September, when interim head coach Mikey Varas explored the wider player pool, was even more youthful with an average age of 24.
While Pochettino’s experience with generational talents like Kane, Son and Palmer is often touted, his success with underrated talent also bodes well for the USMNT. The national team mainly consists of promising players who have yet to realize that potential, such as Gio Reyna and Weston McKennie. The pair, along with other national team regulars, have shown excellence in an American shirt but have had inconsistent careers for both club and country but are considered crucial members of the player pool.
That’s where the question marks lie as Pochettino maps out his vision for the USMNT. While the national team job is not powerless, many will rightly wonder how much influence he can really have on the players if he works with them sporadically, and the same question applies to how quickly he can implement his playing style on the international stage. . Pochettino will also not have the advantage of being able to fill gaps in the squad by signing new players. While the USMNT’s full player pool likely hasn’t been explored yet, it will still be limited in player selection. Whether – and how – he can get the best out of an imperfect player pool is the big question of the Pochettino era and could reveal as much about the squad as it does about the manager.