Having spent the past decade managing Tottenham Hotspur, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea, Pochettino is the most high-profile hire in the history of the US men’s national team.
During a 45-minute interview, the Argentine defended his Chelsea record, discussed previous links to the England job and the possibility of managing Tottenham again in the future, and explained why a conversation between Donald Trump and Fifa president Gianni Infantino “disappointed” him.
Infantino’s Trump meeting
Earlier this month, Trump met with Infantino in the Oval Office following the creation of a task force to ensure the country’s readiness for one of the world’s biggest sporting events.
Pochettino said: “I was listening to a conversation between our President Donald Trump and Gianni Infantino. The president asked: ‘can we win the World Cup?’
“The pressure is going to be there because we are a host. And it’s a country where the mentality is about winning. You know in sport, in everything that Americans are involved in, they want to win. That is the culture.
Pochettino signed a two-year contract which expires just after the World Cup and he reiterated that he plans to return to club management after his current role.
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“Soccer is growing but still we need more,” he said. “I think we can dominate soccer, football, maybe in 10 or 15 years’ time. Or maybe less. Five or seven. The potential is massive.”
“The culture is different, it’s how we adapt to them, it’s not for them to adapt to us,” he said.
Developing a ‘golden generation’
Pochettino’s predecessor Gregg Berhalter paid the price for the USA’s poor showings at recent tournaments; they lost to Panama on penalties in the semi-final of the 2023 Gold Cup and crashed out of the group stage of last year’s Copa America after defeats to Panama (again) and Uruguay.
Younger prospects Giovanni Reyna (Borussia Dortmund), Tanner Tessman (Lyon), Johnny Cardoso (Real Betis) and Yunus Musah (AC Milan), all play for big clubs in major European leagues.
Pochettino is hopeful of helping Giovanni Reyna get back to his best (Photo: Reuters)“We need to know the [players] and that is why we are now building a different squad. We are calling players that we didn’t see [in previous camps].
Pochettino revealed that he hadn’t discussed the nuances of international management with his mentor and current Uruguay boss Marcelo Bielsa, but did speak with Gerardo “Tata” Martino, the former Paraguay, Argentina and Mexico coach.
“We have one disadvantage and one advantage. The disadvantage is that you don’t have time, the advantage is that the players are so focused. It is completely different the focus, the discipline and energy they apply when they come.”
Pochettino watching over training with his long-term goalkeeper coach Toni Jimenez (Photo: Getty)“I was talking in Qatar with Arsene Wenger with Jesus in a charity game and he said to me something – and we agreed – that today it is easy [for a manager] to say ‘oh, that is my philosophy’. Your philosophy? That isn’t the way that I want to play.
Learning from US sports
Pochettino has already taken in some live sport Stateside, watching the NBA’s Orlando Magic from courtside seats, as well as the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams in the SoFi Stadium which will host matches at the World Cup.
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“We are going to try to help prepare the players to shoot penalties, to focus and to concentrate. It doesn’t mean we are going to win on penalties but there are clever people outside of football who are working and trying to help.
Does he understand the rules of the NFL? “In general, I understand, but the details… I need to ask!”
His “very good” relationship with the FA’s technical director John McDermott from their Spurs days, also fuelled speculation that one day he could lead the Three Lions out at Wembley.
In 1982, Argentina and the United Kingdom went to war over ownership of the Falkland Islands which claimed the lives of over 900 people from both sides.
“But I love England. I know the relationship between the people in England, English citizens and Argentine citizens is very good. Because we have very good things that link [us].
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Pochettino is still a novice on the international stage but with six games under his belt (five wins, one defeat) he is more experienced than England’s new boss Thomas Tuchel.
“Thomas is a winner and the challenge is to win,” he said.
“He is in a similar position where he is discovering things and he will learn because he is in a completely different world, being [the] coach of the national team.”
“The team in the beginning suffered many, many problems, and even then we were performing well without getting the results we wanted,” Pochettino said. “In the end, we were doing really, really well. If you see the table in the last six months you can see the progression was massive.
Guardiola is a ‘real manager now’
One of the most intriguing sub-plots of the Premier League season has been the staggering decline of Manchester City. The reigning champions trail leaders Liverpool by 22 points and are in a fight just to qualify for next season’s Champions League.
Although Pochettino won three trophies in an 18-month spell with PSG, he is best known for his five and a half years at Tottenham which yielded no winners’ medals and only runners-up finishes in the Premier League, Champions League and Carabao Cup.
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Pochettino has previously spoken of having “unfinished business” with the north London club and repeated that position once more.
“I would like one day to come back. Not because of my ego it’s because my feeling is I would like one day to win with Tottenham. We were so close and it was so painful.
“I think now, Tottenham is a club with an expectation to win because if you see the facilities – training ground and stadium – now you can see it is about winning trophies. That is why I would like one day to come back. But if that doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen.
“It’s six years since we left and it’s always going to be a special club for me.”
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