CLUB CONNECTIONS
Pochettino steps into this new role already familiar with a few faces around the Federation.
Sporting Director Matt Crocker, who led the search for the new MNT head coach, previously worked with Pochettino at Southampton. The two crossed paths in 2013, when Crocker was in his final season serving as the club’s Academy Manager prior to joining the England Football Association. Pochettino was appointed manager of the Southampton first team in January of 2013.
In addition, Pochettino’s most recent managerial stint at Chelsea was undertaken alongside former Chelsea FC Women’s head coach and current U.S. Women’s National Team manager Emma Hayes. Hayes managed the Chelsea Women from 2012 until the end of the 2024 Women’s Super League season, before beginning the job with the USWNT in May. Pochettino served as the Chelsea men’s manager from May of 2023 through May of 2024.
On the player front, Pochettino managed three players currently in the MNT pool - defenders Cameron Carter-Vickers and DeAndre Yedlin and goalkeeper Gaga Slonina. Carter-Vickers came up through the Tottenham Hotspur Academy and was brought into the first team by Pochettino during his time with the club as manager, ultimately receiving five appearances across all competitions. Yedlin was also Spurs-owned player from 2014-16 during Pochettino’s tenure. Slonina, who recently competed for the U.S. Men’s Olympic Team in France, joined Chelsea on a transfer from Chicago Fire FC in spring of 2023, and worked briefly with Pochettino after his hiring before being loaned to K.A.S. Belgium last August.
GIVING OPPORTUNITY
Pochettino is renowned for his abilities as both a man manager and a developer of young players.
Across his time spent in La Liga, the EPL, and Ligue 1, Pochettino gave league debuts to 43 players aged 20 or younger, and gave 10 debuts in the UEFA Champions League to players 20 or younger. Several of those players have gone on to become regulars with their national teams, including England, Brazil, Portugal, and the Netherlands.
“The younger player needs faith in them and you need to translate the feeling that you believe in them,” Pochettino told The Guardian in 2015 (https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2015/nov/07/mauricio-pochettino-tottenham-youth). “The important thing is that they need to believe that you believe because, if not, it’s nothing. If they feel that you only want to add some names in your list, this is the worst thing you can show. When they feel that you believe, but really believe in them, it gives them extra. This is the moment they can play.
The USMNT was the second-youngest of the 32 teams to play at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and many players from that roster figure to remain key members of the squad as the U.S. looks ahead to hosting the World Cup in 2026.
