Mauricio Pochettino’s journey began in the small town of Murphy, Santa Fe, Argentina, in 1978. At just six years old, he fondly remembers his time at a local club where the elderly played bochas, a boules variant, and where one of the few color televisions in the area was located. “I lived in a prefab with my grandmother and my older brother because my parents were off working the land, then at the weekend we would go to the club,” he shares. “There were three courts and I remember standing there, hanging on to my dad’s pocket, watching the World Cup. The ticker-tape at River [Plate], that image engraved. Passarella, Ardiles, Luque, Bertoni, Kempes, Fillol, Tarantini … my heroes.”
As he reflects on those days, a smile spreads across his face. “I lived near Ossie Ardiles in north London and I always told him: ‘You were my idol.’ He says: ‘Bah, you don’t remember that; you were too small. I say: ‘Bloody hell, Ossie!’ Whenever I’m with him I think: ‘Wow, here I am with a world champion. Me, from Murphy, and a world champion.’ That’s for ever.”
Now, in the role of head coach for the United States national team, which will co-host the upcoming World Cup, Pochettino contemplates the heavy expectations placed upon him. “Well, if you think of it like that,” he admits, “it’s very hard to sleep at night.”
Sipping coffee in the morning sunlight, Pochettino projects charisma and seems far from burdened by sleepless nights. “From the day we accepted this challenge, we took that responsibility as motivation, energy,” he explains. “And no one sees the US as a [contender]. But you analyse other World Cups and think: ‘Why not?’ Being hosts can create synergy with the people, a support players feel. Let it give us the freedom to fly. Why not? “Sometimes,”
“you’re in the US tracksuit and people say: ‘What sport do you guys play?’ ‘Soccer.’ ‘Soccer, but what …?’ ‘The US national team.’ ‘Ah.’ ‘We’re preparing [for] the World Cup.’ ‘Oh, OK.’” he laughs, “So that they know who we are! Jesús likes to say: ‘We’re masked heroes,’”
So why embrace this challenge? Pochettino grins at his assistant Jesús Pérez, seated beside him. “No, no. Because we like the challenge. “After Chelsea we thought: ‘A World Cup is something we’re missing’. And just then the US appears, other national teams too. This challenge is special, and being hosts is part of that. It was a good moment to get out of our comfort zone. How do you prepare a national team? How do you work with little time, in a demanding country, in a cultural idiosyncrasy that’s different? How do you change things? It’s soccer, not football. If you don’t understand that, you’re going to bash your head against the wall. “You gather the staff, talk, find out how people think culturally, how we can help. We get together, talk. We always said we’re not going to educate, to impose. We’ll bring our experience but we went to create something together that we all feel part of.” he replies, laughing again. “Football doesn’t exist like in Argentina,”
“But the feeling [in the US] is much deeper [than it was]. The federation has done a great job unifying MLS, universities, colleges. There are people with big economic capacity who love football, have a passion, want to be a soccer country too. I have players in Europe, MLS is growing. Messi has had an enormous impact. And it’s the Messi who’s world champion. An MLS player says: ‘I play against the best in the world,’ which brings belief. All of that is a process we’re still in. “I don’t think the [resistance] is from other sports [protectionism]; I think it’s more cultural. The first gift an Argentinian gets is a football; here, it’s a baseball bat, a basketball, an oval ball. Changing that’s not today or tomorrow. But there are almost 400 million people, 80 million Latinos, who already have that football DNA, and there’s space [for all sports]. What’s the problem? That people want results now.”
“Pitches are built: ‘Now I want a Messi, a Ronaldo,’”
Pochettino envisions the World Cup as more than just an opportunity for the team; it is a chance to influence the culture of soccer in the United States. This transformative role carries its own burdens of expectations. “It can’t be reduced to investment. What takes time is that emotional relationship, for that kid not to wait until they’re 12 to touch a ball with their feet. You build a soccer school: ‘Now, shoot!’ But football’s not that. “The relationship is built through freedom. I get a ball and my brother, cousin, the friend who’s older, takes it off me. How do I get it back? That’s the game: not roboticised, automated. When that relationship starts, talent appears. Over time, that creates footballing nations: there’s something deeper.” he observes. “There’s something fundamental, a fight we took on when we came. I accept the ‘arrogance’ of Spain, Argentina, England, France … but there’s a confusion that says: ‘I’m the United States of America: I’m No 1, the biggest, best country in the world. I go, fight, win. I get to the moon first. ‘I’m the US’ and, boom, it happens. ‘We’re the best in the world in basketball, hockey, baseball; why wouldn’t we win in football?’ Wait, wait. NBA: where’s that played? The United States. World champions. NFL: world champions. “In soccer you compete against 100 years of history, and that’s beautiful. Argentina, Brazil, England, Spain: they win, it’s life or death. That ‘arrogance’ is exciting and you don’t want to lose it but we need balance. We’ve found a path. We needed the players to believe in us.”
“We listened, trusted them and they felt that, creating the basis for professional harmony. The players arrive on different flights, they come in with Sam [Zapatka] and Michael [Kammarman], come into the office, sit down, have a chat. No real plan except to get to know them, to talk about everything and nothing. And then we got to work. “Generally, one thing we saw in the [typical] ‘American player’ is that he plays. We said: ‘Boys, playing is one thing; competing is another.’ I’ll explain: in MLS you haven’t won a game, you’re at the bottom, what happens? There’s no relegation so I don’t go up, can’t go down. The [federation] guys say: ‘US sport rewards failure.’ If I lose, what happens? Nothing. The only people who pay are us, the coaches! That comfort’s not good in football and we’ve tried to change that.”
With the immense resources available in the US, one might question why finding 11 exceptional players proves challenging. “I already was more of a bastard,” Pochettino remarks. “We’ve tried to ‘attack’ people through their intellectual capacity. Any footballer appreciates you not underestimating them. They’re not footballers because they were donkeys at maths, geography or economics. If you respect them, value them, they’re intelligent enough to know they weren’t on the right path. That’s what we homed in on. “But we like to convince through performance [not impose]. And players need to see that their leaders are just. If a player is toxic for a group, a team, the others wouldn’t understand us not attacking that, taking on the toxicity. We didn’t go after anything on a whim but to coexist and compete. It was a message to the group and to those who had created toxicity. And they’re not banished; they’re given the opportunity to be important, to think, change, behave the right way, which creates a positive energy.”
“there’s probably not as much drama as you guys think”
Pochettino and the USA men’s national team are tasked with not only contributing to this evolution but also potentially accelerating it through modeling. Ultimately, the focus remains on simply playing the game, which is also shaped by cultural influences.
“I’m the head coach, not a mannequin.”
“It’s a general thing. I wouldn’t say one person or two, or three or five. It was broader.”
It would be easy for the players to harbor doubt towards this newcomer. “Players need to talk on the pitch, not outside; we’re not politicians, we’re only sports people.” Pochettino acknowledges, highlighting the importance of establishing trust. His initial squad was entrusted to the technical staff, which proved advantageous.
“I take this role with all the responsibility that comes with coaching a team; I don’t represent it at other levels. I represent it through sport which is what I know how to do. “I was in Argentina’s squad in 2002; for five years Argentina had been the best team but when we got there we were tired, had injuries and maybe the emotional weight was too much. There was an economic crisis. We had to win to make people happy, forget their problems: we were saviours of the nation. That had a negative impact on the group.”
“which is where I think about protecting them. We all empathise when we see injustice, want a better world, an end to violence, for everyone to have enough to eat. I respect those that leave the system to fight it; but if you’re inside the system, benefit from it. “Any coach can say tickets are expensive. We know. My responsibility preparing a team for the World Cup is how [external issues] affect the dynamic of the group. A job comes with [other] responsibilities that if you don’t accept, step out. If I stay in and speak, there’s hypocrisy, populism, contradiction: I don’t know what to call it. “Football can create affection, love, happiness; it unites, brings people together, opens minds. That’s our responsibility, not to create more conflict, hatred. Of course when there’s injustice it hurts. Everyone sees. How do we effect change? Through football’s values, principles. It’s easy to denounce, separate; harder to unite, construct, rather than distance us [from each other]. “If we position ourselves on the extremes, it becomes impossible to meet. Football isn’t just a sport you play and have fun. I grew up with my dad’s values and football reaffirmed those. Football is empathy, solidarity. As an Argentinian in the US, maybe I can contribute my grain of sand.”
When prompted about adopting a tougher stance, Pochettino quips, “First, because I believe it,” laughing. “And second because when the biggest representative of a country asks … if I was the president and the coach didn’t reply with the vehemence I expect, didn’t say ‘of course’, I’d kick him out. If the coach wavers: ‘This isn’t my guy, bring another one.’ “I never had an American dream. I didn’t speak English, didn’t understand anything, hadn’t been in the US: I didn’t go until Seattle in 2014 with Tottenham and one game in Washington in 1999 with Argentina. I had an Argentinian dream, then a Spanish dream, an English dream. The American dream is the idea anything is possible and we all have dreams: it doesn’t just belong to America. But why not? In football you can’t be honest: you need to create dreams, believe in the impossible. Because the impossible can be done. In football if you don’t believe: ciao! But if you believe you will have a chance, for sure.”
“But we like to convince through performance [not impose]. And players need to see that their leaders are just. If a player is toxic for a group, a team, the others wouldn’t understand us not addressing that toxicity. We didn’t act on impulse but aimed for coexistence and competition. It was a message to the group and to those who had created toxicity. And they’re not banished; they’re given the opportunity to be important, to think, change, and behave the right way, which fosters positive energy.”
Much has been said about Christian Pulisic’s absence from the Gold Cup and his offer to play in two friendlies, which Pochettino declined, aiming to foster a cohesive group. “If you’re in, you’re in.” Although the USA captain insisted “there’s probably not as much drama as you guys think,” something had indeed shifted, with Pochettino asserting: “I’m the head coach, not a mannequin.” Now he responds: “It’s a general thing. I wouldn’t say one person or two, or three or five. It was broader.”
Then there’s the pressure, which Pochettino understands all too well, shedding light on his reluctance to engage with the politically charged atmosphere in the US, rife with divisive issues, ICE raids, and tragic incidents. He also confronted Tim Weah for criticizing ticket prices, stating: “Fifa knows why,” and advising his winger: “Players need to talk on the pitch, not outside; we’re not politicians, we’re only sports people.”
Pochettino is hesitant to delve into politics. “I take this role with all the responsibility that comes with coaching a team; I don’t represent it at other levels. I represent it through sport, which is what I know how to do.”
“I was in Argentina’s squad in 2002; for five years Argentina had been the best team, but when we got there, we were tired, had injuries, and perhaps the emotional weight was too much. There was an economic crisis. We had to win to make people happy, to forget their problems: we were the saviors of the nation. That had a negative impact on the group.”
The current parallels are striking, with immense pressure on the national team to succeed, as players find themselves in the role of patriotic heroes, tasked with a responsibility they may not have sought.
“Exactly,” the coach agrees, “which is where I think about protecting them. We all empathize when we see injustice, want a better world, an end to violence, for everyone to have enough to eat. I respect those that leave the system to fight it; but if you’re inside the system, benefit from it.”
“Any coach can say tickets are expensive. We know. My responsibility in preparing a team for the World Cup is how [external issues] affect the dynamic of the group. A job comes with [other] responsibilities that if you don’t accept, step out. If I stay in and speak, there’s hypocrisy, populism, contradiction: I don’t know what to call it.”
“Football can create affection, love, happiness; it unites, brings people together, opens minds. That’s our responsibility, not to create more conflict, hatred. Of course, when there’s injustice, it hurts. Everyone sees. How do we effect change? Through football’s values and principles. It’s easy to denounce, separate; harder to unite, construct, rather than distance us from each other.”
“If we position ourselves on the extremes, it becomes impossible to meet. Football isn’t just a sport you play for fun. I grew up with my dad’s values, and football reaffirmed those. Football is empathy, solidarity. As an Argentinian in the US, maybe I can contribute my grain of sand.”
