"An OUTSTANDING choice" Why Marcotti backs Mauricio Pochettino to coach the USMNT | ESPN FC

all right for more on WEA mckin and a few other topics from around European football we're thrilled to welcome into the show gab marotti gab one thanks for staying up late with us to um are you moving in on our turf because I've been listening to gab and Jewel show and the last few episodes there's a lot of very football amedas friendly topics being floated into their rundown what's going on over there well in fact Jules and I today we we talked about uh Mauricio poino and uh the US Men's National Team uh job we talked about Diego Gomez leaving um what do you want me to say it's International break over here there's nothing going on all over our garden gab all over our garden we're not the jealous type at least that's what they would say about this show all right let's uh let's talk about Weston McKinna here um gab it's interesting when you talk about a situation at Juventus it's been this awkward back and forth not just this past summer uh but the summer as well where the club kind of makes it seem like they don't really want them then they do end up wanting him do end up having a role for him maybe can't get the sale that they want for him um on the market what do you think of the situation kind of longterm there for Weston mcken what do you think of him as a player and and what do you think he'll have a role what kind of role do you think he'll have this season so I think look the the reality of Juventus is that you know they are cutting the wage Bill they're cutting back they they wacked up I think in excessive $400 million uh worth of losses over two years and and they're basically saying all right no more um you saw fedi kza uh leaving you saw Adrien rabio leaving these guys didn't have bad Seasons they're not bad players it's just that you know right now they need to cut back and and they want to come back because they want to comply with with the rules and Weston McKenna is a guy who you know they look at this and they say dude you're making too much money um and that's why they tried to move him in the summer to to uh to Aston Villa obviously that didn't work out um they have talked about a new deal um but it's a kind of like those kinds of deals where like you take a pay cut and then we'll give you a multi-year deal um and I think it's mostly also about preserving transfer value if you look at who their Central midfielders are and McKenna's been used primarily um in central Midfield uh at uvit even though obviously the system's going to be a little bit different this year um um they're pretty stacked because they they brought in kefen turam they brought in Douglas louiz uh they have uh Nicolo foli back from his suspension he's an Italian International mon lat is also kind of in and around um the Italy Squad uh and in attacking Midfield they brought in Tay CP miners as well uh who can also play deeper so there's no real room for him um and and I think that's just the reality of the situation and I I think he knows that I think he he's an intelligent kid he understands um the situation at the club but also rather than accept destination which might not suit him he said all right I'm G stick it out at least till January maybe there's injuries maybe I'll work my way back back in worse thing that happens I'm a free agent in June and I can go anywhere gab I'm curious I got a few questions but my first question is just pure curiosity if you rate Weston mckin I'm very curious what you think of him as a footballer and before you answer that secondly under maxi alley he had a career year double digit assist he was one one of the more reliable players for Juventus I know that's allegri under M if he does play where do you see him playing is my question so those two questions so M likes to play with um you know sort of in terms of the width it it tends to come from obviously the fullbacks or or the Wingers it's you know you can call it 423 W uh if you like and mckenny is not going to play as a Winger um and he's not really going to play as a fullback in a four I mean you know the the kind of his backline is already attacking enough as it is so it would have to be in central Midfield where there is a ton of competition there um he did play a lot last season but he also played a lot because pajoli got suspended for for eight months nine months whatever it was um because they had other injuries and and to be fair to him he was always there and he was ready when when he was called into action um you know Allegre played a different type of football a more conservative type of football I think it's something that mckenny could adapt to uh look if he'd taken the pay cut if if he'd committed to I don't know a three-year deal and I mean it was a pretty serious pay cut that they were offering him but you know it is an exchange for more years maybe he could have been a part of it I can completely understand as a professional why you wouldn't want to do that uh I I think I don't know that he's shown me enough to say all right I can be a starter and a contributor on a Champions League kind of you know Elite a type team I I I don't know that he's done that he can be a contributor on a squad basis on that kind of team now Juventus were not on that level last season um and he had injuries and and he took his chances when he was there but I I think he's not going to grow into that unless he takes the pay cut and the more years uh that's certainly the messaging from from juuv and I can understand why he wouldn't want to take a pay cut when you know he can be a free agent and pick his spots when his contract expires gab similar question for you on Tim WEA as far as like whether you rate the player or not and obviously is injured now but what kind of role do you think uh he'll have this season for Juventus so I think in terms of what they contribute to to youv and what they can contribute um I got mckenny well ahead of of WEA he's just uh he's just a better rounded uh player in my view for for what they want I think with Kim WEA they were very excited they still struggled a little bit um you know he's played he played a little bit of wing back uh MTA does like to use sort of genuine wide players um maybe that's going to suit him more certainly on paper he's not going to be a starter uh this season so he's going to have to you know work his way in obviously Juventus um are in multiple competitions so there will be opportunities but what we've seen also from Malta uh in the first two games you know he he started this guy bangula from the uh uh from youis B team which you know few I think few people other than hardcore youu fans had ever heard of so he's willing to open the door to these guys they brought in other Wingers obviously fedo cona um and also the guy I really like Nico Gonzalez uh so there's definitely going to be competition for for places all right let's uh move on to AC Milan another team that has a couple of Americans in the mix of course with uh Unis Musa and Christian pic gab not off to a great start so far this season no wins in their first three games what's gone wrong and how confident are you that Milan can turn it around so I think the start to Milan season I think has been largely overshadowed by by individual defensive errors I mean I think that's what what really cost them um dropping points in each of their games and in the first two games because we need to have scapegoats um as you probably know they identified rapael laa and T Hernandez who ironically happen to be you know arguably Milan's two best players along with the goalkeeper Mike Mano um and so fona wanting to make a statement uh dropped them for the third game you know there's a sense that J Hernandez isn't a serious disciplined enough uh defensively um and Rafael Lea obviously kind of tends to flutter in and out of games he's not consistent I mean when he's on he's unplayable but he's got those moments um and I think that's kind of overshadowed everything now in their last game against laio they they came on when uh me were two on down immediately combined with another sub Tammy Abraham to to to score The Equalizer everything's good and then boom there's a cooling break and the two of them and I'd love to get her's view on this right in cooling breaks everybody gets together they drink water they listen to instructions from the coaches you know it's kind of like a timeout right these two guys they stand at the other side of the pitch and kind of watch what what happening now TI Hernandez explained afterwards well we didn't need the cooling break we'd only come on like two minutes before I'm like that's great but think of the look that you're giving it's not a good look especially with all the crap that's happened before when you guys hang out by yourselves and everybody else is is with the coach and and listening to what he has to say so me and are downplaying it um I think that's overshadow a lot of the start of the Season uh for fona some of his new signings haven't bet it in yet I like what they've done in the transfer window um and I'm a big fona fan I think they can have a good season and I think you know Christian pich because I know you're gonna be going with pich you're gonna be ask me about him in a minute I think he can be a part of it I think he had a great season last year playing on the right uh this season the idea was to use him through the middle and kind of a that that number 10 rooll a little more um we'll see how that works out uh but um I I think minan are going to be are going to be fine as long as there are no scars left from this Le Hernandez situation uh as far as Le Hernandez I think you're right on that vein right there you don't go and send another message after the coach already sends a message that's that's intentional they're doing something they're sending their own message um listen you fona you're saying is going to be fine they didn't bring fona in to be fine there were 19 points off of inter who won the league so they want mil Milan to be more than F they want them to be a title Contender I'm not trying to be biased here but one of the best players on Milan last season whether it was on the right his new position or on the left when Lea was in playing or in the center as a 10 was Christian pic 15 goals 11 assist Gap what are the expectations for psic now this year at Milan and do you think he can surpass his first year in terms of his output goals and assist um yeah I I think I mean that's the goal no doubt he's setting for himself I mean look everybody likes psic uh in Milan because he's been an absolute professional he's worked really really hard obviously you know he plays on the right I'm sure he'd rather play on the left but obviously LA's there uh it's not a coincidence fona said all right I want to try you um in that kind of number 10 position you know Advanced Midfield that's how much I trust you um they want to play high energy football he can totally do that while also uh you know keeping the quality as well right um so I think he's primed for a big season now obviously he's got to stay healthy and obviously the players around him um have to do their jobs as well starting with Rafael because he's the real value add to this team and also they got a new center forward in in alv Morata again guy who's had ups and downs but you know he obviously has all the tools to be really really good and and coming off um you know the the experience with Spain at the Euros gab before we let you go since you are in London there I do want to bring up maricio poino because I was listening to the gab and jewels show and uh it was not only on the show her you'll be glad to know it led the show all right it was the very top of the rundown talking portino to the US Men's National Team but of course gab lives not far from Stanford Bridge so he's he's seen pettino up close in personally has kind of seen the work that he did there at Chelsea obviously knows all that boino has done over the years not just in the Premier League um but beyond Gap just first off what was your initial reaction to to the early reports which soon will be confirmed that US soccer landed Macio pochettino I feel like on this side of the pond when when the name started to come out like Juran Klo early on from the other side of the pond you guys must have been thinking boy these Americans you know they think they're going to land anybody the job's not that attractive I think it's I think it's pretty imp aggessive that a guy like Macio boino took the job are you surprised are you shocked that he took the US job well you know we this is one of the issues that we talked about on on the show with um with Jules is there seems to be a trend among a lot of the top clubs in Europe um that almost a trend against like sort of the you know the veteran uh experienced uh coach who's been around who's managed a lot of top clubs uh you know you're see you know who do Bayern hire Vincent company who did Chelsea replace Postino with in maresa who you know comes from uh comes from Leicester um I I I think that is definitely the trend around Europe and I think boino kind of got got stuck a little bit like that you know I think he would have liked to throw his hat in the ring ring for the Manchester United job um he would have liked to have been considered as a successor to to Caron chelotti at Real Madrid uh and I think the reasons why clubs aren't going for these older more established managers is they're more expensive and they're less pliable and this has been one of the knocks on poino in the past is that he can be stubborn when he gets a little bit of success after a while the club are like oh look we have a you know director of football recruitment he's like no no no I don't like that player I don't want that other player I know that's been the accusation and that's that's been part of the reason why he's no longer the manager that's been part of the reason um why Paris s gerain let him go um I don't know to what degree these These are act I think they generally are um but clubs just want to be more conservative they want guys who are cheaper or not going to make the same level of Demands I think the the the era of kind of the the folk hero genius coach unless it's Jurgen K or Pep Guardiola I think that's pretty much over but I also think and and this is is maybe part of the reason why he was you know he was passed over for a top chop and by the way it's not just him I mean where's Joseph Mourinho coaching you know he's in Turkey now right um who Juventus go for Thiago MTA um all that said I think for a national team I think boino is an outstanding choice because he really has a level of warmth and Charisma uh which ties together with a ton of tactical knowledge um he could be a little bit manipulative of players but I think most coaches indeed most bosses in any Walk of Life are a little bit like that he's very big on the fitness physicality married to the Tactical now um and I think that probably suits uh the the US national team well I think the fact that he's you know genuinely bilingual will also no doubt help when you're coaching the us but it's an attractive job I mean you're coasting the you're coaching the host nation of of the World Cup um if there's one tiny thing that makes me a little bit uneasy and I haven't done any reporting on this whatsoever a month ago Jeff Carlile told us yeah it's confirmed it's monicio portino a month goes by and we still don't have any announcement or confirmation and I know it's lawyers and agents last minute things but I'm just wondering like and I want to Chuck this back to you guys did the US soccer Federation maybe screw this one up a tiny bit by telling everybody that it was all done when in fact it's not done and does this not give bino a whole bunch of Leverage now at this stage about how stupid you're going to look if you screw this up and maybe I want to bring another three assistants and maybe I want this and that go one further gab not portino what about Chelsea Chelsea now have leverage and they could use the money this gives Chelsea Al and listen I don't know what that relationship is like with the US soccer Federation and after Emma Hayes I can imagine they weren't too pleased that they lost her that way they made her the highest paid coach in the women's game uh so I'm sure there's much more at play here but it's not not just pochettino who's going to have this leverage listen you mentioned he's stubborn you know off the field you mentioned all the things he could be good at for the US Men's National Team you were there you saw him very close when he was at Chelsea if you had any doubts about him tactically in this new age football this world of football where International Football is so pragmatic it is so just different from the club game what are those doubts that you would have about portino on the US Men's National Team so that's a great question I mean thank you I didn't just see him here I I I saw him way back when he was uh when he was at Southampton um and then all through those tremendous teams that he built at Spurs uh he was and look k chot made the same Journey he was a guy who really had a strong idea strong tactical idea and then realized that he needed to be more pragmatic he needed to kind of mold what he wanted to do to the players at his disposal and it's not always an easy idea right because you're you're putting you're putting your idea of football you're putting your idea of what works and you're putting it to one side and Catering to the individual and the individual Tendencies of the players and it's a good thing to do to some degree but then you also got you got as other aspects like the fact that you know you're coaching these guys do I try to get him what I want him to do or do I do what do I leave him to do what comes naturally to him even though it doesn't suit the system and the whole it's it's not easy it's not that simple um I think at Chelsea you know I always said if I to grade portino season at Chelsea I would give him an incomplete because they had so many injuries and because it was such a zoo um you know by the end of the season Chelsea moved back up to table they didn't always play well but then they just had so many guys who who were hurt so many important players who were hurt for so much of the Season uh that I just find it really really difficult to judge um Cole Palmer who kind of fell out of nowhere into the team you know he kind of really really carried them through long stretches of the season and you know that's not poino uh that's just you know kind of unearthing Cole Palmer so I it's it's a tough one to answer I think think he has become much much more pragmatic um the the other the other aspect uh is poino one of the knocks against them is poino has this very tight-knit group of assistants and I'm assuming most of them are going to follow him to the US because these people follow him um pretty much everywhere and uh I remember somebody who uh who worked at Spurs when he was there uh um talked about how you know he he walked into uh into the coach's room and one of his assistant coaches made some sort of joke about the weather and it was like haha like nobody laughs right and then like five minutes later poino walks in and he makes the exact same joke about the weather and everybody's laughing and ging like it's the funniest thing in the world right and he said he cultivat that like these guys like oh the boss said it oh it's the smartest thing in the world and then you know herk says it and like yeah whatever right um again it's an internal Dynamic right you want the unity you want the guys who are loyal but then equally some people want to have a number two or number three in their squad who says hey I disagree with you this is why and then they figure it out the knock on poino has been that no no no this is my way these guys are loyal to me I don't want to hear dissenting voices even kind of you know within the dressing room from my staff um and that he goes too far in that direction that's been the knock on him in the past um again I don't I really think this is a great appointment for the us but I think he's aware that this is part of the rep that he has and it's something that I would assume you know Crocker who's known him forever uh also knows and would have taken into account [Music]