‘Perfect for Pochettino and USMNT’ Is this a match made in heaven? | ESPN FC

but I want to start with maritzio poino the US Men's National Team have finally got their man Stevie niichel thoughts on the appointment well I think initially it's uh it seems like a fantastic appointment uh you know a manager who you certainly can't question his CV is is incredible um you know a guy that the type of manager that since Jurgen Clansman probably that that the US have been been trying to bring to these Shores you know so I think right off the bat um certainly worldwide Poo's recognized as one of the best coaches so it's it's a huge coup and obviously his reputation and and his history with younger players because right now the US does have a young Squad uh which is great but obviously they need to be guided uh and so when you've got a young Squad that hasn't been guided properly which I don't think they have then you kind of see what happens they're they're inconsistent sometimes they're good sometimes the bad you really not quite sure what you're getting so Pino's certainly resume points towards bringing on young players and and making them consistent and making them consistently good Mark with this appointment has the United States soccer Federation got themselves out of a hole that they got themselves into by reappointing Greg barh halter yeah I think so I think that was a a strange reappointment especially when you consider the the whole Gil R the stuff as a background noce to it as well it didn't really make sense that you would raining a guy that had a a poor world cup and a guy that had issues with one of his best players so you know I think bringing in poino is just it's a fantastic appointment I think it shows real ambition by the US I think he will he'll just raise standards I think because he's got you know real work to experience in the biggest League in the world you know the premier league league in with PSG the Champions League he he's just been been to places that the majority of predecessors haven't been anywhere near apart from Jurgen kinman you know the majority of his predecessors have basically been us grown coaches who withe with all due respect haven't got any real experience outside a very kind of inula goldfish bowl and I think patino comes in with different different eyes different perspective I think he will inspire the players he will inspire the fans I don't really see a Down disappointment I think as well the fact that he was being he would have been considered for the England manager job shows you how much of a of a coup this is for the us because you know potina was was keen on the England job but the US have come along got the deal done and England are still looking around for a manager okay Ryan why the United States why take a salary of what we're led to believe is 6 million a year which is around 8 million less than he was getting at Chelsea the attraction of the US Men's National Team for poino is what well I think in a way the US sort of locked into this because we're in like this weird phase with club soccer where a lot of the big teams don't have as much money as they used to a lot of the teams are now being run run by hedge fun hedge fund people that have sort of different um different objectives in mind I guess when building a soccer team so you have a handful of incredibly accomplished coaches that had that were getting passed up in favor of people like let's say uh Vincent company you know someone who gets relegated from the Premier League and then gets the buern job or Enzo moresa becoming the Chelsea manager instead of pettino so I think there was like a weird little like sort of Shifting of the landscape that I think allowed the US to capitalize on this and so I think that plus the fact that the World Cup is in the US and I I honestly don't think that like it's sort of a shortterm year and a half has to turn this thing around get the team performing at a higher level I honestly think that probably the shorter term part of it played a role in him wanting to do it because you do it for a year and a half us does great you can decide if you want to stay on if the US does great you're gonna have plenty of Club opportunities as well so it really doesn't it it feels like a win-win like marks a win for the US and a win for pettino it's a sort of upside for everyone it feels like a really good sorry Stevie I think you've got to look at the situation it's kind of a perfect storm for the for the the US because there's no question trying to put yourself in po Chino's shoes his last two jobs you talk about frustrating and and and disillusioning you about the game of football you know PSG on the face of it seemed like a fantastic job he gets it yes he's got three trophies but listen me and Augie could get three trophies if we were running PSG so but what's going on outside of the the football pitch is an absolute nightmare you know we we want to coach because we we enjoy football and we enjoy football players but when you've got all this other stuff constantly day after day after day and regardless of what you do it seems like you're not doing the right thing so you go from that to Chelsea and then you see what happens at Chelsea again you try to work with your players that's what you want to do but you've got all this other stuff going on that just constantly wears you down day after day so I think I think the US have got him in a position where he just he wants something fresh something that something that he can be in charge of something he can get a hold of and he obviously thinks that that he can do something with a squad you know he's not just blindly said all right I I like this he's obviously looked at the Players he thinks he can help them he thinks he can certainly make the US better and so as Ryan said you know for for 18 months a couple of years years then instead of sitting in the house waiting on another job that's going to drive them crazy I'll take this and actually actually I might enjoy myself yeah there's a really good piece on espn.com by ESPN's very own Jeff Carlile kind of the Inside Story into how they were able to get someone they probably initially thought I don't think we're going to get him it seemed like him and klopp were the two initially and they knew they weren't going to get clopped but they ended up getting poino one of the things that Jeff speaks about in the article Mark is 2026 and the World Cup and the expectations and the ussf are hoping that pochettino can lead the US to at least the quarterfinals with the talent they have available is that a reasonable ask for the new man I think it could be tough but it all depends on the route to the final doesn't it and you know they could come out of the group and and play a Brazil or and Argentina it depends on the look of the draw if they get a favorable draw yeah they could definitely ride it to the quarterfinals but I do think at this at this point out from the finals 18 months time it is a tall order but I do think that the US have got home Advantage but it's too early to say Mark I think they can't do any worse than last time I think there's definitely sort of the CPP of this summer I should say I think that potina will make them better he'll get people like Pula and Tyler Adams you know playing to a different level but it all depends on the route to the the latter stage and I think if they get a favorable route they'll do okay but if they get a tough route then I think the first top team they face they'll probably lose against unless poino can oversee a incredible turnaround of belief and confidence in the next you know 18 months so it's a tall order of that but just back to the question about you know why he's taking it I think people are kind of underestimating the the the power of the US sporting landscape now the salary that he's earning may be half of what he could earn in the Premier League or or in Europe but I think if you're successful in the US then your earning potential absolutely Rockets you know I think you know we look at if klopp had gone there exactly the same but I think potin has got a real personality he could really engage with the US public I think he if he gets this team going playing well and they do well at the World Cup his earning potential off the field will be much bigger than anything he could have imagined in in Europe or the UK so so there's that as well so I think and he's got this chance you know he could be the guy that finally gets the US on course to being a a proper football in power I'm not saying that a power of the likes of Brazil Argentina Germany France but I do think that they they can climb another level to be in that second tier of teams Ryan you can kind of go back 10 11 years for a relationship between Matt Crocker who's the ussf sporting director and he was at Southampton that's how he kind of got to know portino but look we all have friends in in the business and it doesn't mean to say that you're going to get the best job or you're going to approach someone like portino and he's going to come here the interesting thing there were many things in in Jeff's article um about the money and now they've taken their commercial Revenue inhouse rather than give it to a third party they're about 60 million up over the past 12 months so the fact that they're doing this and we're able to get poino it seems to be that yeah they made a mess of the bural of stuff but there's a lot of good things going on at the ussf starting with the commercial Revenue allowing them to be able to afford pochettino yeah I mean I I think that I have been very critical of US soccer over the past 10 15 20 years and you just take a step back and you could make a really good argument that the US Women's team and the US men's team have the two best coaches in international soccer for both sides make the case for pettino easily make the case for Emma Hayes and that's just a massive turnaround after um V andonovski really struggled with the women's team they were so much better and so much more cohesive under m and bur halter while I think I think we forget like there was genu genuine like pleasure with the US's performance at the last uh World Cup outside of people in the US but I think hanging on to bur halter for a term uh an extra term proved to be a mistake and to go from those two coaches to Mauricio pettino who's just every team he's coached has improved other than maybe PSG and Emma haesu is arguably the best coach in all yeah it's the commercial revenue is great but also like you know for all the issues and inefficiencies about us soccer to land on those those two coaches you you really can't ask for much more than that Stevie he's got the players we've seen that they're talented they play at the top level across Europe and the world so what's gone wrong and how can he fix that because they've only won once that was against Bolivia since March is it simply a case of coming in with what he's got on his CV portino and things will happen or is it not as simple as that no it's listen it's Basics but and as easy as that sounds it's clearly not easy to put a put a team together and put the jigsaw together you know straight away he's got to get them on the toes you know that this this last cycle seems as though they were all just relaxed too much you know EV was too too easy you know he he in my opinion will get them on the toes every time you know I always say it all the best teams when the manager walks in the room or the man who walks on the field or whever it is if you notice everybody sort of takes a little stance to attention a little bit he has them on the toes so that's just because of his reputation I I believe that'll happen and then he'll hold them to a standard but then the most important thing is how does he put the pieces of the puzzle together in order to make them a fluid solid number one attacking team uh that can take on anybody and compete because right now they can beat the also rans well I shouldn't say that they do one each in New Zealand uh but generally they can beat the also rans but it comes to playing the so-called bigger and better teams they're just they're just way short and probably half of it confidence as well CU they know they're way short so these are all the things that portino has given to all the teams that he's been in pretty much certainly espanol when he started no question Southampton and absolutely with talk him I mean he took him to a Champions League final so yeah this this guy will get him on the toes but it's how he puts the pieces together that will determine whether they can compete uh in a World Cup against the best sides that's that's always going to be the tough part for a for a coach which pieces fit the best way in order to make us better Mark final point on poino it's Panama first up in October in Austin then he's got a friendly in Mexico how much time do you think it'll take him just to get used to the fact it's not really a day-to-day industry and business being a national team coach he's going to be based in Georgia he's going to fly a lot to Europe to watch his players there but it's not seeing your players on the training ground every single day it's seeing them getting them for four five days or a couple of weeks and then not seeing them again for a few months how do you think you'll cope with that well I mean he has had kind of lengthy periods at of work over the last two three years so it won't be completely alien to him but I do think he yeah he'll enjoy being on the training pitch and you know with the MLS season being out of kilter with the European season he might get time outside the traditional Windows to work with these players so you might find a way around it I'm sure the ussf going to use him quite a lot in terms of coaching the kids the younger players so I I don't think he'll have a lot of time on his hands but you know he'll always have to get back to Europe as well he'll have to SC a lot of plays in the European game so I don't think he'll be set on his hands very often but he'll be desperate to get on the training field when he has that game against Panama and then Mexico and you know Mexico I know they're in a bit of a mess right now they're probably in a worse State than the us but a US Mexico game no matter where it is is a real test of of both sides so I think he'll relish the fact that he's got such a big game early on to to test a you know to test the mental strength of his players are they are they do they have the kind of that that kind of resolve to match their ability that Mexico away is a good early sigher for him to say are you guys what I need or do I need to look at other players [Music]