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September 11 – The US men’s team have finally got their man after former Paris St Germain, Tottenham and Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino was hired to succeed Gregg Berhalter as head coach 21 months before the Americans jointly host the 2026 World Cup.
Berhalter’s second stint in charge came to an end when he was fired in July after a humiliating Copa America campaign on home soil. He is replaced by arguably the biggest name coach to take charge of the side and the first foreigner to do so since Juergen Klinsmann.
Pochettino, 52, has been unemployed since his abrupt departure in May from Chelsea after just a single season in charge. The Argentine will take over for friendlies against Panama on October 12 and Mexico three days later, then go into his first competitive matches in a two-leg Concacaf Nations League quarter-final in November.
No details of the contract length was provided by US Soccer but Pochettino will lead the team at the World Cup which the USA is co-hosting with Mexico and Canada.
“Mauricio is a serial winner with a deep passion for player development and a proven ability to build cohesive and competitive teams,” said Matt Crocker, US Soccer’s sporting director who led the search for a new coach.
“His track record speaks for itself, and I am confident that he is the right choice to harness the immense potential within our talented squad. We are thrilled to have Mauricio on board as we embark on this exciting journey to achieve success on the global stage,” he added.
While his trophy cabinet may be relatively bare, Pochettino has a history of promoting young talent at Southampton, Tottenham and Spanish side Espanyol earlier in his managerial career.
At Tottenham, he turned the side into regular top-four Premier League finishers while also guiding them to the Champions League final in 2019.
Having coached the likes of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe at PSG, he said he was relishing the chance to progress the US…
Source link : https://www.insideworldfootball.com/2024/09/11/cusp-something-special-pochettino-finally-cemented-usmnt-role-2026/
Author : Paul Nicholson
Publish date : 2024-09-11 10:50:37
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