Stars And Stripes Column: USA Needs To Do Everything To Keep Mauricio Pochettino

The progress of USA soccer is clearly on a massive rise especially considering the type of talent representing the program and at what level they are playing at at club level. The hire of Mauricio Pochettino as the manager of the men's team led to one of the most successful runs in World Cup play in the program's history. Three wins is pretty damn good and the way the team dominated in those victories was nice to see. Pochettino's style of play clearly helped them, but it also came back to bite them after their embarrassing loss to Belgium in the Round of 16. That being said, after what I watched and what I believe is fair, Pochettino should be retained as manager for the 2030 World Cup cycle. The federation needs to do everything they can to keep his services, even if that means throwing the kitchen sink filled with money, but it also gives him a chance to properly evaluate the team.

Giving Pochettino a cycle to work with makes so much sense and it was detrimental to the program that they even thought bringing back Gregg Berhalter for a second cycle was a good idea. That proved to be disastrous though Berhalter did lay the groundwork for what Pochettino could work with. Now Pochettino has a better chance at recruitment and properly evaluating what players will give him the best chance at winning. Had Pochettino been given the reigns after 2022, I bet my savings the squad would've made a deeper run this World Cup. That being said, had Pochettino been hired right after 2022 and the results were what they were in this tournament, it would be for the best to move on. So, Pochettino has seen a lot of success and giving him the most amount of time to work with the team would be such a massive step forward.

Giving him a cycle also gives Pochettino a chance to recruit players. It probably was unfair to a player such as Noahkai Banks to be integrated and expected to start on such short notice. Pochettino needed to focus on the core players who had been there for 2022 and possibly earlier in order to find the best players. The focus should be on Banks to integrate into the team for the 2030 cycle. Pochettino needs to find as many young players as possible to build the depth of the squad. So that means he has to go out throughout Europe trying to recruit Americans playing abroad and also trying to court dual nationals, names such as Luca Koleosho and Banks. It also means Pochettino needs to scout players even at Major League Soccer (or track them when they move abroad) and bring them into a camp, players such as Zavier Gozo or Adri Mehmeti. Lastly, this also means getting players with little experience at the national level to be fully integrated and given chances to earn spots, players such as George Campbell or Damion Downs. There's a lot of work here, but it also creates competition for spots. Ignore the players who are basically locks for the next World Cup (Weston McKennie, Antonee Robinson, Christian Pulisic, and Tyler Adams being examples), but it does put some others on notice and that's good as it not only brings the best in the players, but it deepens the pool for Pochettino to work with.

Giving Pochettino another cycle also allows him to work on tactics and to tinker things. It gives Pochettino a chance to experiment and it helps him find the right players to fit the system he has built. It also allows Pochettino to assess what went well and build upon that as well as what went wrong and how to fix it. An example of this would be how he can watch the tape in the game against Belgium and see what went wrong and work to improve the tactics used. Sure it was a brutal loss, but it could lead to bigger and better things for this program.

2030 is going to be a pivotal time for the team as it could either mean that this core of players are going to try and make some noise in the next World Cup thus meaning some stagnation or it could mean that the program takes a step forward, just how big of one would be the only question. The USA men's team needs a world class coach to help reach that next step and they already have one in Pochettino. The only way for the program to improve is to have someone who has the type of mindset and goals that squarely only focuses on winning. Pochettino has been known to be one of those type of managers, especially during his time at Tottenham. What benefits him is he has a wealth of talent and depth to work with at a national level (true at almost every national program across the globe). So this perfectly suits him.

Essentially what it boils down to is that the success of the team in this World Cup and what the possibilities are with a full cycle under Pochettino's belt are the biggest reasons why he should be back. Now, it seems pretty clear the federation wants him back and for good reasons, but they have to entice Pochettino to stay. Throw as much money at him, give all the resources possible to work with, and map out some strategies together in order for Pochettino to return while letting him call the shots. That's called throwing the kitchen sink. Do whatever it takes to keep Pochettino because if they don't, it could set them back. The fans and pundits now have massive expectations for the team, this would seem like a good idea for Pochettino to get an offer he can't refuse.