The U.S. men’s national soccer team is closing in on its home-grown players.
Former Tottenham and Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has emerged as the leading candidate to fill the vacant U.S. men’s national team coaching post, according to multiple reports.
There are reportedly still several candidates in the running, but Pochettino has emerged ahead of the others after the U.S. Soccer Association held talks with his camp. The Athletic pointed out.
Pochettino has no experience of managing a national team but has enjoyed great success at club level in several major leagues.
Looking back to 2013, he guided Southampton to an eighth-place finish before leading Tottenham to three top-three finishes between 2014 and 2019.
During Pochettino’s time at Southampton, he overlapped with United States Soccer Association sporting director Matt Crocker, who took over as head of Southampton’s academy in November 2013 before joining the FA, according to The Athletic.
One of the highlights of Pochettino’s career was leading the team to the Champions League final in 2019.
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He coached Paris Saint-Germain in 2021 and helped them win the Ligue 1 title.
He helped Chelsea finish sixth in the Premier League before leaving at the end of the 2023-24 season.
Pochettino, 52, is likely to demand a large salary after multiple reports said he was one of the world’s highest-paid managers during his tenures at PSG and Chelsea. From PaywizardHe earned over $1 million a year at Chelsea.
“It’s a very competitive market salary-wise and we have to be competitive to get a coach at the level that we believe can move our program forward to achieve the results we want on the field,” Crocker said of financial constraints, according to The Athletic.
“This is a priority, one we’re ready to invest in and will continue to invest in.”
As of now, the federation plans to appoint U.S. U-20 men’s national team coach Mikey Barras as coach of the senior team for the next two friendlies against Canada and New Zealand on Sept. 7 and 10.
The team has been left rudderless since coach Gregg Berhalter was fired in July after an early exit from the group stage of the 2024 Copa America.
If Pochettino fills that void, he would become the most prolific U.S. coach since Jurgen Klinsmann, who led Germany and Bayern Munich.
