NEW YORK – Speaking to reporters for the first time as U.S. coach, Argentina’s Mauricio Pochettino was optimistic about the future of soccer in the country and outlined how his national team will play.
“We have time, we have to believe in big things. We have to believe that we can win the World Cup,” said Pochettino in English in a room provided by Warner Brothers, in their Hudson Yards offices in Manhattan, for the presentation of the coach.
Pochettino said that his team will play on the attack, seeking to keep possession, and that “aesthetics” are important in his conception of football. “But when we don’t have the ball, we will have to run, be aggressive, because the opponent also plays,” he added.
Regarding the current situation of the men’s team, the Murphy native did not want to evaluate the work of his predecessor.
“I think we have very talented players, although the Copa America was not the best moment,” he said. “I don’t see any weaknesses in the team, because I don’t like to talk about weaknesses.”
The women’s team as a reference
Pochettino praised the US women’s team. Curiously, the current national coach is the English Emma Hayes, who coincided with the Argentine at Chelsea, she as coach of the women’s team and he of the men’s team of the London club.
Pochettino praised Hayes’ character and was grateful to be able to work with her again at the United States federation: “She is incredible.”
“We have to try to match the results of the women’s national team,” she added.
“When I was at Espanyol I paid for a lot of dinners because we bet on whether the men’s or women’s team would win. And I almost went bankrupt,” he joked.
Pochettino: “We look at the human side a lot”
Pochettino said his family was happy that he had accepted the position because they saw him happy.
“The idea is to live here in the United States, but for different reasons I will be between Europe and the US. With the team, the staff, we will be all over the world. We have a very good relationship with the clubs and it is important to make the players feel that we care about them, that we are not only concerned about them when they come to the national team. We have to be close to them,” he said.
“We are a coaching staff that pays a lot of attention to the human aspect,” he added in Spanish.
The reasons why he accepted the position
“There is enormous potential here in the USA and the challenge “To take the men’s team to a different level, to a level that they have been close to in recent years, is a huge challenge,” Pochettino explained when asked about his reasons for agreeing to coach the United States.
“We have experience in clubs and this takes us out of our comfort zone. It is about entering into something that one does not know, taking oneself out of one’s comfort zone to challenge oneself, a refreshing challenge,” he added.
“It’s exciting to see the evolution of soccer in the United States. With the vision of the people at the federation and MLS… The contribution of important players in the league makes the development very good. And the arrival of Leo Messi has been very important in how the world sees soccer in the United States,” he said.
With the World Cup set to take place in 2026 in this country, alongside Mexico and Canada, Pochettino said: “Today the focus of the football world is now on the United States.”
He also joked about his origins as one of the reasons for his hiring.
“Football is emotion, and who better than an Argentine to convey that emotion.”
The importance of Latin support
The second part of the press conference was conducted almost entirely in Spanish, with questions from Spanish-speaking media present.
“I hope that those 70 million Latinos come to support the national team,” said Pochettino when asked about the role of Hispanics in American soccer.
“I think the stadiums should be full when the national team plays. The fans – Latin fans and everyone else – have to fight for tickets,” he said.
Pochettino was joined by US Soccer Federation (USSF) President Cindy Parlow Cone and Sporting Director Matt Crocker. His first match in charge of the national team will be against Panama on October 12 in Austin, Texas.