The new coach is officially on the job, and he's not wasting any time as he prepares for his first camp
If you're trying to track down Mauricio Pochettino over the next month, good luck.
The Argentine's time as U.S. men's national team manager is officially underway, and these first few weeks will be a multi-continental whirlwind that will lay the foundation for his tenure. The job is just getting started, and Pochettino won't be wasting any time.
Before the globetrotting starts, though, Pochettino is due for a quick trip to Atlanta. There are important matters to attend to.
"I think next weekend, we're all heading down to Atlanta," U.S. Soccer CEO J.T. Batson said, referencing the site of the federation's new headquarters. "We'll get some barbecue and do some house hunting."
What comes after will be vital, too. Over the next month, Pochettino will lay the foundation for his coaching tenure, one in which U.S. Soccer hope can transform the American game forever.
For now, Pochettino just needs to get things ready for October. In less than a month, he'll take charge of the USMNT for the first time in Austin, Texas when they take on Panama in the first of two friendlies. In that month, he'll have much to accomplish.
By the time players gather in Texas for his first USMNT camp, he'll almost certainly be relieved. That's the light at the end of the tunnel but, before that, he has an enormous amount of logistics to sort.
From strategic meetings to player evaluations to relationship building, Pochettino has a considerable to-do list. So how will Pochettino's first month play out? GOAL takes a look
Finding a place to live
First up, as Batson says, is a bit of personal business. If Pochettino is going to coach in the U.S., he'll need a place to live.
The coach and U.S. Soccer leadership will be on the case, sorting out his living arrangements. The barbecue Batson mentioned – some Argentinian asado, perhaps? – will be nice, but conducting the home search is a priority.
Atlanta will be Pochettino's home base. U.S. Soccer is in the process of relocating from Chicago down to Atlanta, with their new base being headlined by a new state-of-the-art training center. The Arthur M. Blank U.S. Soccer National Training Center will officially open in 2026, giving U.S. Soccer a new center of operations.
"I think the idea is to live here in the USA. That is the idea," Pochettino said. "But of course, for different reasons, I will be between Europe and the USA."
While based stateside, there will surely be trips to England, France, Germany and Italy on the agenda in the very near future.
AdvertisementGettyBuilding relationships
The most important thing Pochettino will do over the next month is build relationships. He's the newcomer, and he'll need to introduce himself to everyone from the ground up.
"Not only is he a great coach, but he's what I call a connector of people," said U.S. Soccer sporting director Matt Crocker, who previously worked with the coach at Southampton. "He's somebody that can build outstanding relationships, not just with the players who are starting but the players who are not in the team, the staff across the club, somebody that might work in the ticket office or somebody that might work within the administration team.
"I remember him coming to everybody's office and he would pretty much physically hug everybody in the club. He created this unbelievable spirit, and that's something that hasn't left him."
Pochettino need to bring that to the forefront as he introduces himself to team leaders. Christian Pulisic took aim at the USMNT's players in the wake of back-to-back disappointing performances in recent friendlies, saying that the team lacked a winning mentality. Matt Turner said the Argentine need to "steady the ship" – one that has been way too wobbly in 2024.
Over the next few weeks, Pochettino will need to sit down with players and implement ground rules, introducing them to the concepts and expectations they'll face when they do arrive for camp.
It remains to be seen when and where Pochettino will pop up in Europe over the next few months, but he's already met with leadership in the U.S. A spokesperson confirmed to GOAL that Pochettino met with MLS commissioner Don Garber, LAFC's co-managing owner Larry Berg, Philadelphia Union chairman and principal owner Jay Sugarman and vice chairman and alternate governor Richard Leibovitch, in New York on Friday. And he left all in the room impressed with his plans for the national team.
"I think we need to create links with the organization and the team," Pochettino said. "I think I'm required to be there with the players, with the staff, with the coaching staff, working around the world, not only here with MLS.
"That is the plan: to try to build a very good relationship with all the clubs. Clubs, they need to feel our support. Players need to feel that we care for them. It's not OK if, after one month, you go and then you don't feel that relationship. I feel it's important to create a better relationship with the players. They need to feel that."
GettyAssembling a staff
Pochettino's staff is already largely assembled. He's set to be joined by longtime assistants Jesus Perez and Miguel D'Agostino, as well as goalkeeper coach Toni Jimenez. He's worked with each of them for years.
"If there's one thing I know in my life, I think it's that I have to have people that have the qualifications and then people that challenge me," Pochettino said. "We work because I think the personalities and the quality that they have fit for me as a coach. We've created a very good relationship. Maybe we can say that we are friends, but in between, we are professionals and always are going to be.
"People say you need to always bring people from outside, but I think that it's priceless to have people that work with you and every day want to challenge you and want to improve and be better. I think, for me, that is the most important thing."
A spokesman told GOALthat Pochettino will head to Chicago later this month to meet with the current USMNT staff, which was fronted by interim coach Mikey Varas during the September window. The new coach could also expand his staff in the future to include someone with more familiarity with American soccer.
"We are flexible, and we are always hoping to add people because we know that football is changing," Pochettino said. "We need people, qualified people, working next to us to provide us with information to be better, to help the players to perform."
GettyMaking the family happy
There is another aspect of this worth considering: the off-field portion. By making the decision to take over the USMNT, Pochettino wasn't just dictating life for him or his trusted assistants.
Pochettino's sons are both grown. Sebastiano Pochettino was recently Chelsea's fitness coach and sports scientist. Maurizio Pochettino is a professional player, having most recently featured for Primera Federación club Gimnastic in Spain. Pochettino's wife Karina is also ready to begin this new chapter (and presumably so is his Rhodesian Ridgeback named Sansa, who even has her own Instagram page).
The coach offered a phrase he learned back in England – "over the moon" – to describe his family's reaction. Everyone in the Pochettino family seemingly is excited about the opportunity.
"I am happy," he said. "I am motivated and showing passion. My family has seen me in the last few weeks or months with the fire in my eyes. That is the most important thing: how you feel. I feel so, so happy, because I see my family are also so excited for this challenge. They are part of it because they support me."