2024-08-16 19:17:00
Mauricio Pochettino is expected to be the new head coach of the U.S. men’s national team, according to Fox Sports’ Doug McIntyre.
The 52-year-old, who most recently guided Chelsea to a sixth-place finish in the Premier League, has previously been manager of Paris Saint-Germain, Tottenham Hotspur, Southampton and Espanyol. Pochettino has been head coach since 2009, but this will be his first chance to lead the national team.
Fox Sports Research conducted a detailed analysis of the resumes of the top five United States national team coaches to highlight just how prestigious Pochettino’s background is in comparison.
Let’s take a look:
Gregg Berhalter(2018-24)
It’s not often that a coach is fired, rehired, and then fired again by the same team, but that was the case with Gregg Berhalter and the National Team. While he did end his coaching career with a 68.2% winning percentage (44-17-13, WLD), the highest in franchise history (min. 20-game coach), Berhalter failed to lead The United States reached the knockout stages of the last Copa America, and his team was eliminated 3-1 by the Netherlands in the round of 16 of the 2022 World Cup.
The former was particularly heartbreaking as the United States became the first host nation to fail to reach the knockout stages of the Copa America since the group stage was introduced in 1975. Continental and global championships participated at home. When excluding Mexico, Berhalter is just 2-6-7 (WLD) against top 25 teams, and 0-5-5 against top 15 teams when again excluding continental opponents (WLD) WLD).
At the club level, Berhalter has coached at Columbus Crew and Hammarby, a Swedish club. He managed just 92 wins in 239 games coaching both teams.
Bruce Arena (1998-2006, 2016-17)
No head coach in franchise history has coached more games than Bruce Arena, who compiled an 81-32-35 record (WLD). His 66.6% winning percentage is the second-highest ever, behind Berhalter (minimum of 20 games in charge), and he also led the team to its best-ever World Cup finish, reaching the quarter-finals in 2002. In the finals, they lost to Germany. While these accolades arguably make him the most successful coach in U.S. history, he has never coached outside of Major League Soccer (W.C. United, New York Red Bulls, LA Galaxy, New England Revolution), and He also led the team to finish last in the group in the 2006 World Cup.
Jurgen Klinsmann(2011-16)
Klinsmann is an exciting hire who had incredible success as a player and coach before taking over the U.S. national team in 2011. He has had incredible success both as a player and a coach, having played for Inter Milan and Tottenham Hotspur before that. and Bayern Munich and other wealthy clubs, and then served as the head coach of the German national team from 2004 to 2004. After being refused a contract extension in Germany, Klinsmann joined Bayern Munich but was sacked with five games left in the season. To put things into perspective, Munich won the league title in the seasons before his arrival and in the seasons after he left.
He subsequently led the U.S. National Team to a 55-27-16 record (WLD) before losing to Belgium in the round of 16 at the 2014 World Cup. In 2015, he led the team to a fourth-place finish in the Gold Cup, which included losses to Jamaica and Panama. In the 2016 Copa America, the United States lost to Argentina 0-4 in the semifinals. The biggest disappointments came a few months later, when the team lost 2-1 at home to Mexico and then lost 4-0 to Costa Rica in World Cup qualifying – leading to his sacking in November of that year. After this performance, the United States failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup.
Klinsmann’s subsequent spells included Hertha Berlin, where he was sacked after just 10 weeks, and the South Korean national team, who fired him after 18 games. The president of the Korean Football Association said: “Coach Klinsmann failed to demonstrate the leadership we expect from a national team coach, including game management, player management and work attitude, which enhance the competitiveness of the national team.”
Bob Bradley(2007-11)
Bradley is the third and final coach (minimum of 20 games) with the U.S. National Team to have a winning percentage above 60% (43-25-12, WLD), joining Berhalter and Klinsmann. . Reaching the last 16 of the 2010 World Cup (losing to Ghana) was the highlight of his tenure, but it was also marred by finishing bottom of the group at the 2007 Copa America and losing to Mexico in the 2009 Gold Cup final. He also coached the 2011 Gold Cup final, where the United States led Mexico 2-0 before losing 4-2.
Clubs he has played for include the Chicago Fire, MetroStars, Chivas USA, Los Angeles FC and Toronto FC. He was a three-time MLS Coach of the Year but never achieved similar success in his European stints (Starbeck, Le Havre, Swansea City). Bradley also coached the Egyptian national team, but was relieved of his duties after 36 games.
Steve Sampson(1995-98)
Steve Sampson compiled a 26-22-14 (WLD) record as head coach of the U.S. National Team, including a stellar performance in the 1995 Copa America semifinals. However, in the 1998 World Cup, the team finished bottom of the group under his leadership. That same year, the United States lost to Mexico in the Gold Cup final. Sampson later went on to coach the Costa Rica national team and the Los Angeles Galaxy, each stay being short-lived.
Mauricio Pochettino
And now, the Pochettino era is about to begin. There are clear differences between his resume and those of others on this list. A player for Paris Saint-Germain and Espanyol, he eventually served as head coach at both stops. At Espanyol, his first coaching position, he struggled – going 53-70-38 in La Liga. However, in January 2013, he joined Southampton mid-season and led the team to defeat the then defending champions Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City.
In his first full season with Southampton, he led the team to an eighth-place finish in the Premier League, their best finish since the 2002-03 season. He also equaled the club record for most points scored in a Premier League season. Shortly after his successful spell at Southampton (23-19-19 WLD record), Pochettino joined Tottenham Hotspur and had a record of 159 wins, 72 draws and 62 losses in five seasons.
His performance with Tottenham was the UEFA Champions League runners-up in the 2018-19 season and he won the London Football Awards Coach of the Year in the same year. Tottenham have never finished lower than fifth in five full seasons in the Premier League, including three top-three finishes.
Pochettino’s next stop will be French giants Paris Saint-Germain, where he has enjoyed his greatest success. Pochettino led PSG to a 55-14-15 record (WLD) and won three trophies – the Ligue 1 title, the Coupe de France and the Champions League. In 2023, he eventually joined Chelsea and led the club to sixth place in the standings after a dismal 12th place finish last season. He achieved a record of 26-14-11 in all competitions for the Blues (WLD) and finished runner-up in the League Cup that year.
Pochettino has also coached many high-level superstars. From Harry Kane, Son Heung-min, Kieran Trippier and Achraf Hakimi, to Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Lionel Messi – the talent he oversees is as deep as any No American head coach can compare. All in all, the Argentinian veteran coaches and molds players into games at a level unmatched by any other U.S. national team coach.
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