The U.S. Soccer Association (USMNT) announced on its official website on the 11th (Korea time) that Pochettino was appointed as the coach of the U.S. men's national soccer team.

USMNT said Pochettino has been appointed as the manager of the U.S. national football team. Having played for Tottenham, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), and Chelsea, Pochettino can revitalize American football with his wealth of experience. He has 'built a successful leadership career with the best clubs in Europe. He will now lead the U.S. national team in 2026, with abundant experience and tactical abilities,' Pochettino said.

Matt Crocker, chairman of the USMNT, said, "Pochettino is a coach with proven passion for player development and ability to form a competitive team. His record speaks for itself. I am very happy to have Pochettino join us."

Pochettino also said, "Joining the U.S. is not just for soccer, but for the journey of this team and country. The energy, passion, and longing inspire me. It was an opportunity I cannot miss to coach the national team in front of fans who are as passionate as the players."

The amount of money the U.S. national team invested in bringing Pochettino in is the highest ever. Global sports media ESPN reported that Pochettino would be the highest-paid coach in the history of the U.S. national team, mentioning the huge contract.

Pochettino was considered one of the outstanding leaders until he became a full-fledged coach in the English Premier League in the past. After retiring from active duty in 2006, Pochettino began his leadership career by taking the helm of Espanyol in Spain's La Liga in 2009. After showing his capabilities at Espanyol for three years, Pochettino was appointed as manager of Southampton in 2013 and made his name known. He has been Tottenham's manager since the 2014-2015 season, showing excellent abilities in fostering promising players, recruiting players and managing teams. In particular, he led Tottenham to the runner-up finish in the 2018-2019 European Champions League and ranked second in the EPL.

At that time, Tottenham was greatly loved by fans for building a "DESK Line" symbolizing Tottenham's golden age with tremendous performance under Pochettino's leadership. The strikers, consisting of Son Heung-min, Harry Kane, Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli, were considered the strongest in the league and are still considered the best of Pochettino's disciples. In particular, Son Heung-min tried to leave for Germany after a slump in his first season of joining Tottenham, but remained at Tottenham with Pochettino's persuasion. Since then, he has shown tremendous growth, and is currently playing as a representative winger for Tottenham in his 10th year of EPL.

However, he has rarely been on the decline since he said goodbye to his student Son Heung-min. Pochettino was replaced by Tottenham in November 2019 due to poor performance and joined Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in January 2021. He was sluggish at PSG, missing out on winning the league in his first season. He won the Trope de Champion and the Coupe de France, but rarely performed well in the European Champions League. The same was true in the second season. Although he won the league, he resigned early in the summer of 2022 due to his lackluster performance in the European Champions League, which his team considered a long-cherished dream, which is a major flaw in his leadership career. Although Lionel Messi, Neymar, and Kylian Mbappe were in the squad, Pochettino's leadership did not harmonize the three players properly.

Pochettino, who took a break from PSG for about a year, returned to the EPL stage after taking charge at Chelsea in the 2023-2024 season. Pochettino, who suffered a failure at Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), did not lose popularity toward him. Chelsea, beating many clubs, harbored Pochettino and predicted a rebound after the acquisition of owner Todd Boly.

Chelsea under Pochettino were below expectations. They showed last-minute potential to finish the league in sixth place, but their performance problems have hampered them throughout the season. It was not the squad that invested 1 billion pounds (about 1.8 trillion won). It was hard to tell what rank they would have finished the season without Cole Palmer's unrivaled performance. Eventually, Chelsea decided to separate from Pochettino after a season and had to leave the EPL stage again.

Pochettino's popularity, however, still remained. It also attracted attention from Manchester United, the England national team, and many other clubs, including Bayern Munich. Notably, the possibility of taking the helm of the English national team was highly anticipated. The vacant positions of the English national team were appointed by various coaches, including Howe, Graham Potter, Frank Lampard, Jurgen Klopp, and Pep Guardiola. Pochettino seemed to be a strong candidate, but England chose Lee Casley as the interim coach.

Manchester United has also expressed interest. The British Evening Standard said, "Pochettino wants to stay in the English Premier League. He left Chelsea and has drawn attention from Manchester United for a long time. Pochettino prefers to work in the EPL and, if possible, he will definitely be interested in working for Manchester United," explaining that Pochettino will be active in the trend. However, Manchester United has renewed its contract with Erik tenhach leading the team to win the FA Cup. Pochettino, who had been quiet for a while since then, will be appointed as the head coach of the U.S., being courted by the U.S.

The U.S. national team will play a friendly match for the rest of the year because the 2026 World Cup finals in North Korea and the U.S. have already been confirmed. Pochettino will make his U.S. national team coach debut against Fana at home on October 13, followed by a match against Mexico at 16. 토토사이트 추천

Pochettino, who had been on the decline in his coaching career, joined the U.S. national team with all-time treatment and took the opportunity to rebound. As this career could be the last chance for Pochettino, he is expected to do his best to promote the U.S. national team.