Who is Mauricio Pochettino? The USMNT coaching candidate’s style, formation, track record, what you need to know

Argentinian manager Mauricio Pochettino does is expected to become the next coach of the U.S. men’s national teamaccording to The Athleticsso it’s time to meet the former Tottenham, Chelsea and PSG boss. With his job now being a deep run at the 2026 World Cup, a coach has never come into the starting line-up with higher expectations and more pressure.

What should you know about the manager?

Early days

Pochettino was born in 1972 and started his football career with Newell’s Old Boys in Rosario, Argentina, where he won the Argentine league under his mentor Marcelo Bielsa at the age of 18. In 1994 he moved to Europe, where he played for Espanyol, PSG and Bordeaux before returning to Espanyol.

A new life

Pochettino started his coaching career at Espanyol, where he also ended his playing career in 2006. After three and a half promising seasons with Espanyol, Pochettino joined the Premier League, where he coached Southampton for one season before signing for Tottenham, where he coached. from 2014 to 2019, in one of the English club’s most exciting periods in recent history. At Spurs, Pochettino achieved second place in the Premier League in 2017, but most importantly a historic Champions League final in 2019, when Tottenham lost to Liverpool.

His last years

Following the end of his spell at Tottenham, Pochettino replaced Thomas Tuchel at PSG in January 2021, where he coached until the summer of 2022, a few weeks after winning his first league title as head coach. A year later, he returned to coaching in the Premier League when he was called by Chelsea to start a new cycle in the summer of 2023. Despite a positive end to the season, Chelsea failed to qualify for a Champions League spot and the English side decided to change their manager.

Playing style

Over the years, Pochettino has shown himself to be a versatile coach who is willing to change his tactical systems when his players need something different. This is why he played with both three and four line defensive systems and virtually adapted his tactics to the players he had at his disposal in the teams he coached so far. For example, in his last period at Chelsea he preferred to play with a 4-2-3-1, but he also switched to a 3-4-2-1, especially in the latter part of the season. Tactical systems aside, Pochettino produced some very eye-catching football, especially when coaching Tottenham.

Pochettino’s career figures