Former Tottenham and Chelsea head coach Mauricio Pochettino is a top candidate for the vacant U.S. men's national team position, based on multiple sources conversant in the coaching search.
According to sources, the federation was still considering several candidates as of last week, but Pochettino is seen by some as the favourite and US Soccer is in talks together with his camp.
US Soccer has declined to comment on specific candidates for the job.
Signing Pochettino can be an enormous achievement, especially at a time when the US fan base is on the lookout for a big-name coach. The Argentine has never coached a national team but has been very successful at club level, leading Southampton to an eighth-place finish within the Premier League in 2013, achieving record league finishes with Spurs including an appearance within the 2019 Champions League final, and securing a Ligue 1 title with Paris Saint-Germain. Most recently, Pochettino led Chelsea to a sixth-place finish and European qualification before leaving the club at the tip of the 2023/24 season.
US Soccer sporting director Matt Crocker and Pochettino overlapped throughout the Argentine coach's 12 months at Southampton. Crocker was then in command of Southampton's academy and left the team in November 2013 to hitch the Football Association.
Pochettino was Chelsea's coach last season (Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)
The Argentine media company Olé had previously reported that Pochettino was a candidate for the job.
While it is feasible that US Soccer will make and announce a brand new signing before the September transfer window, the association plans for former US U20 national team coach and current USMNT assistant coach Mikey Varas to steer the senior team in friendlies against Canada and New Zealand on September 7 and 10, based on sources conversant in this system's planning.
The USMNT has been with out a coach since Gregg Berhalter was fired following their group stage exit from the Copa América this summer. Berhalter was coach from December 2018 to December 2022, leading the U.S. back to the World Cup after they did not qualify for the tournament in 2018, and nonetheless from June 2023 to July 2024.
The USA were poor on the Copa. They beat Bolivia of their first group match, but then lost to Panama after twiddling with ten men for over an hour following a red card for winger Tim Weah. The USA then lost 1-0 to Uruguay within the group final.
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Pochettino can be probably the most famous coach within the United States since World Cup winner Jürgen Klinsmann. Although Klinsmann coached the German national team and Bayern Munich before taking the job within the United States, his fame was based more on his on-field performances as a player. Pochettino has made his name as a coach, with teams that look to dominate space through positional play, but in addition prefer to apply pressure and attack the opposition.
The 52-year-old is more likely to receive a top salary, having reportedly been one in all the highest-paid managers on the planet at PSG and Chelsea, but Crocker has stated that the FA won’t be limited by financial constraints.
“Salary-wise, it's a very competitive market and we have to be competitive to get a coach at that level who I think can move the program forward to get the results we want on the field,” Crocker said. “That's a priority. We're willing to invest in that and we'll continue to invest in it.”
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