Who is Mauricio Pochettino? USMNT coaching candidate's style, formation, record, what to know

Argentinian manager Mauricio Pochettino is expected to become the next coach of the U.S. men’s national team, according to The Athletic, so it’s time to start familiarizing yourself with the former Tottenham, Chelsea and PSG boss. With his task set to be a deep run at the 2026 World Cup, a coach has never entered with higher expectations and more pressure. 

So what should you know about the manager?

Early days 

Pochettino was born in 1972 and started his soccer career at Newell’s Old Boys in Rosario, Argentina where, under his mentor Marcelo Bielsa, he won the Argentinian league at 18 years old. In 1994 he moved to Europe where he played for Espanyol, PSG and Bordeaux before moving back to Espanyol.  

A new life

Pochettino started his coaching career at Espanyol, where he also ended his career as a soccer player in 2006. After three and half promising seasons at 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 most exciting spells of the English club in recent history. At Spurs, Pochettino clinched second place in the Premier League in 2017 but most notably a historical Champions League final appearance in 2019, when Tottenham lost to Liverpool. 

His last years 

After the end of his Tottenham spell, 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. One year later, he came back to coach in the Premier League as he was called by Chelsea to start a new cycle in the summer of 2023. Despite a positive end of 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 showed to be a versatile coach who is ready to change his tactical systems when his players need something different. This is why he played with both three or four-line back defensive systems and pretty much adapted his tactics to the players he had available in the teams he coached so far. In his last spell at Chelsea, for example, he preferred to play with a 4-2-3-1 but then also shifted to a 3-4-2-1, especially in the last part of the season. Apart from the tactical systems, Pochettino delivered some very eye-catching soccer, especially when he was coaching Tottenham. 

Pochettino’s career numbers