Mauricio Pochettino, starting his role as the U.S. men’s national soccer team coach, stated that his players should aim to achieve the same level of success as the American women’s team.
“We are here because we want to win,” he said at his introductory press conference on Friday. “We have many examples next to us we need to follow.”
The U.S. men’s team has not reached the World Cup quarterfinals since 2002 and has never won the tournament. In contrast, the American women’s team has won four World Cups and five Olympic gold medals.
“We need to believe we can win the World Cup,” Pochettino added.
At 52 years old, Pochettino is taking on his first national team coaching role. He is the 10th U.S. coach in 14 years and the first foreign-born coach since Jurgen Klinsmann, who led the team from 2011 to 2016.
He was hired to replace Gregg Berhalter, who was let go on July 10, a week after the U.S. was knocked out in the first round of the Copa America.
Emma Hayes, the new U.S. women’s coach who previously worked at Chelsea, played a role in recruiting Pochettino.
“I didn’t need to ask. She explained everything,” Pochettino said.
Dressed in a dark jacket, white shirt without a tie, and a pocket square, Pochettino was joined by U.S. Soccer Federation President Cindy Parlow Cone, CEO JT Batson, and sporting director Matt Crocker, who had worked with Pochettino at Southampton a decade ago.
Although some consider the current U.S. team the most talented ever, Pochettino described it as a “very good generation of players” and stressed the importance of playing as a team on the field.
Pochettino arrived in the U.S. on Wednesday, a day after his appointment was announced, and had dinner with American soccer leaders on Thursday night.
His press conference was held on Friday the 13th at a Warner Bros. Discovery screening room at 30 Hudson Yards in Manhattan, just eight blocks from where Berhalter was introduced at Glasshouse Chelsea on Dec. 4, 2018.
