I’m willing to volunteer to be on Pochettino’s staff as needed. Can’t wait to learn about universal energy and lemons as I let Pochettino know about the MLS quota.
An interesting nugget in there: Mikey Varas said he would have been in talks to be an assistant on Mauricio Pochettino's USMNT staff.“I had a World Cup on home soil on the horizon. I wasn’t going to give that up for just anything.” https://t.co/dtDmVytfe6— Tom Bogert (@tombogert) September 20, 2024 so, mikey varas is not only a bad coach both tactically and terms of man-management- hes also a liar and/or full of shit.
The way it's phrased in the article itself ("He likely would have been a candidate to be an assistant on Mauricio Pochettino’s USMNT staff") makes me think that quote was based more on his hopes and expectations rather than any specific conversations he had.
A "coach" is not necessarily an "assistant manager." Tab was, by US standards, a towering talent as a player with breathtaking skills and may have more to offer as a coach than a manager. We fall into the American football habit of calling the head guy "coach" but soccer is kind of like baseball in a way. Coaches for specific tactics and skills, manager for putting the whole shebang together.
Michael would have several advantages over his father. First, he played in Netherlands, Germany, Italy, and in MLS - something Bob never did. He also played in World Cups - something Bob never did before he was coach. Then there's the 151 caps. So I think Michael would have a much better understanding of locker room dynamics, and international football and tactics, then his father ever did.
Eddie Lewis would make a good assistant coach too - I wonder what he's up to. Also Preki, who's an assistant at Seattle. Not sure he would leave that job though.
There's also the possibility that that makes him more aloof. He was a very good player but I do remember how he treated new players in their first callups - they would be wide open, he'd look at them and then pass the other way. I'm 50/50 on whether he will be a good coach.
speaking of, he and pops are now available. that said poch has his staff- i dont know why everyone wants to handicap him with (relatively) scrubs. american soccer isnt the mysterious, unknowable to outsiders thing yall think it is.
You never know. A coach needs deep knowledge but also needs to get off on teaching, which takes a lot of patience. Without inside knowledge of personalities and motivation, it's probably just as hard to spot a player who would be a great coach as it is to spot one who would be a great manager.
Pretty much agree with this, with the caveat that I think the main difficulty is simply the logistics of monitoring players on both sides of the Atlantic. I do think he'd do well to have a member of his team permanently based in the US, but in terms of the actual personnel I trust him.
U.S. Soccer has announced five additions to the #USMNT technical and high performance staffs as new head coach Mauricio Pochettino begins his first training camp.— U.S. Soccer Men's National Team (@USMNT) October 7, 2024 Check out Pochettino’s new coaching staff 🔥⚽️ Jesus Perez - 1st assistant⚽️ Miguel “Miki” D’Agostino - 2nd assistant🥅 Antonio “Toni” Jimenez - GK coach📊 Sebastiano Pochettino - sports scientist🏃♀️Silvia Tuya Viñasis - strength and conditioning coachLeveling up 📈 pic.twitter.com/ZhOdlQNiUx— USMNT Nation (@USMNTvsHaters) October 7, 2024
Two problems here. First, Poch hired his son as a sports scientist, which reeks of nepotism, even if the guy is qualified. Remember when Bruce hired Kenny as his assistant in 2017, and US then failed to make the World Cup? It wasn't Kenny's fault, but it certainly didn't help. I also didn't like that Poch didn't select even one American as an assistant. I know he has his "regular" staff, but adding an American couldn't have hurt. I doubt Tuchel will refuse to hire one Englishman for his staff. At Portugal, Roberto Martinez has some Portuguese coaches on his staff. Ireland has an Icelandic coach with Irish assistants. Sweden has a Danish coach with Swedish assistants. Turkey has an Italian coach with Turkish assistants. Among major UEFA teams, I could only find that Belgium has no Belgians on its coaching staff (Germans, Italians, and an Englishman). https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/bruce-arena-names-four-ex-galaxy-assistants-us-national-team-staff
Nico Estavez is currently on staff. Not an American but definitely qualifies as a domestic assistant given his history. On a trial basis for now for the first two camps to see if it’s a fit or not.
Estevez had also been on Varas' staff for the September camp too. This would be a good guy to have on the staff who knows the MLS/US-eligible pool intimately as a former US assistant and MLS coach. He also was reportedly a big contributor in dual-national recruiting efforts under Berhalter. We don't need him to coach. We have Poch and his other assistants for that. Could also be a guy to help with the U23s when we start preparing for the 2028 Olympics. [And yes, it seems like there are always coaches at the USSF with FC Dallas connections. We had Luchi and Varas last cycle. Now we have Estevez and Aldaz. I haven't heard what's going on with Luchi Gonzalez. If I was a team that needed an academy director, I'd hire him in a heartbeat.]
The reports have been that Berhalter hired him back and Pochettino is taking the first two camps to figure out if he wants to keep him or not. I’d assume he ends up in Chicago with Berhalter if he doesn’t stick around.
Do we know all their names? Any Americans? COACHING STAFF READY FOR USMNT MATCH DAY VS JAMAICA TONIGHT 🙌🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/CQZJdFnu9v— USMNT Nation (@USMNTvsHaters) November 18, 2024