The alleged interest of the US soccer association US Soccer in Mauricio Pochettino has increased significantly.
Pochettino has emerged as a top candidate for the vacant U.S. national team head coach position, The Athletic and Fox Sports reported Thursday. Pochettino has also been mentioned as an option for the vacant England national team coach position, but talks have reportedly quietened since the initial interest in July.
Ole had already linked him with the USMNT in July.
Pochettino, 52, left English Premier League club Chelsea by mutual consent last May. Pochettino helped the Blues qualify for Europe thanks to a strong end-of-season performance, despite enduring some difficult moments throughout the season.
Pochettino is a long-time international player and is known for his time as manager of Tottenham from May 2014 to November 2019. He led Spurs to the UEFA Champions League final before finally moving to Paris Saint-Germain in 2021.
All three trophies he won as a manager were with PSG before moving to Chelsea ahead of the 2023/24 Premier League season. Pochettino has also coached Spanish club Espanyol and English team Southampton.
US Soccer sporting director Matt Crocker and Pochettino overlapped at Southampton while Crocker was in charge of the club’s academy. Pochettino led the Saints to an eighth-place finish in the league in 2013.
The USMNT has also been linked to several coaches this summer, including LAFC’s Steve Cherundolo and Columbus Crew’s Wilfried Nancy, but a Pochettino signing would be the biggest deal in USMNT history to date.
US Soccer parted ways with Gregg Berhalter earlier this month after the USMNT was eliminated in the group stage of the 2024 Copa America tournament.
The USMNT will remain suspended from international action until September’s home friendlies against Canada and New Zealand. If the USMNT is without a head coach for those games, assistant coach Mikey Varas will temporarily take over, according to The Athletic.
