Who is Mauricio Pochettino? What to know about USA coach

When Mauricio Pochettino took over the U.S. men’s national team, he did not like what he found.

Too many players, he later said, had grown comfortable. For a coach raised in Argentina, where the national team is treated like a national treasure, that was shocking. So Pochettino tore the thing down and started sorting.

So, who was this outsider coming in to tear down the U.S. team?

Pochettino, from a small farming town in Argentina, was a central defender who played for Argentina. Though, his playing career may be best remembered for his 2002 World Cup foul in a game against England. His foul on Michael Owen handed England a penalty and David Beckham made it count. Argentina lost 1-0.

His coaching career was long and successful before he got here to rebuild U.S. men’s soccer. He got his start at Espanyol, then built a name in England at Southampton and Tottenham. His Spurs teams were young, aggressive and better than the payroll he had to work with. He took them to a Champions League final.

He took a step up to coach PSG and Chelsea. Along the way, he’s coached some of the biggest names in soccer, including Harry Kane, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe.

U.S. Soccer hired Pochettino in August 2024 to replace Gregg Berhalter. Much of the soccer world scratched its head, seeing it as a step down for a coach with his resume.

The federation paid dearly to make sure he did not see this as a step down. His salary is about $6 million a year, third among international men’s coaches behind England’s Thomas Tuchel and Brazil’s Carlo Ancelotti. Hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin helps cover it.

When he got here, Pochettino needed to fix things before the World Cup. He tried more than 70 players over about 18 months. He told all of them the same thing: nobody’s spot was safe.

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A general view before the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 16 match between Portugal and Spain at Dallas Stadium on July 6, 2026 in Arlington, Texas.

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It did not start out great. After beating Panama in a friendly, the U.S. finished fourth in the Nations League in the spring of 2025 and lost the Gold Cup that summer. A standoff with Christian Pulisic and other regulars over friendlies left some stars off that roster.

It all came together in time, though.

Pochettino guided the U.S. to the top of Group D of the 2026 World Cup and a knockout win over Bosnia and Herzegovina. With three wins, he is already the winningest U.S. coach in World Cup history. The U.S. men have not reached a quarterfinal since 2002. Under him, that looks possible again. His initial message to the team, “Why not us,” has now become the slogan of the nation in this tournament.

Pochettino didn’t just take this job, he embraced it.

He has been hard to miss during the World Cup. Fans have latched onto his slight resemblance to actor Russell Crowe, and the team ran with the joke. He calls himself “200 percent Argentine,” but the now 54-year-old who grew up in the small Argentine farming town of Murphy has leaned into country music and Chick-fil-A. After wins, he is shown singing along with “Take Me Home, Country Roads” with the players.

Tyler Adams summed it up best when he was on the Pat McAfee show. Pochettino, he said, has changed the culture of U.S. soccer.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Who is Mauricio Pochettino? What to know about USA coach