USMNT needs ambitious post-World Cup succession plan

There was a time when hiring a men’s national team manager of Mauricio Pochettino’s background seemed to be beyond the reach of the U.S. Soccer Federation. It was too … everything. Too ambitious. Too expensive. Too unrealistic.

Pochettino’s hiring changed all that. The Argentine’s arrival was made possible by a philosophical sea change within the federation that used different funding streams — namely private donors, as well as increased commercial revenues — to help meet the financial requirements. It also signified an increase in ambition, namely that the U.S. men’s national team program could reach for a top-tier manager and have that interest be reciprocated.

The question now is: Has the bar been raised permanently and will U.S. Soccer continue to operate in this manner, or was the Pochettino hire simply a one-off designed to fully leverage the co-hosting of a FIFA World Cup?

When the question was posed to U.S. Soccer CEO J.T. Batson, he answered in the affirmative to the first option.

“If you look across our entire leadership team, we’ve been able to attract world-class talent for a sporting organization, but also for the organization more broadly,” he told ESPN as the USMNT practiced before its friendly against Portugal last month. “And so I think our expectations have continued to [rise] with regards to the talent that we attract and the talent we develop and nurture at U.S. Soccer. And so that’s a part of our goal of being world class.”

It’s a query that has become even more pertinent in the past week given the sudden departure of sporting director Matt Crocker.

The man who hired Pochettino, as well as U.S. women’s national team manager Emma Hayes, is now gone. His legacy won’t be limited to the upcoming World Cup, of course; it will be seen in the new national training center outside of Atlanta, as well as in the “U.S. Way,” which is an initiative — by no means the first — to revamp player development in the country.

It leaves something of a void in terms of leadership. Will current U.S. Soccer vice president of sporting Oguchi Onyewu be tabbed as Crocker’s replacement, or will the USSF hierarchy look elsewhere? The choice likely will have an impact on who is USMNT manager following the World Cup.

The expectation has long been that Pochettino will depart after the U.S. team’s World Cup adventure concludes. At times, he has appeared to chafe at the realities of the U.S. job, including the differences in soccer culture between the U.S. and, say, his native Argentina. Then there was the rather odd comment he made after a pair of friendly defeats to Belgium and Portugal, when he bemoaned the fact that the USMNT didn’t have any players in the world’s top 100.

While no one would argue as to the statement’s accuracy, that reality also hasn’t stopped the USMNT from securing some memorable successes at World Cups, including a pair of results against Portugal since the turn of the century. It also cut against his “Why not us?” ethos so close to the World Cup.

There is also Pochettino’s stated desire to return to Europe, particularly the Premier League, given its standing as the epicenter of the club game.

Yet in terms of carrying on, Pochettino hasn’t ruled that out either. Ahead of the Portugal match, when asked about the links to Tottenham Hotspur and Real Madrid, Pochettino said, “Who knows what is going to happen? Like I said, we are open. We don’t have a contract for the future, but why not if we are happy and the federation is happy?”

As in most coaching situations, there are plenty of moving parts to Pochettino’s future with the USMNT. A deep run in the World Cup with the U.S. will increase demand for Pochettino’s services and make it harder for the U.S. to retain him. A subpar showing will make it easier, but would the USSF want him back in that scenario given the hefty outlay it took to bring him on board?

Batson added that there’s also the possibility that even if Pochettino leaves, he’ll retain some connection with U.S. Soccer.

“One of the big reasons Mauricio [joined] was he’s a big believer in the long-term project of what we’re doing in U.S. soccer,” Batson said. “And while of course everyone knows the focus is how we perform in the summer, [Pochettino and his staff] have been very thoughtful around helping us think through our short-, medium- and long-term strategies and helping any way they can. So that’s been consistent from the get-go as well as the recognition that we got to focus on the summer, we got to perform and that we’d all regroup, post that around what the future should hold.”

That doesn’t mean U.S. Soccer is in wait-and-see mode. The thought wheels are already turning.

“We have a process of on a regular basis always reviewing sort of succession planning for all of our key roles at U.S. Soccer,” Batson added. “And so these are discussions that we’re constantly having. So we’re ready when anything happens, whether it’s CFO, whether it’s a head coach or anything in between where it’s a part of us growing up as an organization, that’s something we’re doing with a regular basis.”

If Pochettino does leave — which still seems likely — and with Batson insisting the bar has been raised, who might the USSF go after? There are some intriguing options.

France manager Didier Deschamps is leaving his post following the World Cup; might he entertain the task of taking this U.S. side to the next step? Former England manager Gareth Southgate — for all the criticism about his pragmatic style — took the Three Lions to two major finals and a World Cup semifinal; could he be enticed?

The USSF would probably give some domestic candidates a look. Former LAFC manager Steve Cherundolo likely tops that list, given his history as a USMNT player and the three trophies he won while in Los Angeles. B.J. Callaghan would likely also get a look given that he held the job before, albeit on an interim basis, and has done impressive work with Nashville SC. Pellegrino Matarazzo is an intriguing option, given his American roots and time spent managing in Europe, currently with Real Sociedad, although in a recent interview with ESPN he said he is “very happy” where he is.

That said, given that the USSF has shown it can reel in a big fish, none of those candidates would give the fan base the jolt of adrenaline provided by Pochettino.

One candidate who would is the most renowned manager of all: Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola. And he could be available.

His contract isn’t up until summer 2027, but ESPN colleague Rob Dawson reported that no one in the Man City camp really knows what Guardiola will do after this season. The Catalan might well just walk away from the Sky Blues. He has some familiarity with the U.S. as well, having lived in New York between his stints coaching Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

Now, is Guardiola taking over the USMNT the stuff of fantasy? Indeed it is. He said last year that he would take a break from management when his contract ends. But the USSF has shown what can be achieved if it simply picks up the phone and makes its pitch. After all, the start of that process is just three months away.