The Gregg Berhalter era in the United States is over. After a disastrous early exit from the 2024 Copa America, U.S. Soccer elected to part ways with the head coach.
Now, Mauricio Pochettino's time has arrived.
U.S. soccer is reportedly set to hire Pochettino as the new manager for the men's national team, according to multiple reports. The 52-year-old has been in coaching since 2009 and gets his first crack at the helm of a national team.
Pochettino will become the first Latino head coach in U.S. men's soccer history. He is tasked with getting the team prepared for the 2026 World Cup, a tournament that the United States has not fared well in in recent history. Since 1990, the best finish for the country was a quarterfinal appearance in 2022.
Here is more on Pochettino and his background.
MORE: Is Mauricio Pochettino the right USMNT head coach hire?
Who is Mauricio Pochettino?
Pochettino is a manager hailing from Argentina. He has been coaching for 15 years now.
In his playing days, he was a center back who suited up for Newell's Old Boys, Espanyol (twice), PSG and Bordeaux. He also played for Argentina on the international scene, seeing time with the U20, U23 and senior squads.
This is the first time that Pochettino has coached for a national team. After retiring and getting into coaching, he managed a number of big European clubs. So far in his coaching career, he reached the Champions League final and also won a Big Five league title.
In terms of coaching style, Pochettino employs a high pressing tactical style, using a 4-2-3-1 formation.
Mauricio Pochettino stats and record
Pochettino first got started as a manager in 2009, taking over for Espanyol. He has been a manager for every season since, with the exception of 2019-20 and 2022-23.
Here is a look at his record with the clubs he has coached:
| Club | Seasons | Record (W-D-L) | Points |
| Espanyol | Jan. 2009 - Nov. 2012 | 53-38-70 | 161 |
| Southampton | Jan. 2013 - May 2014 | 23-18-19 | 60 |
| Tottenham Hotspur | May 2014 - Nov. 2019 | 159-62-72 | 293 |
| PSG | Jan. 2021 - July 2022 | 55-15-14 | 84 |
| Chelsea | July 2023 - May 2024 | 26-11-14 | 51 |
| Total | — | 316-144-189 | 649 |
Mauricio Pochettino previous teams
Pochettino has been the manager of five teams: Espanyol, Southampton, Tottenham, PSG and Chelsea.
He got his first managerial gig with Espanyol in 2009, the squad he previously played for. He had relatively no coaching experience at the time. His time was considered to be a success before his contract was terminated by mutual consent in November 2012.
MORE: Six reasons why Gregg Berhalter was fired
Pochettino then went to Southampton in 2013, spending one season with the Premier League club where he helped them reach their highest position in a decade. After a year, he was named the next manager of Tottenham Hotspur. From 2014 to 2019, he led the Spurs before he was fired in 2019, replaced by Jose Mourinho.
In 2021, Pochettino was tabbed as the new head coach of Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), another club that he spent time suiting up for in his playing days. Despite winning the Ligue 1 title, he parted ways with the club in July 2022.
Pochettino agreed to take over at Chelsea in May 2023. Despite a strong season, Chelsea announced the two sides mutually agreed to part ways after a year.
