Pochettino negotiating to succeed Berhalter as coach

U.S. MEN’S SOCCER

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Pochettino FILE - Manager Mauricio Pochettino looks on, prior to the Champions League semifinal first leg soccer match between Tottenham Hotspur and Ajax at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium in London, on April 30, 2019. Chelsea has hired Mauricio Pochettino as manager on a two-year deal with the option of another year. The Argentine coach is tasked with getting the best out of an expensively assembled squad that has underperformed at the start of a new era for the English club. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)

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By Steve Douglas

The Associated Press

Mauricio Pochettino and the U.S. Soccer Federation are working toward a deal for him to become the men’s national team coach, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.

Pochettino, the former Tottenham, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain coach, has agreed to take over as the U.S. coach but the deal is not complete, the person said Thursday, speaking on condition of anonymity because the agreement was not finalized.

Pochettino would succeed Gregg Berhalter less than 22 months before the Americans host the 2026 World Cup.

The USSF declined to comment.

A 52-year-old Argentine, Pochettino would become the first foreign-born coach to head the U.S. since Jurgen Klinsmann from 2011-16. He has coached Espanyol in Spain (2009-12), Southampton (2013-14), Tottenham (2014-19) and Chelsea (2023-24) in England and Paris Saint-Germain in France (2021-22), leaving after winning a Ligue 1 title.

Matt Crocker, the USSF’s sporting director in charge of the search, was Southampton’s academy director when Pochettino started at that club.

The U.S. has four friendlies upcoming, against Canada on Sept. 7, New Zealand three days later, Panama on Oct. 12 and an opponent to be determined on Oct. 15. The next competitive matches are a two-leg CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal in November.

Mikey Varas, a Berhalter assistant, could be in charge of the team for the September games and Pochettino could take over for the October matches.

Berhalter was fired on July 10, a week after the Americans were eliminated in the first round of the Copa America. He was hired in December 2018, was allowed to leave when his contract expired following a 3-1 loss to the Netherlands in the second round of the 2022 World Cup, then was rehired in June 2023 to return in September.

Pochettino would inherit a player pool led by Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie and Tyler Adams, who have thrived with European clubs. But goalkeepers Matt Turner and Ethan Horvath and midfielder Gio Reyna have failed to gain playing time with first-tier teams, and Chris Richards — at Crystal Palace in England — is the only central defender in his 20s playing regularly with a top-league European club.

Berhalter minimized Major League Soccer players, not using any during the Copa America. Before heading the national team, Berhalter coached Columbus in MLS.