USMNT Head Coach Hiring Sparks Heated Debate

U.S. Soccer’s search for the next head coach of the U.S. men’s national team has finally come to an end. According to multiple reports on Thursday, Mauricio Pochettino agreed to terms to take over the USMNT a little over a month after the firing of Gregg Berhalter.

The news of Pochettino’s hiring was hailed by USMNT media and fans, and the consensus takeaway was that the 52-year-old Argentine checked all of the boxes befitting the ideal manager to lead the U.S. into the 2026 World Cup, which will be played in the States, Canada and Mexico.

Having managed at some of the top clubs in the world — namely Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea in England and Paris-Saint Germain in France — Pochettino was the best available coach. The X account of Men in Blazers took it one step further, advising American fans to “rejoice” because “a real coach” had finally been hired.

The last line of an otherwise joyous tweet did not sit well with some.

While the U.S. men have not come close to the success of the U.S. women when it comes to major tournaments, the USMNT has produced memorable moments over the last three decades, from the 2002 World Cup quarterfinal run under Bruce Arena to Landon Donovan’s iconic 2010 World Cup goal under Bob Bradley’s stewardship.

The last 14 years have been more failures than successes for the USMNT. Jurgen Klinsmann never lived up to the hype despite leading the Americans out of their group at the 2014 World Cup. Berhalter gets credit for guiding the U.S. back to the 2022 World Cup, but that was the ceiling after this summer’s Copa America failure.

So, has America ever had a “real” coach for its men’s senior team? In terms of motivating a group to exceed expectations, yes it has. Both Arena and Bradley qualify in that respect.

But if the question is reframed to ask if the U.S. has ever had a “star coach” to lead the USMNT? Then the answer would be no. Of course, not. Pochettino is by far the most high-profile manager the program has ever had.

The Athletic’s Pablo Maurer lodged the loudest pushback to Men in Blazers’ “real coach” take.

Maurer also wrote on X: “The idea that Bruce Arena, literally the winningest men’s coach in American soccer history and someone who coached the USMNT to a WC quarterfinal is not a ‘rEaL cOaCh’ is preposterous and the fact that that view is kind of pervasive says a lot.”

Maurer is not wrong about that last point. American soccer and its fandom have always had an inferiority complex about its place in world soccer. The general thinking is that soccer in the U.S. is substandard to the world’s top national teams and professional leagues. In essence, American soccer is bad and European football is good.

The point of view is curious because no one in America decries the caliber of college football or minor-league baseball. You attend or watch those games because you enjoy the sport. But somehow, Major League Soccer doesn’t get to benefit from that mindset.

Where everyone comes together is the shared hope that the U.S. men can accomplish what the U.S. women have achieved multiple times — win a World Cup.

If Pochettino somehow pulls off The Miracle on Turf in two years, he will be regarded not just as America’s first real USMNT coach but also its first real men’s soccer savior.