The Argentine tactician reflected on his coaching journey and imparted advice during the USMNT’s January training camp
Pochettino celebrates 16 years in coaching during January campUSMNT players and staff honor the milestoneCoach shares insights from his extensive careerGetty Images SportWHAT HAPPENED
Mauricio Pochettino, head coach of the U.S. Men’s National Team, celebrated his 16th year as a professional coach during the team’s annual January camp, a behind-the-scenes moment captured by U.S. Soccer in its docuseries.
The show captured the Argentine enjoying the moment with his staff and the national team at a dinner during the team's January camp.
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“Today is a very special day I will always remember with you all. I hope tomorrow we can celebrate a win because it’s always about celebrating a win. I hope that we can find more moments like this. I don’t know if I can translate in a perfect way but when you miss something, it’s because you had an unbelievable time. That is why afterwards, you miss it and I think this moment we are living, we will miss because it’s always impossible to reproduce the same situation again,” Pochettino said.
“That is why we need to enjoy every single moment we spend together because it will never come again. And we never know what will happen tomorrow. That is why we try to be exigent, we need to push you to try to be better. We push ourselves to be better but at the same time to be human, because that is the most important thing is to connect with my teammates, to connect with people, empathize with people,” he added.
AFPTHE BIGGER PICTURE
Pochettino wasn’t the only one interviewed in the latest , as American defender Walker Zimmerman praised the changes that Pochettino and his staff have brought on. The Nashville SC center back highlighted the differences that the Argentine has made and also emphasized that for the coaching staff, a player’s club background doesn’t matter too much.
“Mauricio and his staff have come in and wanted to change the things they want to change, on and off the field. It’s been very clear that whether you play in the MLS or whether you play overseas, it doesn’t matter where you play, it matters how you do when you’re here. But they expect all the things they should expect from professionals. The intensity, the demands in training but off the field they’ve been great, very relaxed, very welcoming, able to joke around in the right ways,” Zimmerman said.
“I think Mauricio and the staff have brought some fluidity into our positions. While I’m a defender, there are still opportunities in a game where we’re building with two, building with three, and sometimes stepping up into the midfield a little bit more than normal. There’s a lot of interchange and I think that once everyone gets a full understanding of that, it’ll make for a more dynamic team feel. "
WHAT’S NEXT
Pochettino took over as the new head coach of the United States Men’s National Team in September 2024 and since then has overseen six games as their head coach. While that does include a 2-0 loss to Mexico, Pochettino and the USMNT have won the other five games. That includes two wins during their January 2025 camp, where they beat Venezuela and Costa Rica.
