Coaching Philosophies and the Mauricio Pochettino System

Agreed. Neither are the long term best solution IMO.

 

Here’s Poch going into a sampling of the kinds of instructions he is expecting the players to be able to pull off in a match:

Detailed explanation from #Pochettino #USMNT around Jedi's higher position, interior's game and looking into the future ... @GlennCrooks @RobAbramowitz @thegoalkeeper @marianot19 @Alexparella @SirJohnLaguna @GonzaDeFeliche @pulpozuniga pic.twitter.com/oVyHPU1Dxi

— John E. Rojas (@jrojasa75) November 19, 2024

 

A I said in an earlier post, gone are the complicated Berhalter-mandated read progressions that slowed down our play and often made the offense look stilted and robotic. Amen to giving the team the freedom to play!

Tim Weah on the USMNT's fast start against Jamaica in Nations League, going up 3-0 before the half 🎙️

"Honestly, it's the coach. We kind of just listened to what his instructions were in training, and we applied it to the field. He gives us the freedom to play." 🇺🇸🔥 pic.twitter.com/lsAKNH5ElB

— USMNT Only (@usmntonly) November 20, 2024

 

Basically the players have spent 5 years learning modern soccer, a good deal with their clubs and some with the national team. Now they are being instructed to read the opponent’s defensive shape and apply the chosen attacking shape to counter it. Having to toggle on the fly between multiple shapes was something we did in the 2021 NL final and against England in the WC. However, too often it required a sub or specific change from the sideline to be implemented. That change might come well after the opponent’s shape+approach, and sometimes our own incompetency, made a shift make sense.

Fluidly shifting between two or more shapes, along with modifying all the rotations between phases, and the specific pattern breaks designed to exploit holes without making a wholesale change in shape, is more complex than just doing one system (which includes the rotations that correspond with each phase).

Free interchanging requires a player to bear more of the burden of the complexity of the system. A player has to know how the other roles in the shape operate to effectively switch into them. Poch wanting to throw novel looks at opponents to confuse them will also add challenges, including novel complexity. This is just what certain high level club managers expect from their players. The ones that get it right are among the outlier difference makers.

Maybe there’s a base system for a time to fit the roster/healthy pool (like the 4231/3241 we used in his first 3 games) but if it stops making sense he’ll change it. I’m fairly certain that we saw more conservative rest defense away from home as a choice and more typical (for a good team) +1 deep coverage at home because he wanted to get more out of the offense. Triple covering one ST leaves one fewer player to attack/force the D to account for than double teaming him.

After the first leg Poch said he wasn’t happy with how we defended Jamaica’s wide attackers so he shifted the defensively adequate Pulisic inside and had the +defender Tim Weah take his spot. Going +1 at the back instead of +2 also put Scally higher to counter press. Keeping Jedi inside put Antonee into a more high leverage counter pressing position.

 

The more I think about what Poch did over the course of the last window, the more hopeful I get. Not just the inverted FB (yes, that's what it was), but the decisions to try players like Weah and Musah in different places, the way CP was given freedom to float side to side, the development of a real creativity in attack down the center ... all of it. It just looks like there is a much broader and more adaptable vision guiding the team, one that tries to fit the tactics to the skill sets in more creative ways.

While the CB situation gives pause, I am a lot more optimistic about the prospects of this team equaling or exceeding the sum of its parts than I have been in a long, long time.

 

Poch > exLax for a constipated team.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/59...o-pochettino-usmnt-players-argentine-mindset/

Good article positing that the most important thing Pochettino may bring (back) to the US is a sense of grit, physical play, mental toughness, CONCACAFery, etc.

 

Very insightful. It's what we see from lesser CONCACAF teams when we play them. We have much more talent but they give their all where at times it seems our players are surprised the other team doesn't recognize who they are and where they play. I think a lot of it is from a lesser talent pool than say Argentina but also from the missing generation where many of these players just stepped in and now feel entitled. They will soon feel even younger guys nipping at their heels and those players will do whatever it takes to knock them off their perch. See Pepi at PSV as an example of forcing the issue.

 

There is a lot of comfort among the core veterans in this group. Poch may need to take some of that advice one step further. He may need to address players individually, “Did you see what they did to Christian? Why didn’t you respond?”

Or “If you don’t want to consistently put the same level of effort into transition defense, that you put into transition offense, we can find players who will.“

 

Tessman struck me from the beginning as a "centre-circle mid" and I was pleased to see Poch use him mostly in that position v. Jamaica. A good example of what I mean is Lyon's third goal v. Qarabag in Europa League game today. It may be cut from hi lites depending how much of the play they bother showing. Tessman is a bit less useful trying to play wide where his pressing and defense is less effective.

As I write this, Tessman comes off 75' mark and who should come on for him but the guy who used to be the best dmid on the planet when he played for Chelsea (Matic). That's football !!

 

That was Tessmann's one good play. And it was a good one and an important part of the buildup for the third goal. Otherwise, he had a mediocre match.

 

The game went up and down the sides so there was not very much involvement at all for Tessman. Sometimes the game avoids ya and you wonder if its personal or a compliment..

I'm hoping our fan base gets into combos in mid and rotations rather than hammering on the same midfielders over and over again. There's so much we can do with a professional coach like we have at the mom if only the media and fan base let him cook. Tessman's good qualities were on display the minute he took to the pitch in Dallas but I never thought he'd get as far as he did in the pro ranks. We sure are lucky to have a guy like that.

 

OL is a strong team. He will improve with them.

I've watched Cardoso, Tessmann and Maloney a fair amount the past few years. It will be interesting to see how things will turn out with those three. I see useful qualities (as well as shortcomings) in each.

 

Some of us had a higher opinion of his performance. Press accounts and player ratings among that group.

 

I thought that MMA was best against tough opponents at the WC because they would be hard to play against. I wanted Reyna to be in against teams we had a chance to do something with or when behind needing a goal. Of he course he able to play many minutes. Now there are more additions and some have the potential to force their way into starters but really it gives Poche ways to tailor to opponent in ways we didn't have the quality of depth before. It will be nice not to have to play guys into the ground like in WC '26.

 

An emerging shapeshifter …

“In essence, Musah could push up to be part of the attacking trident that will support the striker Alvaro Morata, meaning he would play alongside his compatriot Christian Pulisic. However, he can also drop into a wing-back position or even tuck in to form a midfield three.”

 

The team played more fluidly under BJ. It's playing fluidly even more so, now. The players had known how to play 'modern football' before coming into contact with Berhalter. Poch is a breath of fresh air. It'll be interesting to see what he does with the January Camp.

 

🇦🇷🇺🇸 Mauricio Pochettino 🗣️

“We have to challenge the players, because they have to feel desperate to want to be called up; that’s what other federations like Argentina do, where the players don’t choose which games they go to.”

“The Argentinian player is desperate to be called… pic.twitter.com/q37gq1pPEu

— GOLZ TV (@golz_tv) December 3, 2024

 

When Poch skips the conference finals to go hang out with the USWNT in Europe and then at MLS Cup when asked to name an American MLS player who has surprised him this season responds with "I can't say a name because it would have an effect that wouldn't be good"...

🇺🇸 Pochettino when asked to name one American MLS player that has surprised him this season:

“I can't say a name because it would have an effect that wouldn't be good, but there are many players that we are following and that we will now have the chance to see in January.” pic.twitter.com/EJfnEOBPDz

— USMNT NATION (@USMNTvsHaters) December 7, 2024

Odds that this answer is because he’s not watching any of them? https://t.co/mRG0Ga787y

— American Ultras Talk (@ameriultrastalk) December 7, 2024

USMNT head coach Mauricio Pochettino is in attendance, stopping to take selfies with the fans who’ve approached him. Also I have no idea why my cell phone made JT Batson look like an angel, apologies. pic.twitter.com/cFI0PQsHMT

— Pablo Iglesias Maurer (@MLSist) December 7, 2024

 

I don't get the spite. It's common for coaches not wanting to single out players in some situations.

 

What "spite"?

 

Odds that either guy at Crystal Palace plays in this game?

#USMNT assistant coach Jesús Perez will scout three Premier League games this weekend: Liverpool-Fulham (Jedi Robinson), Brighton-Crystal Palace (Chris Richards, Matt Turner) and West Ham at Bournemouth (Tyler Adams).

— Doug McIntyre (@ByDougMcIntyre) December 13, 2024

@jesus_perez we need to be scouting dual nats. Why are we watching current players?

— Tyler (@910tylxr) December 13, 2024

I’m sure he’ll get a great look at Richards and Turner on the bench. Why are we “scouting” roster locks? Get a look at some of our up and coming players who deserve a chance instead. https://t.co/cM3mxt2biI

— American Ultras Talk (@ameriultrastalk) December 14, 2024

 

Part of what I think goes into a scouting visit I think is watching the players practice, talking to the club staff, meeting with the players, etc. it’s not just watching the game itself. Plus it’s not as if other USSF isn’t scouting other games.

 

I wonder how long it will take for the US fans to drop the "roster lock" terminology. It's like watching a car spin it's wheels further and further into the sand just before the hood begins smoking.

 

Great work boys

USMNT scouts really went to watch Turner applaud on the bench and Richards not even make the roster when Palace plays with 3 CBs https://t.co/yAitSzz4Jc

— Kranks (@dis_possessed) December 15, 2024

I'm confused, if they just want to watch the players practice, talk to the club staff, and meet with the players, couldn't they do all that on some other day and not attend the game itself if those players aren't going to play? Like, go visit Crystal Palace on Wednesday or Thursday, don't waste your Sunday there watching a bunch of non-Americans but maybe go watch some American actually play on Sunday instead, like Reyna, Cardoso, Paxten Aaronson, etc. maybe even Damion Downs?

Please explain why this is a much better use of time in simple terms as if I'm a mentally disabled child