I’m willing to volunteer to be on Pochettino’s staff as needed. Can’t wait to learn about universal energy and lemons as I let Pochettino know about the MLS quota.
An interesting nugget in there: Mikey Varas said he would have been in talks to be an assistant on Mauricio Pochettino's USMNT staff.“I had a World Cup on home soil on the horizon. I wasn’t going to give that up for just anything.” https://t.co/dtDmVytfe6— Tom Bogert (@tombogert) September 20, 2024 so, mikey varas is not only a bad coach both tactically and terms of man-management- hes also a liar and/or full of shit.
The way it's phrased in the article itself ("He likely would have been a candidate to be an assistant on Mauricio Pochettino’s USMNT staff") makes me think that quote was based more on his hopes and expectations rather than any specific conversations he had.
A "coach" is not necessarily an "assistant manager." Tab was, by US standards, a towering talent as a player with breathtaking skills and may have more to offer as a coach than a manager. We fall into the American football habit of calling the head guy "coach" but soccer is kind of like baseball in a way. Coaches for specific tactics and skills, manager for putting the whole shebang together.
Michael would have several advantages over his father. First, he played in Netherlands, Germany, Italy, and in MLS - something Bob never did. He also played in World Cups - something Bob never did before he was coach. Then there's the 151 caps. So I think Michael would have a much better understanding of locker room dynamics, and international football and tactics, then his father ever did.
Eddie Lewis would make a good assistant coach too - I wonder what he's up to. Also Preki, who's an assistant at Seattle. Not sure he would leave that job though.
There's also the possibility that that makes him more aloof. He was a very good player but I do remember how he treated new players in their first callups - they would be wide open, he'd look at them and then pass the other way. I'm 50/50 on whether he will be a good coach.
speaking of, he and pops are now available. that said poch has his staff- i dont know why everyone wants to handicap him with (relatively) scrubs. american soccer isnt the mysterious, unknowable to outsiders thing yall think it is.
You never know. A coach needs deep knowledge but also needs to get off on teaching, which takes a lot of patience. Without inside knowledge of personalities and motivation, it's probably just as hard to spot a player who would be a great coach as it is to spot one who would be a great manager.
Pretty much agree with this, with the caveat that I think the main difficulty is simply the logistics of monitoring players on both sides of the Atlantic. I do think he'd do well to have a member of his team permanently based in the US, but in terms of the actual personnel I trust him.
U.S. Soccer has announced five additions to the #USMNT technical and high performance staffs as new head coach Mauricio Pochettino begins his first training camp.— U.S. Soccer Men's National Team (@USMNT) October 7, 2024 Check out Pochettino’s new coaching staff 🔥⚽️ Jesus Perez - 1st assistant⚽️ Miguel “Miki” D’Agostino - 2nd assistant🥅 Antonio “Toni” Jimenez - GK coach📊 Sebastiano Pochettino - sports scientist🏃♀️Silvia Tuya Viñasis - strength and conditioning coachLeveling up 📈 pic.twitter.com/ZhOdlQNiUx— 🇺🇸USMNTvsHaters (@USMNTvsHaters) October 7, 2024