U.S. Soccer shows they're finally ready to compete
Zander's Weekend Facts #137: Sunday, September 22, 2024
Flashback to Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri on the first of July this past summer right around 10:00 pm local time. History had been made, and not in a good way.
For the first time in the history of the Copa América, one of the most prestigious tournaments in all of soccer, the host nation had been eliminated from the competition in the group stage. That host nation was the United States of America.
After predictably falling 1-0 to Uruguay, the United States Men’s National Team had been exiled from the tournament that was supposed to serve as a massive stepping stone for the young American core towards the 2026 World Cup, also being hosted in the U.S. alongside Canada and Mexico. Yet, a disastrous 2-1 loss to Panama one game prior put the Americans in a must-win situation against what has throughout recent history almost always been seen as a superior opponent. Uruguay, a South American nation of 3.4 million people, smaller than the city of Los Angeles, was able to easily control the U.S. in a match where it never felt like the Americans had a chance.
Of course, even the most fair-weather of international soccer fans could see the result against Uruguay coming. Uruguay has long been seen as a force to be reckoned with in the game on this side of the globe, while the U.S. has not been. The result against Panama, however, on a night when another epic collapse was occurring just a few miles away in Atlanta at the site of the Biden-Trump presidential debate, was inexcusable.
There had long been those surrounding the U.S. men seeking the ouster of manager Gregg Berhalter. Since Berhalter’s tenure as U.S. manager began in 2019, results against top nations, besides Mexico, hadn’t come. Rifts with important players such as Giovanni Reyna did not ease concerns. And a swift Round of 16 exit from the 2022 World Cup in Qatar did not spur confidence in the future trajectory of the program. Of course, many might argue that the Round of 16 would be a success for the Americans in the World Cup. But when the U.S. women have claimed four World Cup titles of their own, why hold the men to a standard that doesn’t even sniff their counterparts?
Suffice to say, the performance, or lack-there-of, at the Copa América, was the breaking point. Berhalter was subsequently removed from the position and a search to find the team’s next manager began.
In this search, the U.S. really had two options. They could follow the approach they took when hiring Berhalter and find an up-and-coming coach in the domestic Major League Soccer. Or, they could think outside of the box, or outside of the country, and chase a coach who’s shown his stuff at the top of the sport.
To be clear, U.S. Soccer has taken both approaches in the past, and they’ve both succeeded at different points in history. New York-born Bruce Arena, who had previously been the manager at MLS’s D.C. United, led the USMNT to an exciting quarterfinal run in the 2002 World Cup, which included a 2-0 momentous victory of arch-rival Mexico in the Round of 16. On the flip side, West German-born Jürgen Klinsmann came to the U.S. in 2011 after managing both Germany and Bayern Munich. Klinsmann’s Americans advanced out of the group of death in the 2014 World Cup that included Germany and Portugal, and provided a thriller in the Round of 16 against Belgium.
Yet while there were two reasonable paths for U.S. Soccer to take, there was really only one right answer in the year 2024. With a talent pool that is unequivocally the most talented that the United States Men’s National Team has ever had, and with more of these players playing, and succeeding, in top European clubs and leagues than ever before (take Christian Pulisic scoring for AC Milan in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday), the same approach that was taken to hire Berhalter five years earlier wouldn’t cut it. With all due respect to MLS, it does not hold a candle to European “football”.
Thankfully, U.S. Soccer didn’t just make the right choice, they went above and beyond.
By reaching out to Europe in a way not done in 13 years on the men’s side, U.S. Soccer could have hired just any run-of-the-mill manager whose name you might’ve heard in a random highlight at some point. But they didn’t. The delegation, led by U.S. Soccer Sporting Director, reached out to some of the biggest names in the game, including former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp. That list included Mauricio Pochettino, perhaps not the sexiest or most recognizable name to the average American soccer fan, but one that definitely should now.
Earlier this month, after weeks of reports and internal negotiating between Pochettino’s former club Chelsea and U.S. Soccer, Mauricio Pochettino was hired as the next manager of the U.S. Men’s National Team.
To be concise, the Pochettino hire is exciting. In hiring Pochettino, U.S. Soccer is hiring perhaps the best men’s manager to ever take the position of coaching the best American men in soccer. It shows that U.S. Soccer is serious about competing when the lights are brightest on the men’s side.
To elaborate, Pochettino has coached on the biggest stages, at some of the biggest clubs, in European club soccer. Three years after retiring from the game as a player at the Spanish club Espanyol, he was appointed the team’s manager. With the team in the relegation zone when he was hired in January 2009, his goal was to keep them above water. And he succeeded. While funding issues ultimately kept the team from future success, leading to his contract being terminated in November 2012, he had caught the eye of the Premier League.
Just two months later, Pochettino was named the manager of Southampton in England, the club where Matt Crocker was director of football operations. In his only full season on England’s south coast, Pochettino led Southampton to eighth place in the Premier League, their highest position on the season-ending table at the time, and grabbed 56 points.
Then in May 2014, Pochettino was hired by Tottenham Hotspur, one of the ‘big six’ clubs in England. At the time, however, English soccer was dominated by the ‘big four’ of Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, and Manchester United. It wasn’t until Pochettino’s tenure that Tottenham grew to routinely compete among England’s best. Spurs qualified for the Champions League in every season that Pochettino was manager except for the inaugural campaign and reached the Champions League final in 2019. Tottenham’s second-place finish in the Premier League in the 2016-2017 season is the highest the club has ever gotten in the 32-year-old top-flight league. And since Pochettino was booted from the job just five months after reaching the Champions League final, Spurs have only finished in the top four, and qualified for the UCL, just once.
Pochettino’s more recent stops have been in France with powerhouses Paris Saint-Germain and back in England with Chelsea, where he and current U.S. Women’s National Team manager Emma Hayes managed at the same time. Both of those situations being tenuous that can rightfully be blamed on a lack of a clear vision communicated from the ownership groups.
So now, the Argentinian arrives in America when help is desperately needed. After being coddled by previous management, the U.S. men have lost their way. Recent friendly results, a 2-1 loss to Canada and a 1-1 draw to New Zealand, prove this point. A team that back in the days of Landon Donavan, Clint Dempsey, and Tim Howard, made up for their lack of talent against the best nations in the world with unmatched grit and determination, now has the talent but lacks the grit.
This will be Pochettino’s challenge. And while nothing in life is proven, Pochettino has proven before that he can win at the highest level. Of course, club and country are completely different professions in some aspects for managers. As an international manager, you have much less time to spend training and preparing your players as you would at a club. It’s why Pochettino, who is known for employing a distinct style with his teams, will have to adjust to the realities of international soccer, where few teams play with dominant characteristics.
Even as uncertainty clouds the future, U.S. Soccer fans can’t help but feel hopeful, and much more confident, about what is to come in less than two years. The indefensible rehiring of Berhalter last year, and the results that followed, brought the high hopes of the summer of 2026 to a screeching halt. Yet, by hiring Pochettino, America can feel that its soccer federation is actually trying to produce the best product possible when the United States hosts the world for the World Cup.
It could take time to fully see the vision that Pochettino envisions for this team. The upcoming friendlies next month against Panama and Mexico will, while being a jubilant welcome to the new gaffer, not matter much in the grand scheme of things. As it has since the announcement of the World Cup’s 2026 edition location in 2018, what really matters is what takes place in less than two years from now.
The World Cup is one of the rare occasions where the world comes together for an effective celebration. The energy and enthusiasm that will descend on this country from all corners of the globe in the summer of 2026 will be unlike anything America, and the world, has ever seen. Soccer fandom will undoubtedly sweep the land, and you won’t want to miss out on what will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. U.S. Soccer hiring Mauricio Pochettino at least ensures that as the American hosts, we will enthusiastically be joining in on those festivities.
For more information on this week’s top story, here’s an article from CBS Sports - USMNT winners and losers with Mauricio Pochettino: Christian Pulisic up, Tyler Adams in trouble
What Zander’s been reading
If you’ve watched the hit HBO drama ‘Succession’, then this story might seem a bit familiar. (Probably because the show is partially based on this story.) The future of Rupert Murdoch’s media powerhouse, which includes Fox News and The Wall Street Journal, is up in the air as his children battle in a Nevada courtroom. The winning side could ultimately decide the fate of some of the world’s biggest media brands, and whether the likes of Fox News maintain their current right-wing slant.
Check out this week’s featured article in The New York Times - Future of Murdoch Empire Comes Down to a Court in Nevada
Rapid-fire Facts
These are the top news headlines from the past week:
Interest Rates: The Federal Reserve slashed its benchmark interest rate last week in a move that was widely anticipated. The Fed’s Federal Open Market Committee cut interest rates by 0.50% to a range of 4.75-5.00%. The move was more aggressive than a quarter-point rate cut that had been expected, and is the first time since 2008 that the Fed has cut interest rates by half a point, excluding the emergency rate cuts during the Covid-19 pandemic. This is the first cut to interest rates since the emergency pandemic cuts that took place in March 2020.
Hezbollah Pagers: At least 12 people were killed and over 2,700 were injured after pagers and walkie-talkies belonging to members of Hezbollah, a militant group based in Lebanon, exploded last week. The attacks have been attributed to Israel, which has not claimed responsibility, but which U.S. sources say was behind the coordinated efforts. The U.S. is reportedly concerned that the attacks could launch an all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah at a time when Israel is already at war with Hamas in Gaza. An Israeli airstrike in Beirut, Lebanon on Friday killed Hezbollah’s top military commander and at least 15 other senior commanders.
Georgia Election Board: The Georgia election board passed a controversial rule on Friday that requires the hand counting of all ballots for this year’s presidential election in the state. The board, which is controlled by Republicans who have expressed support for former President Donald Trump, claims this and other measures that have passed in recent months will make the election “more secure and transparent.” Election administrators and poll workers have spoken out against the measure, including Georgia’s Republican Secretary of State, who claimed the rule would introduce “the opportunity for error, lost or stolen ballots, and fraud.” Trump lost the state in the 2020 election to President Joe Biden, yet Trump continues to deny the results of the previous election.
Secret Service: The Secret Service released its initial findings in a review of the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump that took place in July. The Acting Director of the Secret Service Ronald Rowe claimed that the agency deferred too much to local law enforcement in Pennsylvania when securing buildings near the rally. Rowe also cited “complacency”, flaws in planning, and communication issues in what he described as a “failure.” The Secret Service came under more scrutiny after an alleged gunman was able to make it to within several hundred yards of Trump last Sunday at Trump’s golf course in Florida.
Passports: The State Department announced last week that its new online service to renew passports is now available to use. Previously, the system had been tested under pilot programs, but the government estimates that five million Americans will be able to use the service this year. There are restrictions, including children’s passports, first-time passport applicants, and those who live outside the U.S., which still must be handled in person. After suffering from delays due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the State Department says that most applications are being processed faster than the advertised six-to-eight-week period. The current passport processing fees of $130 will apply to online applications.
Zander’s Facts Sporting Club
Here are the latest headlines from the sports world in the Sporting Club:
NFL Week 3: Week three of the NFL season got underway on Thursday as the Jets shellacked the Patriots on Thursday night, 24-3, the first win for the Jets at home against the Patriots since 2015. Transitioning to Sunday, the 1:00 pm ET window is highlighted by Texans-Vikings, Eagles-Saints, and Chargers-Steelers. At 4:00 pm ET, the Dolphins visit the Seahawks, the Cowboys host the Ravens, the 49ers take on the Rams, and the Lions play the Cardinals. Tonight at 8:20 pm ET, the Chiefs travel to Atlanta to take on the Falcons. A double-dip concludes week three on Monday night with the Jaguars facing the Bills at 7:30 pm ET and the Commanders visiting the Bengals at 8:15 pm ET.
College Football Week 4: A couple of road teams scored key victories in the top 25 matchups during Saturday’s college football slate, including #6 Tennessee handling #15 Oklahoma 25-15 and #12 Utah surpassing #14 Oklahoma State 22-19. #18 Michigan, however, was able to handle business at home by beating #11 USC 27-24. Other notable results included #21 Clemson beating up NC State 59-35, #7 Missouri needing overtime to beat Vanderbilt at home 30-27, and #16 LSU running away from UCLA 34-17. The big matchup of next weekend’s schedule is #2 Georgia heading to Tuscaloosa to face #4 Alabama at 7:30 pm ET on ABC.
UEFA Champions League: The world’s premier club soccer competition began a new season last week as the UEFA Champions League unveiled its brand new format. In the new format, the group stage has been replaced with the league phase, with each team playing eight matches against eight different opponents. The format is expected to produce more matches against the top clubs, which did take place with matches such as Manchester City-Inter Milan, AC Milan-Liverpool, and Monaco-Barcelona. With two more matches in the first phase of the competition for each competing club, there will now be eight matchweeks before the knockout rounds begin, with the second round of games taking place on October 1 and 2.
Shohei Ohtani: Major League Baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani made history last week, becoming the first professional baseball player ever to record 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a single season. Ohtani captured the milestone in a career game against the Miami Marlins on Thursday, going 6-for-6 at his at-bats, including hitting three home runs, a career-high, and 10 RBIs. The 20-4 win for Ohtani’s Los Angeles Dodgers also clinched the team a postseason berth. The MLB postseason begins with the Wild Card round on Tuesday, October 1.
Adrian Wojnarowski: ESPN senior NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski announced his departure from the sports network last week. Wojnarowski, who was seen as not just the top reporter in basketball but one of the top sports reporters in general, will become the general manager for the St. Bonaventure men’s basketball program in college basketball. During his decades-long career as a reporter, Wojnarowski broke the biggest stories in professional basketball in what many dubbed ‘Woj bombs’ including LeBron James signing with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2018 and the NBA suspending the season due to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.
Wrapping up the Facts
That’s a wrap on this week’s edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts. The Facts in print return next Sunday, September 29, 2024.