5 days ago
If you want to get US men’s nationalist squad caput coach Mauricio Pochettino started, conscionable usage 1 word: leadership.
The erstwhile Tottenham Hotspur head is famously well-studied connected nan taxable and location are nary shortage of clips of him waxing poetic astir it. He’s led players complete basking coals, aliases had them property their cervix up against nan extremity of an arrow and thin into it until it shatters. Ask Mauricio Pochettino astir activity and nan words he’ll sprinkle into his answers will overlap heavy pinch late-night self-help ads, his sentences dotted pinch words for illustration aura, bravery and self-determination.
“I don’t want to walk excessively overmuch clip connected this,” Pochettino said, laughing, erstwhile asked by nan Guardian successful March astir his activity style. He past spent astir a 3rd of his property convention unpacking his views. “Leadership is not thing you tin bargain successful a supermarket.”
Pochettino’s job, of course, is to lead from nan sidelines, and to beryllium among nan public-facing faces of nan program. But connected nan field, activity is mostly nan occupation of his captain. And up of nan 2026 World Cup, there’s been nary charismatic announcement of who that will be.
His players still don’t know, either.
“Your conjecture is arsenic bully arsenic mine, honestly,” said midfielder Tyler Adams, who captained nan US astatine nan 2022 World Cup successful Qatar. “I [couldn’t] attraction less. It’s a privilege and an honor, anybody that gets to deterioration nan armband. But what I represent, really I lead, I deliberation anybody that plays pinch maine knows that I’m a leader, whether I’m wearing nan armband aliases not. It is what it is.”
Pochettino has rotated nan captaincy passim his tenure, handing nan armband astir precocious to Christian Pulisic and Chris Richards successful friendlies against Portugal and Belgium this March. But 38-year-old Charlotte FC defender Tim Ream has served arsenic skipper astir often – 16 times retired of Pochettino’s 23 games successful charge.
“He has nan experience, he knows what it intends to play successful Europe and recreation present (to play pinch nan nationalist team),” said Pochettino. “He has nan values and nan humanity and characteristic to person nan capacity to thief nan squad time to day. In a nationalist squad you don’t request to do excessively much. You request to do nan correct things. Sometimes you request to opportunity 1 connection and sometimes you request to not talk, if you want to beryllium a bully leader.”
Aside from Ream, comparatively fewer of nan US’s World Cup squad regularly service arsenic skipper for their nine squad – and nan fewer that do mostly play successful MLS. Miles Robinson is often FC Cincinnati’s skipper erstwhile fit, while Cristian Roldan is practically synonymous pinch nan activity of nan Seattle Sounders. A fistful of others person worn nan armband for their clubs, but much occasionally: Alejandro Zendejas astatine Club América, Auston Trusty astatine Celtic, Antonee Robinson astatine Fulham, Weston McKennie astatine Juventus and goalkeeper Matt Turner pinch nan New England Revolution.
“Of people it’s important, who is captain,” said erstwhile USMNT attacker Jozy Altidore, who captained nan US during a fistful of World Cup qualifiers and friendlies. “You’re first 1 retired of nan tunnel, it’s very important particularly successful a location World Cup. But erstwhile I spot this group I spot a bunch of leaders. Maybe they didn’t commencement that measurement but now they’re astir surely leaders, successful position of really they’ve played astatine their clubs, really they’ve developed arsenic young men … I deliberation erstwhile you person a World Cup team, you’d for illustration to deliberation nan 26 guys you’ve selected are each squad leaders.”
For each of his occurrence pinch nan nationalist team, Landon Donovan only captained nan squad successful astir 10% of his appearances, acknowledgment to his tenure mostly overlapping pinch defender Carlos Bocanegra, nan program’s all-time leader successful captaincies. Donovan captained nan LA Galaxy for 2 different stretches and famously gave up nan armband to David Beckham erstwhile he arrived successful 2007, reclaiming it 2 years later. Donovan is simply a seasoned of 3 World Cups.
“In those tournaments, it didn’t really matter who was wearing nan armband,” Donovan told nan Guardian connected Thursday. “It really didn’t. Almost everyone connected nan section was wearing nan armband for their nine team. Whether it was Carlos, aliases Claudio (Reyna), aliases (Jeff) Agoos, it didn’t really matter because location were astatine slightest six aliases 7 aliases 8 guys who wore nan armband for their nine squad aliases who were leaders pinch their nine team. The quality pinch this squad is location really aren’t galore of those players. If you conscionable went done nan roster and put together a imaginable lineup, [you person a few] but that’s benignant of it, right? I do deliberation there’s much value this clip successful who nan skipper is. My conjecture would beryllium that it’s Tim Ream.”
Ream has shied distant from specifically addressing nan captaincy, calling himself conscionable different “cog successful nan machine” successful an question and reply during Fox’ roster uncover earlier this week. Yet he’s proven to beryllium Pochettino’s astir accordant choice. Should he spot action this summer, arsenic he almost inevitably will, he will go nan oldest subordinate successful nan history of nan USMNT to look astatine a World Cup, narrowly beating 1994 World Cup seasoned Fernando Clavijo by a matter of months.
His opinionated wrong nan group – Ream is wide liked and respected – is different logic he seems nan safe money successful position of nan captaincy. And location are different considerations, arsenic well. At World Cups, captains are usually nan players called to travel a team’s head to pregame property conferences that thin to tie nan largest crowds. And connected nan field, this summer’s tourney will beryllium nan first successful which captains will beryllium relied upon arsenic nan superior mode of connection pinch nan referee. In some cases, keeping a cool caput is key.
Ream surely has that. But Pochettino often proved afloat of surprises. It’s wholly imaginable that he throws nan captaincy elsewhere, possibly sensing a displacement successful energy.
“Leadership is not to people 3 goals aliases prevention 3 penalties,” said Pochettino. “It’s to make cohesion. It’s to supply nan devices to nan group to find nan dynamic, to beryllium alive, to consciousness nan energy, to create energy. At nan moment, though, who leads nan nationalist squad is who needs to lead successful each azygous squad aliases successful each azygous nine aliases nationalist team.”
“It is nan coach,” said Pochettino, laughing. “Sorry.”
