Here are the seven Americans that Pochettino has managed on the club level
Mauricio Pochettino is something of an outlier when compared to modern U.S. men's national team coaches, largely because he has no connection country prior to his arrival. For all of the 21st century, U.S. Soccer has looked local. The only non-American-born full-time head coach was Jurgen Klinsmann, who was already living in California prior to his hiring.
Pochettino has no such American ties. He grew up in Argentina before playing and coaching in Europe. This will be his first foray into the American game.
It isn't his first interaction with American players, though. In fact, Pochettino coached a few, including two 2022 World Cup veterans. But how have American players fared under Pochettino?
Here is a look at seven of those players.
USA TodayDeAndre Yedlin
Yedlin's move from Seattle to north London was massive. It was a reward for his 2014 World Cup heroics, which saw him go toe-to-toe with Eden Hazard on the biggest stage. Pochettino, though, always knew Yedlin was a bit of a project at Spurs.
"DeAndre is newly arrived in London and, like all young players, requires a process of adaptation, to learn a new way, to learn a new culture," Pochettino said at the time. 'We have to go carefully, quietly, giving time to settle both on and off the field so they may, from there, show their qualities. But obviously if he's here it is because we expect a lot from him."
Yedlin never broke through at Spurs. He made just one appearance before a loan to Sunderland, which then earned him a move to Newcastle. He became a regular for shortly after, establishing himself in the Premier League, even if it never really came under Poch's watch at Tottenham.
The right-back, of course, went on to have a full USMNT career, featuring 81 times for the U.S. while earning a spot in the 2022 World Cup squad.
AdvertisementJan KrugerCameron Carter-Vickers
The other 2022 World Cup participant that overlapped with Poch, Carter-Vickers' career got started during the Argentine's time at Spurs.
Carter-Vickers made just five appearances, all in cup matches, during his Tottenham career. He spent most of that time out on loan, joining seven different clubs before eventually settling at Celtic.
Pochettino, though, did think highly of him during his Spurs tenure, saying that he believed that CCV "will be one of thebest centerbacks in England" at some point. The coach got a first-hand look at that, too, when he hopped into a training session and was actually injured by the American defender.
“I did it today again," Pochettino told the Telegraph. "I challenged with Cameron and hurt my hand. He crushed everyone in the box."
Carter-Vickers has been dominant at Celtic, winning three league titles (2022, 2023, 2024). For the national team, he has yet to lock down a consistent starting role, but that could change with Pochettino at the helm.
Getty ImagesBrad Friedel
By far the most accomplished player on this list, Friedel is a USMNT legend whose career overlapped with Pochettino's in his final years as a player. Pochettino arrived for what was Friedel's final campaign in a two-decade-long career and the American did not make a single appearance under the Argentinian coach.
Despite their relatively short time together, Friedel, who went on to be a head coach himself with the New England Revolution, credits Pochettino as a major influence on how he sees the game.
“He’s one of the very best out there and I have no problem saying that,” Friedel said back in 2017. “His attention to detail and what I was able to see and learn from him, was priceless. The best way to describe it is, yes, he knows the tactics that he wants to play, and yes he knows how to implement them in training, but it’s all the extracurriculars around being a head coach that he manages himself, his staff, and all around him so well.
“I’m not surprised he’s doing so well, and the players have a bigger value than when he came into the changing room. I expect him to be a very good coach for a very long time.”
GettyCody Cropper
Pochettino wasn't at Southampton for long but, during his time there, he overlapped with a young Cody Cropper.
The goalkeeper, who went on to play in MLS for the New England Revolution, Houston Dynamo, FC Cincinnati and Vancouver Whitecaps, was a U.S. youth national team goalkeeper at the time trying to make his way through academy. He generally trained with the youth teams but, during Pochettino's year with the club, he did get chances to work with the senior group.
“Being with this coaching staff, with manager Mauricio Pochettino and goalkeeping coach Toni Jimenez, I think the philosophy they bring has helped me out a lot in developing into more of a goalkeeper that can use his feet and play out into the system they play," Cropper told American Soccer Now in 2014. "It brings youth into the first team and the way they play has them competing against some of the best teams in the world. Being involved in that is incredible.”
Cropper retired from the sport in 2023 and is now coaching at the college level with St. Thomas.
