U.S. national team coach Mauricio Pochettino was quick to praise the quality of the American players but said he wanted to inject some Argentinian spirit and patriotism into his team.
The former Tottenham Hotspur manager is in South Florida this week working with a group of mainly Major League Soccer (MLS) players in preparation for Saturday’s friendly against Venezuela.
While he has been impressed by MLS’s improvement in the standard of play in recent years, the Argentinian said he hopes his side can display the same relentless desire to win that has marked the world champions.
“One thing about Argentina that I can apply here is it’s simple, but that’s how they compete,” he told reporters after training at Inter Miami’s training ground.
“Argentinian players compete, the mentality. When you concede a goal, you cry. When you lose a game, you can stay in the room for a week and don’t want to get out.
“How do you defend your coat of arms, your flag? How do you defend your identity and your culture? I think that’s what we want to translate. Because when you play for your country, when you listen to your national anthem, You need to feel something under your skin and deep inside your heart,” he said.
Pochettino, who had spells at PSG and Chelsea before heading to the United States in September, believes this patriotic pride affects performance.
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“If you feel that way, I don’t know what percentage you’re going to give, but certainly it’s going to be 1, 5 or 10 percent more. You’re going to have extra energy, extra everything,” he said .
The 52-year-old, wearing an American coach’s baseball cap and tracksuit, said he had no doubt his players could bring such an attitude.
“We have the ability to feel that. We have quality, we have ability. We are professional, so professional. We have discipline. I think we can build a very competitive team,” he said.
Before the United States co-hosts the World Cup with Mexico and Canada in June 2026, it will have the opportunity to compete for the CONCACAF Nations League finals in March and the Gold Cup in June.
Pochettino was unable to call up his European players, such as AC Milan winger Christian Pulisic, for Saturday’s match and Wednesday’s friendly against Costa Rica in Orlando because those games do not fall within official FIFA match dates.
The games also come during a busy transfer window, with one of his January squad-mates, left-back John Tolkien, having moved from New York Red Bulls to Bundesliga club Holstein Kiel.
Pochettino said players had already consulted with him and his staff over transfers despite having been in charge for less than six months.
“That’s good because it means they trust us,” he said.
“If they need us, we will provide advice. I think for us, that means a lot,” he added.
