Mauricio Pochettino has been warned against trying to follow Manchester City’s blueprint with the USMNT, as Pep Guardiola “has ruined football”.
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- Argentine coach handed international post
- Predecessor tried to be too expansive
- Urged to replicate model used at Tottenham
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WHAT HAPPENED?
That is the opinion of former United States international Tim Howard – who spent time in the Premier League as a player with Manchester United and Everton. He is now keeping a close eye on international matters as ex-Tottenham, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain boss Pochettino prepares to take the USMNT reins.
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THE BIGGER PICTURE
He is inheriting a squad that flopped at the 2024 Copa America under Gregg Berhalter, with a disappointing showing on home soil put in at that event. There is plenty of potential at Pochettino’s disposal – including the likes of Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie and Gio Reyna – but he needs to find a way of bringing the best out of an exciting generation.
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WHAT HOWARD SAID
Howard has urged Pochettino to avoid being lured into a ‘tiki taka’ trap, telling the podcast: “What Gregg Berhalter did was — you look back at my generation, we were just a bunch of tough, rugged guys. We had a couple of match-winners. He got this team to believe they could compete and be expansive and play well in the forward areas. I think what happened was in all ways, Pep Guardiola has ruined football. Pep Guardiola has taught everybody that they can play expansive football. They can’t. Not everybody can do it, three teams in the world can do it really well.”
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DID YOU KNOW?
Instead of following Guardiola’s lead, Howard wants to see the USMNT class of 2024 cut from the same cloth as Pochettino’s Spurs team that made the Champions League final in 2019. The legendary former goalkeeper added: “I think you have to be resolute at times. And when you look at Pochettino's best teams, on his Tottenham teams it was two banks of four plus two at the top. And then when they broke, they broke with four players. Ultimately, they were rock-solid defensively, or at least tried to be. And so I think if [Pochettino] starts to instil that resoluteness defensively, the [USMNT] has enough players in the forward areas where they can be dangerous.”
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