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Tag: Mauricio Pochettino

  • Arena faults Pochettino’s appointment  as US national team’s coach

    Arena faults Pochettino’s appointment  as US national team’s coach

    Former United States manager Bruce Arena has criticised the appointment of Argentinian Mauricio Pochettino as U.S. coach, saying the job should have gone to an American.

    Bruce Arena, who coached the U.S. at the 2002 and 2006 World Cups and holds the record for the most Major League Soccer championship titles with five MLS Cups, said foreign-born coaches lack the cultural understanding needed for the job.

    Everyone is different, everyone has prepared, everyone has made an effort.

    Pochettino has struggled since his appointment last September, suffering dismal defeats to Panama and Canada in the CONCACAF Nations League in March, a tournament the U.S. had previously dominated, winning every edition since its launch in 2019.

    “If you look at every national team in the world, the coach is usually a domestic coach,” the 73-year-old Arena said in an interview with Landon Donovan and Tim Howard on Unfiltered Soccer published on Wednesday.

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    “And I think when you have coaches that don’t know our culture, our players, our environment, it’s hard. And listen, (Pochettino) is a very good coach. (But) coaching international football is completely different than club football.”

    Former Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur boss Pochettino took charge after the U.S. suffered a humiliating early Copa America exit on home soil last July, prompting the sacking of American Gregg Berhalter following his second stint as head coach.

    “You need to know the environment. And we’re lacking that. If you’re an American coaching the U.S. team, you know the culture, the pride and how important the national team is,” Arena added.

    “When you bring in somebody from the outside, they don’t understand it. Especially in our country, because we’re so different.”

    The U.S. will next host Turkey and Switzerland in June friendlies, before pushing for silverware at the CONCACAF Gold Cup from June 14 to July 6, their last chance at a trophy before co-hosting the 2026 World Cup with Mexico and Canada.

  • Tottenham suffer first loss at new stadium against West Ham

    West Ham have delivered a blow to Tottenham’s top four hopes, as Michail Antonio’s second half strike gave them a 1-0 victory, the first goal scored by a visiting team at the new stadium.

    This was the fifth match in all competitions for Mauricio Pochettino’s men at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and they had won the previous four without conceding a goal, but that run was ended after 67 minutes in the London derby in superb fashion.

    Marko Arnautovic found Antonio with a fantastic ball over the top of the Spurs defence and the Englishman controlled the ball with his chest before firing past Hugo Lloris.

    Tottenham, who are still without injury top goal-scorer Harry Kane, started the match with Son Heung-Min in attack as Fernando Llorente was on the bench — while defender Jan Vertonghen was a surprise absentee.

    The first 45 minutes saw few chances with West Ham’s Felipe Anderson producing an impressive, surging run before shooting tamely straight at Lloris. Tottenham saw more of the ball but West Ham goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski did not have a save to make in the opening half.

    Son had a penalty shout turned down early in the second half, while Christian Eriksen hit a free-kick from a good area straight into the wall before Antonio opened the scoring.

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    Tottenham came close to equalising with the last kick of the game when substitute Vincent Janssen saw a header cleared off the line, but West Ham held on to secure a huge victory.

    Pochettino was dismayed by the result but urged his side to pick themselves up quickly for Tuesday’s game.

    “I think the first half was good for us, second half they were better,” he told a news conference. “They had more energy.

    “We conceded a lot of space to run… We lost a lot of ball we gave them the possibility to make the game.

    “I’m disappointed; it’s a setback. We wanted the three points, we wanted to arrive at the Champions League game in a good way but it was not (to be) but now we need to move on. It’s about the recovery and get ready for Tuesday to play.”

    The defeat may not be too damaging for Spurs, as they remain three points clear of fourth-place Chelsea, who face sixth-place Manchester United on Sunday. West Ham, meanwhile, remain 11th.

    ESPN

     

  • ‘That’s why we love football’, says Spurs manager Pochettino

    Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino hailed his team as “heroes” after Wednesday’s astonishing Champions League quarter-final with Manchester City.

    The match ended in an away goals win for his team after ending 4-4 on aggregate.

    The 4-3 win on the night for Manchester City was so nearly 5-3 — and progress to the last four for City — but Raheem Sterling’s stoppage-time effort was ruled out by a VAR review.

    It correctly spotted Sergio Aguero off-side.

    “It was unbelievable – the way it finished,” said Pochettino.

    “I am so happy, so proud. My players are heroes to be here. I am so happy for them, so happy for the fans,” added the Argentine.

    Pochettino said he had gone through a wild mix of emotions during the final moments as four words flashed up on the big screen – “No goal, VAR, offiside” – confirmed that Sterling’s goal had been over-turned.

    “In a moment many things happened in your head, the disappointment was massive but they changed the decision,” he added.

    “That is why we love football. Today we showed great character and great personality it was an unbelievable game.”

    Spurs midfielder Christian Eriksen, who gave the ball away in the build-up to Sterling’s disallowed goal, did not disguise his relief.

    Read also: UCL: Tottenham Hotspur stun Manchester City to advance after 7-goal thriller

    “I must be one of the luckiest guys on the planet tonight. I thought it was all over but it was a fun game.

    “It was a rollercoaster, we gave them a lot but also got a lot. It was a weird game,” he said.

    Tottenham’s South Korean forward Son Heung-min, whose two strikes were part of the four goals scored in the opening 11 minutes, said it was an unforgettable game.

    “I have never seen something like this. It was tough and crazy but we are very proud of our teammates. It was madness,” he said.

    “Sometimes you are annoyed with VAR but today it is thank you. We fought together for 90 minutes. We showed unbelievable character and fight.” (Reuters/NAN)

  • Watford’s Gracia named Premier League manager of the month

    Watford Manager Javi Gracia has been named August’s Premier League manager of the month after guiding the club to a winning start this season.

    Watford recorded three wins out of three in August, beating Brighton and Hove Albion, Burnley and Crystal Palace.

    “I am very pleased. “We are enjoying (it). You never know what will happen,” Gracia told the Premier League website on Friday.

    “Don’t look only at the end of the road. Try to enjoy day by day. Try to enjoy the very good atmosphere; the workers who are helping us, the supporters in all the games are amazing.

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    “I think altogether we can achieve very good things.”

    Their 2-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur last weekend ensured Gracia’s side are the first in the club’s history to record four straight wins at the start of a top-flight campaign.

    It is Gracia’s first Premier League manager of the month award and the second to be won by a Watford boss after Quique Sanchez Flores in December 2015.

    He beat Liverpool’s Juergen Klopp, Spurs’ Mauricio Pochettino and Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri to the award.

    Watford is one of the three Premier League teams with a 100 per cent record this season, alongside Liverpool and Chelsea.

  • Pochettino signs new 5-year contract with Tottenham

    Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino signed a new five-year contract on Thursday that will keep him at the English Premier League club until 2023.

    Pochettino, who joined Spurs in 2014, led the club to a third-place finish in the league this past season.

    It ensured they would play in the UEFA Champions League for a third campaign in a row.

    The Argentine’s success at Tottenham has made him one of the most coveted managers in world football.

    Under the 46-year-old manager’s leadership, Spurs have evolved into a high-pressing team that plays an energetic and attractive brand of football.

    He is yet to win a trophy with Spurs, who will move into their new 63,000-seater stadium next season after spending the last campaign playing their home games at Wembley Stadium.

    “I am delighted that we have agreed a new, extended contract with Mauricio,” Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy said in a statement on the club’s website.

    “We have been on an extraordinary journey and the times ahead look even more exciting as the club enters the next phase in its history.

    “Mauricio has fostered an incredible spirit in the team and has embraced a style of play our fans have loved watching. I know they will welcome this commitment by Mauricio.”

    Pochettino said his decision to sign an extension at Spurs had followed extensive talks with Levy over the direction the club would take in future.

    The chairman operates a strict wage structure at Tottenham with the club’s salary budget and transfer spending dwarfed by their top-six rivals.

    “I am honoured to have signed a new long-term contract as we approach one of the most significant periods in the club’s history and be the manager that will lead this team into our new world-class stadium,” Pochettino said.

    “Daniel and I have spoken at length about our aspirations for this football club. We both share the same philosophies to achieve long-term, sustainable success.

    “This is a special club —- we always strive to be creative in the way we work both on and off the pitch and will continue to stick to our principles in order to achieve the success this club deserves.”

  • Pep: i and Mourinho are like twins

    Pep: i and Mourinho are like twins

    Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho have enjoyed a rivalry, in Spain and England, that has at times been acrimonious but the Manchester City manager believes they have something in common.

    The Spaniard believes that when it comes to the desire to win trophies they are identical.

    “Definitely. In that, we are twins,” said Guardiola when asked, ahead of Sunday’s derby clash, if he was as obsessed with winning as his United and former Real Madrid counterpart.

    “They want to win trophies, we want to win trophies.

    “I think Antonio Conte is the same as well, and Jurgen (Klopp) and Mauricio (Pochettino), and in all the leagues around the world, the managers are (like that),” the former FC Barcelona manager added.

    “I never criticise my colleagues for the way they play. I never did in the past, I will never do it.

    “Football is magnificent for that, because every manager plays in the way they play. There are different ways to enjoy football. It’s simple like that,” he said.

    Keeping it simple is Guardiola’s mantra ahead of the highly anticipated derby.

    Although City head to Old Trafford with an eight-point lead over their local rivals, the Spaniard is determined that his team keep their focus.

    Their focus, he said, will be on doing what they have done so well this season — playing their style of possession football.

    “The big challenge is to play good, to try to control the start point. It’s hard, because it’s United at Old Trafford. We want to try to play our game.

    “The focus is going there relaxed and knowing that if we don’t win the individual duels, it will be almost impossible to beat them,” Guardiola said.

    “We will try to play well, to play good football, what we have done, to be what we are. So I would like to finish the game and go to the locker room and feel we were what we have been for the season.

    “As for the result, nobody knows what is going to happen. We will try to find the best way to play well and to win the game,” he said.

    While a victory would send City 11 points clear ahead of the festive season, Guardiola has little time for the notion that the game could be a title decider.

    “Winning, drawing or losing on Sunday, we are not going to win or lose the English Premier League. It’s December,” he said.

    “It’s an important game, because it’s United. You can get points and deny your opponent points. But it’s the same for them.

    “I am not going into the game thinking: OK, we have an eight-point lead. What do I have to do because we have an eight-point lead? The Premier League is a marathon. We haven’t even arrived at the halfway stage yet.

    “There are a lot of points to play for, more than 70. We just focus on the game, and the result, and then after, recovery and then thinking about Swansea three days later.

    “It’s simple like that. It’s about going there and doing our game. That is what I want to see from my players.”

    NAN

  • Pochettino’s sorry for Pardew

    Pochettino’s sorry for Pardew

    Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino admits it is tough not to feel sorry for Newcastle counterpart Alan Pardew.

    Pardew’s popularity on Tyneside has sunk to a new low this season after a miserable start, although they did manage their first win at home to Leicester last weekend.

    Newcastle travel to White Hart Lane with results of a local newspaper poll suggesting 85% of fans want a managerial change, but Pochettino says Pardew is deserving of more respect.

    “I obviously feel sympathy for him,” Pochettino said ahead of Sunday’s match.

    “I don’t like it when every single manager is under pressure or is getting criticised. In your career, always you have ups and downs.

    “It is important to get some respect because in this job it is always, always you go through moments with some difficulties.

    “The best way to deal with this situation is to just be natural, be professional, try to deliver your best and, after that, in football everything can happen.”

    Pochettino’s results since arriving at White Hart Lane have been mixed but he feels there is still plenty to feel positive about, even from the 4-1 defeat by Manchester City last weekend.

    “We had a very good game against City,” he added. “The difference in the score does not reflect the real situation during the game.

    “After an hour we had a very good chance to regain our momentum and to lift our confidence (when Roberto Soldado missed a penalty which would have made it 2-2).

    “First of all, we have to win the game for our fans and after to set our base for the future.

    “We are still improving, we are still in construction in the way we need to set up our strong base to perform in every game better.”

  • Pochettino still loves Saints

    Pochettino still loves Saints

    Pochettino still loves SaintsMauricio Pochettino says he still ‘loves’ Southampton despite leading new club Tottenham to a victory over them on Sunday.

    Spurs ran out 1-0 winners thanks to Christian Eriksen’s first-half goal in what the Argentine admitted was an emotional game for him.

    Pochettino left Southampton in the summer after an 18-month spell in charge and Sunday’s game represented the first meeting of the two clubs since the switch.

    After it, he confirmed his gratitude to the Saints for giving him a chance in English football and elaborated on what a tough decision it had been to move.

    “There was no extra pressure,” he said. “It was an emotional game for me. I love Southampton, I love the people in Southampton.

    “It was a great 18 months for me in my life and my family and was a very tough decision. I am happy for the performance of the team but it was emotional for me.

    “I still love Southampton and maybe I can understand but this is football. I do not change my feeling, nothing about Southampton.

    “For me it was a great moment, a great period of 18 months and always I will be grateful to Southampton Football Club and the people in Southampton.”

    The future focus for Pochettino though, is solely Tottenham and he was pleased to see his new team adapting to the high-pressing, attacking style he implemented so successfully on the south coast.

    “I am very happy and I congratulate the players who made a good job,” Pochettino said. “We are still improving. Three months in charge with a new philosophy.

    “I am very happy to get the three points and happy with the performance and happy with the way that the team played. This is what we want. I think the team deserved to win.”