If one thing is clear about U.S. Soccer these days, it’s that the federation is willing to find and spend money.
Over the last few years, U.S. Soccer’s fundraising efforts have multiplied to help fuel both grassroots development and progress for the senior national teams. They’ve done the legwork to secure eight-figure investments from Michele Kang and Arthur Blank. They’ve constructed a state-of-the-art national training center in Georgia. And they hired two of the biggest names in coaching to lead their women’s and men’s national teams in Emma Hayes and Mauricio Pochettino.
The Argentine didn’t come cheap. His U.S. Soccer salary paid him more than $5 million over just the first seven months of his tenure. Now, though, after re-upping following this summer’s World Cup, Pochettino appears to be nearing a move to Manchester United according to myriad reports.
The move doesn’t come as a surprise. Pochettino remains one of the biggest names in the sport and Manchester United, despite its many shortcomings, one of its biggest clubs. The manager had been the furthest thing from shy about leaving the door open for a U.S. exit.
"Now it's a four-year contract, it's different," Pochettino said before leading the USMNT’s first camp of the 2030 World Cup cycle. "We can next season lose the Copa America, or the Gold Cup, and they're not happy with us, they can sack us.
"Or we can say 'OK, it's not the way that we think.' Four years is different. Maybe now if someone calls in the future, it's a different type (of situation). We are excited, we are thinking to spend four years, to the next World Cup. But now it's a long period."
Even before the World Cup, Pochettino was public about his desire to return to club management. In an interview with the BBC in December, he pined for the Premier League — “The Premier League is the best in the world. Of course I miss it. I am so happy in the USA, but I am always thinking about returning one day. It is the most competitive league, and of course I would love to come back again.” In the weeks leading up to the World Cup, Pochettino didn’t deny that his representation had met with AC Milan regarding their managerial vacancy.
Pochettino did everything to soften the blow of his eventual USMNT exit, one that’s now arrived.
With a chance to reflect on his two-year tenure, one question looms large: was sourcing and spending to bring Pochettino into the fold actually worth it?
Of course, with Pochettino’s salary on both his initial deal and his new contract financed in part by contributions from billionaire Ken Griffin, there was little downside to U.S. Soccer’s efforts to swing big on a head coach. It’s not as if U.S. Soccer’s opportunity cost was great, and it’s no guarantee that the federation could have secured Griffin’s same donations for other projects. In the American soccer landscape, there are precious few catchier items to have your name philanthropically attached to than a senior national team coach.
