Former Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain manager Mauricio Pochettino is leaving club football and became the manager of the United States national teamHowever, one expert believes that accepting the position is a step backwards for the Argentine.
Pochettino has coached in top leagues, held top jobs in Europe and coached top talent. However, after leaving Chelsea last summer, the 52-year-old found himself without a job.
Rather than wait for a new top job to present itself at club level, Pochettino is trying his luck as a national team coach. It will be the first time the former PSG boss has tried his luck at international level.
Despite taking the job in the United States knowing the country will host the FIFA World Cup in less than two years, talkSPORT pundit Simon Jordan believes Pochettino is taking a step backwards in the managerial role.
“I can see it in some ways and not In others,” Jordan said on talkSPORT on Wednesday:. “In terms of football decision, the main beneficiaries of this decision are the association of the Pochettino brand, this elite, not in my opinion, but in the eyes of many people, a European manager joining the American national team and succeeding Gregg Berhalter.
“They have recognizable players among their players who play in the UK, who have played in the UK like [Christian] Pulisic and [Tim] Ream, and you have the kid at Fulham [Antonee] Robinson and a few other players you may recognize…
“Given that I’ve been there recently and seen the scale of the opportunities… I’m not surprised that the project could be sold to him. But as a footballing project for Mauricio Pochettino as an elite coach, it’s a step backwards.”
Coaching a national team is a completely different matter to managing a club, so it will be interesting to see if the former Chelsea boss can adapt to his new surroundings.