USMNT’s Mauricio Pochettino says nation lacks ‘emotional relationship’ with soccer

In a podcast appearance released Thursday, Mauricio Pochettino defended the tournament prospects of his US men’s national team, but gave a mixed answer when asked if the hosts feel excitement brewing stateside, questioning the “emotional relationship with the game” of the American public writ large.

“The kids don’t develop until they are 11, 12, or 13,” Pochettino explained in his appearance on Stick To Football. “The difference within other countries – for me, I know Argentina – the way that I developed my emotional relationship with football is before I started to walk because I started to kick the ball. That is the problem. The relationship is with basketball or American football. They take the ball with their hands, first thing. [Elsewhere] you kick the ball with your feet.”

Pochettino went on to state that there should be greater emphasis on creating publicly accessible places for kids to play rather than funneling all development through clubs and organized teams. He cited playing with his friends as more foundational to his love of the game than what he learned in organized play. He brought this point up in response to a recent dinner he attended where apparently wealthy guests asked why a nation with so many people “doesn’t have our own Messi”.

It was the latest of what’s been an extended series of lengthy podcast stops since Pochettino took the US job. Most often, these interviews are conducted between windows and allow him to reflect openly on his club career at a relative point of hiatus as he readies what’s next, as he is expected to leave the program when his contract ends after the World Cup.

If Pochettino harbors any skepticism about his team’s chances at a co-hosted World Cup, he has yet to show it. Stick to Football’s Gary Neville reminded Pochettino that initial expectations were that reaching a quarter-final would mark success for the co-hosts. Pochettino acknowledged that that seems to be the media consensus, but offered an anecdote in defense of optimism.

“When I met Mr President [Donald Trump] before the draw in Washington, he asked me, ‘Do you think, coach, that we can win?’ I said of course … Why not? Why not! It’s all about your belief. Look at Morocco in Qatar; no one believed. Look at South Korea in Japan. Semi-final, too. There’s plenty of examples: if you put a limit and say maybe, for us, the message is to reach the quarter-final. You don’t go through the group stage. All is possible in football.”