The manager looks set to take over the USMNT, but what have some of the game's greats said about working with him?
A manager's legacy isn't just measured in trophies; it's measured in impact. Yes, trophies are the currency of the sport, the prizes that drive a chaotic series of carousels that managers spend their lives riding. There's something to be said, though, about going into a place and simply making it , which is a coaching characteristic for which Mauricio Pochettino became known earlier in his career.
Throughout that career, Pochettino has worked with some of the greats, a who's-who list of legendary figures. Consider, for example, that as a player, he lined up alongside Diego Maradona and, as a manager, he coached Lionel Messi. There have been plenty of names that have come in between those two legends, many of whom are stars in their own right.
Several of those stars credit Pochettino with helping them realize their greatness, helping build the foundations of their own careers. Part of that is down to tactics, with Pochettino known for his aggressive style. But the preponderance of it is pure man-management, with several big stars crediting Pochettino for how he handles a locker room.
It's not all roses, though. Pochettino has speed bumps on his resume, namely a Paris-sized one. The PSG experience was a humbling one for him, and it was a lesson in the difficulties of managing a club that is at the peak, not trying to reach the peak.
So with the USMNT reportedly set to hire Pochettino, what do the stars have to say about the man himself? What's it like working under him as a coach? GOAL takes a look.
Getty ImagesHarry Kane
There probably isn't a player more closely tied to Pochettino than Kane. It was under the Argentine that Kane became a household name and, realistically, one of the best strikers the Premier League has ever seen.
Kane was always the centerpiece of Pochettino's Tottenham teams, and rightfully so. Throughout his time at Spurs, Kane scored 213 goals in 320 Premier League appearances, putting him behind only Alan Shearer on the league's all-time goalscoring charts. And the now-Bayern Munich star gives Pochettino his share of the credit for being the inspiration behind it all.
"I can’t speak highly enough of him," Kane said of Pochettino after a 1-1 draw with Barcelona several years ago. "He’s a fantastic manager, a fantastic man. With him, it’s always about hard work and belief. That’s what he said to us before the game and at half-time: just believe, bring energy, work. And we’ll get the reward.
"You respond to that. On nights like that, big occasions, you just want to do him justice."
AdvertisementImago ImagesLionel Messi
Throughout Pochettino's PSG tenure, rumors continuously swirled. That's the name of the game when you coach such a prominent club. At the slightest slip-up, the chattering will begin.
Much of that chatter surrounded Messi. By making the move from Barcelona, Messi caused expectations in PSG to skyrocket. Those lofty ambitions were never reached. PSG never won that elusive Champions League during the Argentine's brief stay and, ultimately, Pochettino paid for it with his job.
Throughout their time working together, rumors swirled about Messi's frustration under Pochettino. Messi's camp, though, frequently shut down those rumors, telling the Daily Mail that any reports of a Messi-Pochettino rift were "totally false." Messi has since admitted that his biggest frustrations in Paris were off the field, as he never adjusted to life in France.
“As I said at the time, my departure to Paris was not something I wanted," Messi said. "It was not something I wanted to leave Barcelona and, so to speak, it was from one day to the next. And, well, I also had to get used to a place that was totally different from where I had been living all my life, both in terms of the city and in a sporting sense, and, well, it was difficult, but the opposite of what is happening to me now here [in Miami].”
As for Pochettino, he has since admitted that he struggled to manage PSG's big three of Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, both on and off the field, saying that his tenure as PSG "was the experience we needed, the experience of living with big stars and interacting at the top level of football.
"It was the challenge of putting yourself in a difficult situation and trying to make such a special club work. You need to constantly adapt because there was too much greatness.
"For Barca to have Messi or for Madrid to have Cristiano is a blessing. But when you put in too many players who all need their place and to be No. 1, there can be confusion. In the end, when you play, it's 11 players with one ball. There was a penalty, and who takes it? It's not even a coach's decision."
GettyKylian Mbappe
Throughout his time at PSG, Mbappe played under five different coaches. During that time, he became a global phenomenon. By the time Pochettino arrived in 2021, Mbappe was already among the best in the world, if not the best.
Pochettino's appointment was all about trying to get PSG over the hump in the Champions League. It didn't quite happen. To get there, though, Mbappe says Pochettino brought wide-spread changes from his predecessor, Thomas Tuchel.
“We have already changed the system,” Mbappe said in 2021. “Afterwards, each coach comes with his philosophy. We had a philosophy, a philosophy with Thomas Tuchel. We changed coaches, then Mauricio came up with another game plan and a new form of play. We didn’t manage to play well right away, it starts to show little by little, but now we have to confirm.”
Ultimately, that never fully materialized, with Mbappe admitting that he felt his team took a step back under Pochettino.
"This past season, we weren't as fearsome, we were far less untouchable," he told BFMTV in 2022. "We want to go back to being intimidating in France, something we have not done these past two years."
Adam Lallana
Pochettino worked wonders during his time at Southampton. He arrived at a team near the bottom of the Premier League table. When he left, he'd guided the club to an eighth-place finish, earning his move to Spurs.
One of the stars of his Southampton team was Adam Lallana, who would leave himself once Liverpool came calling. Under Pochettino, Lallana became a star. After spending the bulk of his career in League One and the Championship, Lallana was named to the PFA Team of the Year for the 2013-14 season after scoring nine Premier League goals for Pochettino's Southampton.
“He’s world-class, not just as a manager, but as a person,” said Lallana, who returned to Southampton this summer. “The way he man-manages his players. He makes you feel good about yourself. He’s had a lot of time for us and I think it shows in how well we have performed for him. He has that way about him, he’s a cool guy.”