Mauricio Pochettino began his tenure as United States men’s national team coach saying his players should aspire to achieve as much as the American women.
“We are here because we want to win,” he said Friday at his introductory news conference. “We have many examples next to us we need to follow.”
While the U.S. men haven’t reached the World Cup quarterfinals since 2002 and have never won the sport’s top tournament, the American women have won four World Cups and five Olympic gold medals.
“We need to believe we can win the World Cup,” he said.
A 52-year-old Argentine, Pochettino will be coaching a national team for the first time, becoming the 10th U.S. coach in 14 years and its first foreign-born leader since Jurgen Klinsmann from 2011 to 2016.
