United States men’s national team coach Mauricio Pochettino has admitted that he is “missing” the Premier League and plans to return to return to work in England in the future.
Pochettino was appointed as head coach of the United States in September 2024, four months after parting ways with Chelsea. He is preparing to lead the USMNT into the 2026 World Cup which is hosted jointly between the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
“The Premier League is the best league in the world,” he told the BBC.
“Of course I am missing it. I am so happy in America but also thinking one day to come back to the Premier League. It’s the most competitive league.”
Pochettino made his name during a standout spell in charge of Tottenham Hotspur where the team reached the Champions League final and challenged for two Premier League titles.
“I think we were so close in Tottenham, we nearly touched it [winning a major trophy]. That is a thing that I would want to achieve,” Pochettino said.
Pochettino was hired, and subsequently fired, by longtime Spurs chief Daniel Levy. The 63-year-old surprisingly left his role as Spurs’ executive chairman on Sept. 4 in a decision that brought an end to his 24 years in charge of the club.
“I was very surprised [at Levy’s exit]. His legacy is there. It’s amazing what he did for the club,” Pochettino said.
“My relationship always was good with him. During my period in Tottenham and after I left.
“He was a really important person because he gave me the possibility to manage a club like Tottenham. That is, for me, one of the best clubs in the world, with an amazing fanbase.”
Pochettino’s fellow Argentine, Lionel Messi, who he coached at Paris Saint-Germain, joined MLS side Inter Miami in 2023 and recently signed a contract extension. Messi’s arrival in the U.S. has led to record attendances being set at MLS stadiums across the country.
“I think players like Messi are helping the kids, not only when the kids want to play basketball or American football or baseball, they now want to play also soccer,” Pochettino said.
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Through his work with the national team at next year’s home World Cup, Pochettino is tasked with helping drive the growth of the sport in the U.S.
“The motivation is massive. Sometimes you feel that people don’t understand too much,” he said.
“You find some coaches that say: ‘oh you know, you need to know the culture of the American player.’ I say: ‘No, I know the most important thing — the culture of football and soccer. We need to translate the culture of football to the American player.’
“I think after one year we are making great progress. We are building [ideas] with people that the language of football is only one and it doesn’t care if you are American, Brazilian or English. Our football is [to] compete in the way that you need to compete, if you want to win.”