Apr 19, 2025; San Jose, California, USA; San Jose Earthquakes head coach Bruce Arena stands on the sideline before the game against Sporting Kansas City at PayPal Park. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images
(Reuters) -Former United States manager Bruce Arena has criticised the appointment of Argentinian Mauricio Pochettino as U.S. coach, saying the job should have gone to an American.
Bruce Arena, who coached the U.S. at the 2002 and 2006 World Cups and holds the record for the most Major League Soccer championship titles with five MLS Cups, said foreign-born coaches lack the cultural understanding needed for the job.
Pochettino has struggled since his appointment last September, suffering dismal defeats to Panama and Canada in the CONCACAF Nations League in March, a tournament the U.S. had previously dominated, winning every edition since its launch in 2019.
"If you look at every national team in the world, the coach is usually a domestic coach," the 73-year-old Arena said in a interview with Landon Donovan and Tim Howard on Unfiltered Soccer published on Wednesday.
"And I think when you have coaches that don't know our culture, our players, our environment, it's hard. And listen, (Pochettino) is a very good coach. (But) coaching international football is completely different than club football."
Former Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur boss Pochettino took charge after the U.S. suffered a humiliating early Copa America exit on home soil last July, prompting the sacking of American Gregg Berhalter following his second stint as head coach.
"You need to know the environment. And we're lacking that. If you're an American coaching the U.S. team, you know the culture, the pride and how important the national team is," Arena added.
"When you bring in somebody from the outside, they don't understand it. Especially in our country, because we’re so different."
The U.S. will next host Turkey and Switzerland in June friendlies, before pushing for silverware at the CONCACAF Gold Cup from June 14 to July 6, their last chance at a trophy before co-hosting the 2026 World Cup with Mexico and Canada.
(Reporting by Shifa Jahan in Bengaluru; Editing by Himani Sarkar)
