The Ted Lasso series you may have seen is much more about life than football. It shows everything related to football, from the club boss, who solves problems both at work and in her personal life, to everyone around the club. This doesn’t often happen in real football.
However, there is one character in Ted Lasso whose counterpart exists in real football. We are talking about Mauricio Pochettino. This is pure Ted Lasso! The same kind-hearted coach who is never rude, cares about the environment, develops players and puts the process before the result.
By the way, about the series and its influence on football:
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The series ends with coach Ted Lasso returning to the United States after success in England (almost winning the Premier League with the small Richmond club). And this is a happy ending (however, it recently became known that there will be a fourth season). Pochettino followed the same path. He is now the head coach of the US national team. But calling it a happy ending is much more difficult.
Pochettino is 52 years old. By the standards of a coach, he is no longer young. But definitely not an old man. Mauricio is at a great age to do great things. He has experience in Spain, England and France. Yes, my last job at Chelsea turned out to be controversial. But life shows that the club’s problems are not with the coach or the players. They are concentrated up there, somewhere in the presidential box area at Stamford Bridge.
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Before Chelsea, Poch worked hard at Espanyol. He then built Southampton, with whom Ronald Koeman played in European competitions after his departure. Next up was Tottenham, who under Pochettino never reached the top, but came closer than ever: second place in the Premier League and a Champions League final.
Mauricio Pochettino
Photo: Matthew Lewis/Getty Images
Mauricio then ended up at PSG. He managed not to win the championship he arrived in (the title went to Lille), but he led the team to the semi-finals of the Champions League. And the following season he won Ligue 1.
Chelsea under the Argentine were either hot or cold. But once again it was clear that Mauricio was not the main source of the problem. Moreover, under him the team reached the final of the League Cup and at the end of the championship reached the European Cup zone. Cole Palmer played brilliantly from the sheets, Malo Gusteau covered the right flank of the defence and Noni Madueke joined during the season. Poc again showed that he knows how to develop players. He even made Nicholas Jackson bearable by moving him to the wing.
More on the Palmer phenomenon:
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However, what follows is a strange separation between Mauricio and Chelsea with the phrase “by agreement of the parties.” We cannot know for sure, but perhaps this story hit the good-natured Pochu so hard that he wanted to hide from everyone. The US team, even a year and a half before the World Cup at home, is the perfect place for that. You can work there and not have any glare.
Coaching a national team before a World Cup on home soil is a rather ambitious task. The USA has a very high-quality squad. There are players there whose talent Poch can reveal. But at the same time, in the USA there is nowhere near the pressure that there is in the great European football world. After all, football in the USA is still football. Its popularity has grown a lot, but compared to basketball, baseball, hockey and, of course, American football, it remains on the periphery.
Mauricio Pochettino
Photo: John Dorton/Getty Images
These conditions are like a warm American bath. You live in a cool place and work quietly. And so on – for a year and a half. And then – the World Championship. The best result of the American national team at the World Championship of the 21st century was the quarter-finals in 2002. After that, the team did not make it past the round of 16. Therefore, the round of 16 in 2026 is unlikely to be considered a failure. It is quite possible to get to this stage, considering that according to the new format of 48 teams, it will be possible to get out of the group even from the third place.
And even if Pochettino fails and the USA is eliminated before the round of 16, he will not be lynched. American fans are practically harmless. This applies to both supporting clubs and the national team, regardless of the sport. The main thing is the spectacle. And it will definitely happen, the World Cup will never be different. Especially if it is not Qatar and beer and other fun drinks are allowed. The national team’s result will probably take a backseat. They will perform very well, fantastic. If they don’t, it doesn’t matter, the spectacle is still guaranteed.
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And Pochettino, who is at a good age to coach, chooses this. He refuses to compete in the best leagues in Europe, where the strongest compete. He, like Ted Lasso, chooses the United States.
But Ted Lasso did everything he wanted in Europe. And he is an American, he returned to his homeland. And Pochettino is an Argentine. There are enough of his compatriots in the United States, but this is still not his homeland. And in Europe he could still – and probably would like to – do a lot. And he has everything for it. However, Mauricio chooses the United States and moves away from football civilization.
He has every right to do this. And this decision in no way devalues his previous merits as a coach; but it is still a shame that instead of fighting and competing with the best, Pochettino has chosen peace and quiet away from big football.
