The question concerned chance creation. But Mauricio Pochettino wanted to discuss soccer culture.
He was speaking after the United States men’s national team defeated Guatemala 2-1 in a Gold Cup semifinal. Pochettino was particularly impressed by Guatemalan fans on Wednesday. “Unbelievable,” he said.
And then he spoke for two minutes and 40 seconds straight, from the heart, about what he thought US soccer would take away from the experience. From the moment the gates opened at 4:30 p.m., Energiser Park was packed with passion, from the cheers that boomed, the flags that flowed, and “the energy that translates” to the field, as Pochettino described.
“I saw a player of Guatemala crying,” Mauricio Pochettino stated after they came up just short.
He applauded the player and then used him as an example twenty minutes later.
“That,” he intoned, “is the way that we need to feel.”
“And our fans must feel the same,” he added. “You’re not coming here to enjoy the spectacle, and if you lose, nothing happens. … Things happen.
Pochettino is from Argentina. “Losing is not the same in Argentina. “The consequences are massive,” he stated. They are also prominent in Spain, France, and England, where he had played and coached for 30 years before taking over the USMNT last year. “Whether you win or lose, the outcome is not the same. It is not the same. “It’s a lot of consequence,” he said in his postgame press conference.
In this regard, his relocation to the United States has undoubtedly been a cultural shock. He has inherited players that, he believes, lack the same intensity of life-or-death desire that is instilled in children throughout South and Central America.
In many nations, “you play to survive.” You play for food. “You play for pride,” Mauricio Pochettino explained. “You play for several reasons. It’s not enough to go out and have fun, then come home and chuckle.
“The moment that we — now, this roster — start to live in this way, I think we have a big room to improve.”
He has not expressly stated that his players go home and laugh after winning. However, many grew up in the United States, where soccer is not practised to survive, escape poverty, or transform a family’s life; rather, it begins as a recreational activity, generally in middle-class suburbs. It gets more talented kids to enter academies and, of course, turn pro. However, there is a level of “desperation,” as Pochettino has described it, that is socially established elsewhere but not here.
Mauricio Pochettino on Fan Impact and the Road Ahead for USMNT
Fans support, if not compel, this approach. Fans that expect and deliver everything. At 10 a.m., fans swirl around a stadium, then fill it at 6 p.m., standing for 90 minutes and chanting “Sí se puede!” Yes, we can.
“I think the fans gave to you, to Guatemala, an unbelievable energy,” Mauricio Pochettino told reporters.
Veteran defender Tim Ream agreed: “It motivated them to push and fight.”
“That is football,” Pochettino added, repeating the phrase twice more. “That’s football. “That’s football.”
That “connection between the fans and the team,” he stated, “is the connection that we [would] like to see in the World Cup.” “That connection that allows you to fly.”
During his time with the USMNT, he has seen countless half-empty stadiums. Even when full, the environs are relatively calm, inorganic, or tame. The apathy surrounding the squad has most likely opened his eyes, though it can be tough for him to comprehend at times.
However, until Wednesday, he had never played a genuine road game at home.
“It was like [playing] in Guatemala,” Mauricio Pochettino explained.
“It was an atmosphere that we didn’t expect,” he told us. It had a clear impact on the game.
“You can’t understate what a partisan crowd can do to young minds, guys who haven’t experienced it,” Ream told me. “Sometimes, the pressure comes, the fans feel like they’re on top of you, the noise is deafening, and you kinda lose it a little bit.”
As some players pointed out, Mauricio Pochettino should have expected it. It is a reality in the United States, where millions of individuals have roots in soccer-crazy Latin American countries.
“We are a country full of immigrants. “It was kind of expected for tonight,” defender Chris Richards explained. “It’s beautiful to see how much respect they have, but also how much support they have.”
When asked if Mauricio Pochettino was shocked, Richards responded, “I think Mauricio, being a little bit newer to the United States, I think he wasn’t quite ready for it.”
Ream claimed that several younger players were also taken aback. He and others saw it as an excellent “learning experience” for Sunday’s final against Mexico in Houston. “This game tonight would be like a little brother to the U.S.-Mexico game,” Richards told reporters. They will be more mentally prepared for Sunday.
Mauricio Pochettino, on the other hand, was not concerned about how his players would deal with the situation. He hoped to replicate Guatemala’s passion and impact on players with the team he coaches.
“If you see the big teams or countries [play games], it’s not playing,” according to Mauricio Pochettino. “Do you think that was a sport now, with two teams competing and creating a spectacle? No. You play for something more. You play for emotions. You play [to], be pleased or unhappy.”
That’s what he wants here. It’s a dynamic that takes decades to establish and may never occur in a country with unrivalled wealth and opportunity in other sports and industries. But how can it begin?
“I believe winning helps. But I also believe that players like [midfielder] Diego Luna contribute. “I also believe players like [midfielder] Malik Tillman contribute,” Ream remarked. And “fighting and togetherness” are helpful. “This develops that relationship with the fans – diehards, casuals, and everyone. And as long as we do this, the culture will expand. The feelings intensify. “And the connections grow.”
Discover even more relevant and timely updates on Hoobae.
You can read more blogs about the latest football updates!
Mauricio Pochettino Praises Guatemala Fans, Critiques U.S. Soccer Culture After Gold Cup Victory
The question concerned chance creation. But Mauricio Pochettino wanted to discuss soccer culture.
He was speaking after the United States men’s national team defeated Guatemala 2-1 in a Gold Cup semifinal. Pochettino was particularly impressed by Guatemalan fans on Wednesday. “Unbelievable,” he said.
And then he spoke for two minutes and 40 seconds straight, from the heart, about what he thought US soccer would take away from the experience. From the moment the gates opened at 4:30 p.m., Energiser Park was packed with passion, from the cheers that boomed, the flags that flowed, and “the energy that translates” to the field, as Pochettino described.
“I saw a player of Guatemala crying,” Mauricio Pochettino stated after they came up just short.
He applauded the player and then used him as an example twenty minutes later.
“That,” he intoned, “is the way that we need to feel.”
“And our fans must feel the same,” he added. “You’re not coming here to enjoy the spectacle, and if you lose, nothing happens. … Things happen.
Pochettino is from Argentina. “Losing is not the same in Argentina. “The consequences are massive,” he stated. They are also prominent in Spain, France, and England, where he had played and coached for 30 years before taking over the USMNT last year. “Whether you win or lose, the outcome is not the same. It is not the same. “It’s a lot of consequence,” he said in his postgame press conference.
In this regard, his relocation to the United States has undoubtedly been a cultural shock. He has inherited players that, he believes, lack the same intensity of life-or-death desire that is instilled in children throughout South and Central America.
In many nations, “you play to survive.” You play for food. “You play for pride,” Mauricio Pochettino explained. “You play for several reasons. It’s not enough to go out and have fun, then come home and chuckle.
“The moment that we — now, this roster — start to live in this way, I think we have a big room to improve.”
He has not expressly stated that his players go home and laugh after winning. However, many grew up in the United States, where soccer is not practised to survive, escape poverty, or transform a family’s life; rather, it begins as a recreational activity, generally in middle-class suburbs. It gets more talented kids to enter academies and, of course, turn pro. However, there is a level of “desperation,” as Pochettino has described it, that is socially established elsewhere but not here.
Mauricio Pochettino on Fan Impact and the Road Ahead for USMNT
Fans support, if not compel, this approach. Fans that expect and deliver everything. At 10 a.m., fans swirl around a stadium, then fill it at 6 p.m., standing for 90 minutes and chanting “Sí se puede!” Yes, we can.
“I think the fans gave to you, to Guatemala, an unbelievable energy,” Mauricio Pochettino told reporters.
Veteran defender Tim Ream agreed: “It motivated them to push and fight.”
“That is football,” Pochettino added, repeating the phrase twice more. “That’s football. “That’s football.”
That “connection between the fans and the team,” he stated, “is the connection that we [would] like to see in the World Cup.” “That connection that allows you to fly.”
During his time with the USMNT, he has seen countless half-empty stadiums. Even when full, the environs are relatively calm, inorganic, or tame. The apathy surrounding the squad has most likely opened his eyes, though it can be tough for him to comprehend at times.
However, until Wednesday, he had never played a genuine road game at home.
“It was like [playing] in Guatemala,” Mauricio Pochettino explained.
“It was an atmosphere that we didn’t expect,” he told us. It had a clear impact on the game.
“You can’t understate what a partisan crowd can do to young minds, guys who haven’t experienced it,” Ream told me. “Sometimes, the pressure comes, the fans feel like they’re on top of you, the noise is deafening, and you kinda lose it a little bit.”
As some players pointed out, Mauricio Pochettino should have expected it. It is a reality in the United States, where millions of individuals have roots in soccer-crazy Latin American countries.
“We are a country full of immigrants. “It was kind of expected for tonight,” defender Chris Richards explained. “It’s beautiful to see how much respect they have, but also how much support they have.”
When asked if Mauricio Pochettino was shocked, Richards responded, “I think Mauricio, being a little bit newer to the United States, I think he wasn’t quite ready for it.”
Ream claimed that several younger players were also taken aback. He and others saw it as an excellent “learning experience” for Sunday’s final against Mexico in Houston. “This game tonight would be like a little brother to the U.S.-Mexico game,” Richards told reporters. They will be more mentally prepared for Sunday.
Mauricio Pochettino, on the other hand, was not concerned about how his players would deal with the situation. He hoped to replicate Guatemala’s passion and impact on players with the team he coaches.
“If you see the big teams or countries [play games], it’s not playing,” according to Mauricio Pochettino. “Do you think that was a sport now, with two teams competing and creating a spectacle? No. You play for something more. You play for emotions. You play [to], be pleased or unhappy.”
That’s what he wants here. It’s a dynamic that takes decades to establish and may never occur in a country with unrivalled wealth and opportunity in other sports and industries. But how can it begin?
“I believe winning helps. But I also believe that players like [midfielder] Diego Luna contribute. “I also believe players like [midfielder] Malik Tillman contribute,” Ream remarked. And “fighting and togetherness” are helpful. “This develops that relationship with the fans – diehards, casuals, and everyone. And as long as we do this, the culture will expand. The feelings intensify. “And the connections grow.”
Discover even more relevant and timely updates on Hoobae.
You can read more blogs about the latest football updates!
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