Champions League is Back

The first leg of Champions League has returned with some big games on the docket Tues/Wed for Americans. Christian Pulisic and AC Milan host Liverpool at 3 pm on Tuesday on Paramount+ (he scored!!) and Aron McKinney and Juventus play at 12 noon Tuesday.

USMNT Finally Hires Pochettino

So the US have finally made the big splash hire and signed and delivered former Tottenham and PSG Coach Mauricio Pochettino to lead us thru the World Cup on home soil in 2026.  While the rumors had been rampant for weeks – finally this week it was announced and today he was introduced.  Honestly this is a huge get for the US – to get a coach of this quality to coach our national team is a big deal – cudos all around to US Soccer for making this happen.  Will it result in the US advancing as far as we ever have in a World Cup ?  We’ll see.  The US Men lost to Canada and US Coach Jesse Marsch last weekend and tied #96 New Zealand 1-1 at home in Cincy on Tuesday. So lots of work to do.  Still I think we got the best possible coach under the circumstances to lead us through.  Tons of stories below to read all about it. 

US ties New Zealand 1-1 after losing to Canada 2-1 at home

The US men were unlucky In their 1-1 tie with NZ – as they outshout and out-possessed NZ the entire game.  Great to see new faces in the mix – especially Marlon Fossey at right back and Aidan Morris again at the 6.  Pepi needs to finish up top – but had some chances – good to see he and Balogun in together.  Not sure why we didn’t see Auston Trusty at Centerback?  Lots of work to do on our defense and in goal.     US Highlights vs New Zealand  

INDY 11 Home vs El Paso Locomotive Sat 7 pm

Indy Eleven returns home for its final 2024 regular-season match against the Western Conference vs. El Paso Locomotive FC on Saturday at Carroll Stadium.The Boys in Blue are coming off a 0-0 draw at Hartford Athletic last Saturday. The Eleven are sixth in the Eastern Conference with a 10-9-7 record for 37 points.Saturday’s match vs. El Paso is the last regular-season match against a Western Conference opponent for the Boys in Blue.Indy finishes the regular season with seven straight matches against Eastern Conference opponents.  Only six points separate teams in fourth through 10th place in the conference. The top eight teams in the East will make the playoffs, with the top four hosting first-round games the first weekend in November. Single-game tickets for all four remaining regular-season home matches are available at Ticketmaster.  For information on all ticket options visit the Indy Eleven Ticket Central.  For questions, please email tickets@indyeleven.com or call (317) 685-1100.

Great to be back on the high school fields Reffing after our 2 week vacation !

TV Game Schedule

Champions League

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 18	TIME	HOW TO WATCH
Bologna vs. Shakhtar Donetsk	12:45 p.m.	Paramount+, CBS Sports Golazo Network
Sparta Praha vs. RB Salzburg	12:45 p.m.	Paramount+
UEFA Champions League Today pre-match	2 p.m.	Paramount+, CBS Sports Network
The Golazo Show	3 p.m.	Paramount+
Manchester City vs. Inter	3 p.m.	Paramount+
Paris Saint-Germain vs. Girona	3 p.m.	Paramount+
Club Brugge vs. Borussia Dortmund	3 p.m.	Paramount+, CBS Sports Network
Celtic vs. Slovan Bratislava	3 p.m.	Paramount+
UEFA Champions League Today post-match	5 p.m.	Paramount+, CBS Sports Network
Scoreline	6 p.m.	CBS Sports Golazo Network
The Champions Club	7 p.m.	CBS Sports Golazo Network

THURSDAY, SEPT. 19	TIME	HOW TO WATCH
Feyenoord vs. Bayer Leverkusen	12:45 p.m.	Paramount+, CBS Sports Golazo Network
Crvena Zvezda vs. Benfica	12:45 p.m.	Paramount+
UEFA Champions League Today pre-match	2 p.m.	Paramount+, CBS Sports Network
The Golazo Show	3 p.m.	Paramount+
Atalanta vs. Arsenal	3 p.m.	Paramount+
Monaco vs. Barcelona	3 p.m.	Paramount+
Atletico Madrid vs. RB Leipzig	3 p.m.	Paramount+, CBS Sports Network
Brest vs. Sturm Graz	3 p.m.	Paramount+
UEFA Champions League Today post-match	5 p.m.	Paramount+, CBS Sports Network

Champions League

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Villa win big on return to top European stage

US Men Hire Pochettino

Thoughts on Pochettino’s hire, the USMNT’s draw with New Zealand, & moving forward ASN Brian Sciaretta

Pochettino arrives as USMNT’s rare superstar coach. Can he also be a savior?
Mauricio Pochettino is thinking big — but starting small — as he takes the helm of the USMNT
Pochettino targets World Cup win and praises ‘best coach in world’ Hayes
Mauricio Pochettino unveiled as USMNT boss — ‘We need to really believe we can win the World Cup’
Watch as former Chelsea boss Pochettino speaks after being named new USMNT head coach

Mauricio Pochettino officially announced as USMNT head coach S&S  By Donald Wine II

• Pep backs Poch in ‘fascinating’ USMNT coach role

The inside story of how Pochettino became the next USMNT manager 2d Jeff Carlisle

USMNT’s draw shows why Pochettino needs to hit the reset button 3d Jeff Carlisle

USMNT got the best possible coach by hiring Pochettino, but it might not be enough still Ryan O’Hanlon
Poch: USMNT must aim to match women, win WC 6hJeff Carlisle

USMNT’s draw shows why Pochettino needs to hit the reset button  Jeff Carlisle

US ties NEW Zealand

Pulisic ready to ‘turn the page’ under Pochettino

EPL

Premier League predictions, odds for Week 4 of 2024-25 season
Premier League rivals want to see us punished – Guardiola
Revealed: Tottenham Hotspur Receive Huge Injury Boost Ahead of Arsenal Clash
Ten Hag still ‘needs’ Casemiro despite ‘bad day’
Chelsea Suffer ‘Major Injury Blow’ Ahead of Tricky Bournemouth Clash
Federico Chiesa’s journey: From considering a PHYSICS degree to playing at Anfield
Crystal Palace sign NJ/NY Gotham FC forward Stengel

Goalkeeping

Great Saves Nations League Matchday 1&2
Report: Man United Considers Major Goalie Change Former Carmel Dad’s Club/CHS/Butler Keeper Eric Dick up for Save of the Week
USL Championship Save of the Week – Week 27 USL Championship Save of the Week – Week 26 Manuel Neuer Announced International Retirement

Reffing

Young Ref Daughter makes Dad Proud Yellow or Red?   You Cost us the Match Ref Become a Licensed Ref with Indiana Soccer – must be over

USMNT midweek viewing guide: The CHAAAAMPIOOONS

UEFA Champions League is back, with as many as 10 Americans in play this midweek.

By Justin Moran@kickswish  Sep 17, 2024, 6:00am PDT  

Midweek USMNT action is here. MLS games are on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, as well as any other networks listed. Let’s get into it!

Tuesday

• Juventus vs PSV, 12:45p on Paramount+, TUDN USA, UniMás, FuboTV, ViX: Malik Tillman, Ricardo Pepi, Richy Ledezma, and PSV kick off UEFA Champions League action for USMNT players as they go to Turin to meet Weston McKennie, Tim Weah (who may still be injured), and Juve.
• AC Milan vs Liverpool, 3p on Paramount+, ViX: Christian Pulisic, Yunus Musah, and Milan open Champions League at home, likely underdogs against Premier League heavyweight Liverpool.

Also in action:

• Preston North End vs Fulham, 2:45p on Paramount+: Antonee Robinson and the Cottagers visit Duane Holmes and Preston in the Carabao Cup.
• QPR vs Crystal Palace, 2:45p on Paramount+: Chris Richards and Palace visit QPR in the Carabao Cup. Reggie Cannon left QPR following a dispute going back to his time with Portuguese club Vizela, and signed with Colorado Rapids in MLS.
• Club América vs Atlas, 9p on TUDN USA, Univision USA, FuboTV (free trial), ViX: Alex Zendejas and América host Atlas in Liga MX.

Wednesday

• Real Betis vs Getafe, 1p on ESPN Deportes, ESPN+ (free trial), FuboTV: Johnny Cardoso and Real Betis are at home against Getafe in La Liga.
• Coventry City vs Tottenham, 3p on Paramount+: Haji Wright and Coventry nearly pulled off an astonishing upset against Manchester United in last year’s FA Cup semifinal. Can they do something similar against Spurs in the Carabao Cup?

Also in action:

• Celtic vs Slovan Bratislava, 3p on Paramount+, ViX: Cameron Carter-Vickers returned from a minor injury to play this past weekend, and should be available for Celtic as they begin Champions League play.
• Club Brugge vs Borussia Dortmund, 3p on Paramount+, CBS Sports Network, FuboTV, ViX: Gio Reyna is likely to miss Dortmund’s Champions League opener as they go on the road in Belgium.
• NYCFC vs Philadelphia Union, 7:30p: Jack McGlynn and the Union are on the road against James Sands and NYC.
• Toronto FC vs Columbus Crew, 7:30p: Patrick Schulte, DeJuan Jones, and the Crew visit Toronto in MLS.
• Orlando City vs Charlotte FC, 8:15p on FS1, FOX Deportes, FuboTV, Sling TV: Tim Ream and Charlotte travel to Orlando for this MLS match.
• Minnesota United vs FC Cincinnati, 8:30p: Miles Robinson, Roman Celentano, Lucho Acosta, and FC Cincy visit Minnesota in MLS play.
• Nashville SC vs Chicago Fire, 8:30p: Brian Gutiérrez, Chris Brady, and the Fire meet Walker Zimmerman and Nashville in this MLS game.
• Chivas vs León, 9p on Telemundo, UNIVERSO, Peacock, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo, FuboTV: Cade Cowell and Chivas are at home in Liga MX.
• Real Salt Lake vs FC Dallas, 9:30p: Diego Luna and RSL host Jesús Ferreira and the Huntsmen in MLS.
• Portland Timbers vs LA Galaxy, 10:30p: Jalen Neal and the Galaxy visit the Timbers at Providence Park.
• Monterrey vs Juárez, 11p on TUDN USA, FuboTV, ViX: Brandon Vázquez and Rayados host the Bravos of Juárez in Liga MX.

Thursday

No notable USMNT players in action (unless Barcelona have a goalkeeper crisis and Diego Kochen plays for them against Monaco).

Friday

• Standard Liège vs Union St.Gilloise, 2:45p on ESPN+: Marlon Fossey and Standard host USG in Belgium’s top tier.

Also in action:

• Paderborn vs Hannover 96, 12:30p: 19-year-old Colombian-American center mid Santiago Castañeda has played four straight full 90’s for Paderborn in the 2. Bundesliga.
• Dordrecht vs Excelsior, 2p: Zach Booth recently joined Excelsior in the Dutch second tier. They’re on the road against Feyenoord loanee Korede Osundina and Dordrecht.

USMNT weekend viewing guide: Return to action

By jcksnftsn  Sep 13, 2024, 10:11am PDT  

Clubs will truly be restarting their seasons this weekend after the initial phase was interrupted so quickly after it had started by the international break. While the break wasn’t kind to the USMNT, it did allow key players who weren’t called in to further integrate with their teams or recover from early season (or in some cases even preseason) injuries. It’s a very full weekend, particularly on Saturday, and here’s what we’re keeping an eye on.

Saturday

Lees United v Burnley – 7:30a on Paramount+

Brenden Aaronson and Leeds United face Burnley in an early season English League Championship match that could have end of season impact on the promotion race. Four matches in Aaronson is the top scorer for Leeds with two goals.

RB Leipzig v Union Berlin – 9:30a on ESPN+

Jordan Pefok and Union Berlin went into the break with their first win of the 2024-25 campaign. The got off to a hot start last season as well, winning their first two, before loosing nine straight league matches. They face last seasons run away winners RB Leipzig on Saturday morning.

Wolfsburg v Eintracht Frankfurt – 9:30a on ESPN+

Kevin Paredes has missed the start of the Bundesliga season but should be returning within the next week or so if early reports have held true. Wolfsburg fell to Bayern Munich in their opener but defeated Holstein Kiel heading into the international break.

Borussia Mönchengladbach v Stuttgart – 9:30a on ESPN+

Joe Scally has started Borussia Mönchengladbach’s first two matches and gone the full ninety in each as the opened their season with a 3-2 loss to Bayer Leverkusen but rebounded with a 2-0 victory over Bochum. Stuttgart are looking for their first win of the season after giving up three goals in each of their first two matches, including a 3-3 draw with Mainz just prior to the break.

Crystal Palace v Leicester City – 10a on USA Network

Chris Richards will be one to keep an eye on as Crystal Palace have a glut of centerbacks following the transfer window closing. Richards has started the first three matches for Palace but they have suffered two losses and one draw so it will be interesting to see if changes are made coming out of the break.

Fulham v West Ham – 10a on Peacock

Antonee Robinson has notched an assist in Fulham’s last two matches and gone the full ninety in all three to start the season. He was left off the US squad for the international break but it sounded like primarily a matter of rest for a player who has seen a ton of minutes over the last couple of seasons as he prepares for a crucial role yet again for his club.

Swansea City v Norwich City – 10a on Paramount+

Josh Sargent and his ankles of glass didn’t see any minutes for the US but he is reportedly available for Norwich City this weekend as they face Swansea. Sargent has two goals and an assist already this season but Norwich have just one win in four matches.

Watford v Coventry City – 10a

Haji Wright also has a pair of goals to start the season for Coventry but his team likewise has just one win to show for it as they sit in 17th place and head into a matchup with a Watfor side that has one three of their first four matches.

PSV v NEC – 10:30a on ESPN+

Ricardo Pepi saw his first extended minutes of the season as Luuk de Jong was removed with an injury. However, most match reports seemed to indicate that an extended absence isn’t likely. Richard Ledezma continues to start at rightback while Malik Tillman is racking up the minutes in the midfield for PSV who haven’t missed a beat coming into the new season.

Empoli v Juventus – Noon on Paramount+

Weston McKennie saw 23’ off the bench for Juventus in their last match before the break, his first minutes of the season. Tim Weah missed the match due to injury but is reportedly back in training and available for Juventus as they face Empoli this weekend.

AC Milan v Venezia – 2:45p on Paramount+

Christian Pulisic, Yunus Musah and AC Milan face Venezia this weekend and fellow American Gianluca Busio who has missed the start of the season following an injury in the Summer Olympics but is reportedly available this weekend. Both clubs are off to a rough campaign and looking for their first win on the season.

Sunday

Strasbourg v Angers – 11a on beIN Sports

Caleb Wiley continues to see minutes for Strasbourg, he came off the bench in their most recent match but played 45’ and picked up his first assist for the club.

Toulouse v Le Havre – 11a on beIN Sports

Mark McKenzie of Tolouse and Emmanuel Sabbi of Le Havre could face off in some American v American action in France on Sunday. McKenzie has started the last two matches for Toulouse while Sabbi was not included in the most recent Le Havre squad though he did see 21’ in their previous match.

Lens v Lyon – 2:45p on beIN Sports

Tanner Tessman made his Olympique Lyonnais debut just prior to the break, seeing three minutes off the bench in a wild 4-3 Lyon come-from-behind victory after they had been down 3-1 to Caleb Wiley’s Strasbourg. Presumably the international break will have allowed Tessman to further integrate with his new club and he should be in line for additional minutes.

What are Pochettino’s immediate priorities for the USMNT?

• Jeff Carlisle, U.S. soccer correspondent ESPN Sep 13, 2024, 05:16 PM ET

NEW YORK — Amid the smiles and backslapping that took place during Mauricio Pochettino’s unveiling as the new U.S. men’s national team manager Friday, there was one, more sobering undercurrent.Pochettino has a lot of work to do.The group stage exit at this summer’s Copa América, and even some matches prior to that tournament, showed that the USMNT has regressed since the 2022 World Cup. The recently concluded September international window, which saw the U.S. beaten on home soil by Canada for the first time in 67 years and then tie New Zealand 1-1, reinforced that feeling.Granted, taking over a struggling team is usually how coaches get hired in the first place. The Sir Alex Ferguson, leave-on-your-own-terms type of exit is rare. Usually, the new manager comes in because a course correction is badly needed, and that is obviously the case here.So what, then, are Pochettino’s priorities as he begins to dig into the job? At Friday’s news conference, the Argentine seemed reluctant to get into many specifics, but he dropped enough breadcrumbs to hint at how he’ll proceed.First, a bit of healing needs to take place. For Pochettino, the results of last week weren’t surprising. The pain of the Copa América performances was still too fresh. Getting over that means getting to know the players and finding ways to maximize their strengths and minimize their weaknesses. They need to believe in themselves again.It also means connecting with them beyond just tactics and skill levels. Expect Pochettino to spend a lot of time visiting with players over the next month, pumping them up and reminding them of their talent.

Editor’s Picks

• The inside story of how Pochettino became the next USMNT manager 2d Jeff Carlisle
• USMNT’s draw shows why Pochettino needs to hit the reset button 3d Jeff Carlisle
• USMNT got the best possible coach by hiring Pochettino, but it might not be enough still Ryan O’Hanlon

“The player needs to feel that you care,” Pochettino said. “When the player feels that you care, you can get the best of them.”He added, “We are going to work and to create the right pattern to follow, to get the confidence, to recover the confidence and start to perform together. But, of course, I think it’s a very good generation of players.”That process will also require the players earning the confidence of the new coaching staff. More than once, Pochettino spoke of the need to not just “play” for a national team but to “compete” for it as well. That has been an issue during the summer, leading some players to conclude that a culture shift was needed.While there is a sense that the onus for this falls on the players, the coach sets standards. Pochettino will need to be firm in explaining what those are and then enforcing them. Doling out — or withdrawing — playing time is the ultimate card he can play.He will also need to sort out what the team’s style of play will be. In the past, he has preferred to have his teams press aggressively and then strike quickly. But he also wants his squads to be able to play out of the back when the situation calls for it, as having multiple styles in the tactical bag is a staple of good teams. That latter trait is something with which he’ll need to tread carefully, especially given the frailty displayed by the back line over the summer.Pochettino seems to realize that it won’t be only the players who will have to adapt. He and his staff will do some adjusting as well, and together they’ll need to produce a cohesive style.

“I said always we need to see the player, feel the player, see all the characteristics,” he said. “But I think we’re very flexible.” He added that he’ll need “to create this platform that when they come, the players arrive to the national team, they need to know exactly what we need to do, how we need to compete, how we need to behave like a team. And … the talent is there. It’s only to create the best platform for them to express yourself.”Pochettino promises the ‘door is open’ to every U.S. playerMauricio Pochettino says there will be no bias toward European-based players when it comes to his USMNT squad selection.

There is the question of whether Pochettino will have enough time to implement his approach. There are only nine international windows left, including the pre-World Cup period. But Pochettino doesn’t want the players using a lack of training time as an excuse if they struggle to adapt. From what he has seen, the current group of players is smart enough and has the capacity to take on new playing concepts quickly.”I see the players are so intelligent and so talented and they can, I think, play in a different way,” he said. “And for sure I think we have time. We have time and we need to really believe and think in big things. We need to believe that we can win, that we can win the World Cup. Because if not, it’s going to be so difficult to show me, and we want players that arrive in day one in the training camp and think big and that is the only way to create this philosophy or this idea altogether to perform and to really to put your talent on the service of the team.”

That isn’t to say that there won’t be any hiccups or setbacks. But Pochettino, in this moment, is thinking of what’s possible, for both players and staff.

“That is going to be a massive challenge,” he said. “We are going to be very clinical and try to transmit all the information in the same time. Players, it’s difficult to be concentrated, focused and more in this time, but I think we need to be clever enough in the way we’re approaching things to get the best from them.”

Though Pochettino was hired with an eye on the World Cup, in the short-term there are other competitions to think about. There is the Concacaf Nations League in November and March. Then comes next summer’s Concacaf Gold Cup, which will have a more familiar tournament setting with a group stage and knockout rounds.Granted, they won’t involve a World Cup competition level, but given how the U.S. has struggled against Concacaf foes lately, it’s not an event at which the team can turn up its nose. Pochettino seems willing to take things step-by-step.”For me, the priority now is improve, improve and improve and provide the team the best tools for the talent to perform as soon as possible,” he said.After a brutal summer, improvement would be a welcome development.

Mauricio Pochettino aims to bolster belief as USMNT role takes him outside his comfort zone

Paul Tenorio Sep 13, 2024 The Athletic

The question came 20 minutes into Mauricio Pochettino’s introductory press conference as U.S. men’s national team coach; the first query of the event in his native Spanish.“It’ll give me a break,” Pochettino joked at the chance to rest his English.“What was the challenge that made you want to take the U.S. job?” the journalist The question got to the root of an issue that hovered over the entire event at a glitzy high rise in New York City’s Hudson Yards development. Why would a manager with such a massive reputation see this as his next step?The 52-year-old former Tottenham, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea manager spoke first about the feeling he had meeting with U.S. Soccer executives, and then about the great potential of the sport in the U.S. Then he got to the task at hand: taking the USMNT to a different level. “It’s a challenge that takes us out of our comfort zone,” Pochettino said in Spanish, smiling. “For us, the easy thing to do is take on things we already know, and we already have a quick vision and an idea (of how to accomplish it). But here it is about taking on something one does not know as well; getting out of your comfort zone so that you can challenge yourself.“It is not only about a challenge to achieve things together but also about challenging yourself.”

CEO of U.S. Soccer JT Batson, technical director Matt Crocker, Pochettino and president Cindy Parlow (Luke Hales/USSF/Getty Images for USSF)

Whether knowingly or not, Pochettino put himself on a parallel path with his new team. For several cycles, the idea of “getting out of your comfort zone to grow” has been a part of the USMNT’s journey toward improvement. The idea dates back to Jurgen Klinsmann’s era, but it was also discussed often by former coach Gregg Berhalter.But the idea is about more than just going to Europe to play for the biggest clubs. It is about understanding how to find the right challenges that force you to grow. To get better.That Pochettino sees this job as a challenge for his own growth was, perhaps, the most important takeaway from Friday’s press conference. The U.S. needed a new voice to push them to take that next step, beyond potential and into results. They will now begin that journey with a coach who has a bigger reputation than anyone else in the room but who is seeking that same type of growth.Pochettino came across as charming, excited and motivated in the press conference. He spoke about how happy he was to be with the U.S., about the honor of being the first Spanish-speaking Latin American coach in the history of the program, and of his connection with U.S. women’s coach Emma Hayes and the potential influence the winning history of the USWNT can have on the men’s program. He told a story about learning the English-language term of being “over the moon” in his early days as manager of Southampton in the Premier League and said he and his family are over the moon that he has taken this new job. That he switched back and forth between English and Spanish was, in itself, a historic moment and representative of how this hire creates an unprecedented opportunity for U.S. Soccer to reach this country’s massive — and growing — Latino population. Pochettino clearly understood, though, that reaching fans, both new and old, will come down to one thing: winning.

Pochettino is presented to the media at Hudson Yards (Luke Hales/USSF/Getty Images for USSF)

Several times over the course of the morning, Pochettino returned to a simple idea that he thinks can push this team forward: belief. He said the word “believe” a dozen times over the course of the hour-long event. For a coach famous for his ability to inspire a dressing room, it hinted at the way he’ll target mentality and psychology as much as he will tactics. “’Believe’ for me is a word that is a powerful word,” Pochettino said. “You can have enormous talent and you can be clever, but in football, you need to believe. Believe that all is possible. If we find a way to believe all together, then for sure we will achieve.”

Later, he reinforced that idea with his sights set on the World Cup tournament the U.S. will co-host with Mexico and Canada in two years’ time. “We need to really believe in big things,” Pochettino said. “Believe that we can win not only a game, we can win the World Cup. … We want players that show up, day one at the training camp, and think big. That is the only way to create this philosophy or this idea all together to perform and to put your talent in the service of the team. That is going to be our massive challenge.” Bringing that belief back will be first on his to-do list as the USMNT coach. The U.S. was clearly lacking confidence in the September window, something Pochettino said was understandable considering the results in the Copa América. The performances in a loss to Canada and a draw with New Zealand only magnified the issues within the group. Pochettino, though, didn’t seem overly concerned with the overall culture of the group, alluding then to the idea of tapping into the “winning mentality” that permeates American sports and taking inspiration from the winning culture the U.S. women have long demonstrated.

“We are here because we want to win,” Pochettino said.

The video board announces Pochettino’s appointment at the friendly against New Zealand in Cincinnati (John Dorton/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images)

There were, of course, ideas about how to play discussed as well. 

“We are in the USA,” Pochettino said. “I think to convince our fans, this is about to attract (them), and the aesthetic is really important. We want to play nice football, good football, exciting football, attacking football. And then, of course, we want to have the possession, because we are coaching staff also with a philosophy to have the ball. We need to run, we need to move, we need to give options, good angles to your team-mate. … And then when we don’t have the ball we need to run, we need to be aggressive, we need to be competitive. “The potential is there. The talent is there. It’s only to create the best platform for them to express themselves.” While Pochettino acknowledged that those are the trademarks of his team, he also said he wants first to get a feel for his players before he declares how this U.S. team will play.  That process will start in the coming days, as Pochettino inevitably goes to sit and meet with members of the player pool, chief among them star winger Christian Pulisic. Pochettino said he wants to hear from members of the team individually, to get feedback on how they see things. Then he will gather the group together for the first time next month for friendlies in Austin, Texas and Guadalajara, Mexico. The process to get a deal over the line has been a long one, stretching more than two months from the beginning of recruitment to his formal introduction. Pochettino admitted it was difficult to wait it out. He was ready to get to work. Now, the clock has started. The U.S. has less than two years until the World Cup and a mountain to climb to be ready. They have a coach, though, that few would have imagined would take this group into that tournament.

A coach who now will try to inject belief into and around this team.

Inside Mauricio Pochettino’s USMNT deal: Hayes’ role, Chelsea delays and Argentine steak

Paul Tenorio and Adam Crafton The Athletic Sep 10, 2024

U.S. Soccer sporting director Matt Crocker looked down at his phone as he stood in his home gym in Southampton, England, and saw the message from Mauricio Pochettino.Several days earlier, the U.S. had failed to progress from the group at Copa America under Gregg Berhalter. A “comprehensive review” was underway and every option was being evaluated. A list of potential coaching candidates was put together and Pochettino, the former Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea manager, was at the top.Pochettino and Crocker had crossed paths for one year at Southampton before the Argentine moved to Spurs in 2014 but the two hadn’t spoken in some time. Crocker reached out to a mutual friend at Southampton to ask if he had a current number for the 52-year-old, then sent him a message. Would he be interested in a chat?

When the message from Pochettino came back, Crocker picked up the phone to call immediately. For 20 minutes, as Crocker stood in his home gym, the two former colleagues caught up on their families, careers and where life had taken them since they last worked together. Then, Crocker asked if Pochettino would be willing to meet in person in Barcelona, where the former Espanyol player and manager lives. He had a project he thought would be interesting, even if it would be Pochettino’s first foray into international soccer. Pochettino agreed to see him.

Matt Crocker was already close to Mauricio Pochettino (Candice Ward/Getty Images)

On July 16, two days after the Copa America final, Crocker, U.S. Soccer chief executive officer JT Batson and vice-president of sporting operations Elaine Lemos boarded planes to Barcelona. There, in a conference room attached to a hotel suite, the federation executives sat down with Pochettino and his longtime assistant Jesus Perez. They gifted a bottle of wine to Pochettino, who is known for loving his reds, and then got straight down to business.Crocker and Batson laid out the project, the good and the bad. They went over the failure at Copa America and the USMNT’s results over the previous year. They detailed the plan for the 2026 World Cup, to be played largely on home soil. They went through a player pool which some see as a golden generation, but also highlighted the struggles some of them were going through in terms of regular minutes at their respective clubs. They didn’t want to shine everything up to look perfect.

Soon, Pochettino and Perez had a laptop out to go over their own plans and ideas. Pochettino was attracted to the idea of coaching at a World Cup, and of leading one of the 2026 version’s three host countries — especially the United States, a young team with the potential to make noise at a home tournament.A meeting that was supposed to last 90 minutes stretched to two hours, then three, then four. At one point, Batson had to step into an adjacent room to attend another USSF meeting.When the sitdown with Pochettino ended, both camps walked away with a positive feeling. But Crocker and Batson knew there was still lots of work to do. The search for a new coach would take the U.S. Soccer officials through almost a dozen trips around Europe, to five different countries and into conversations with several high-profile candidates. But it was that first meeting in Barcelona that set them on a path to the next era of the U.S. men’s national team.The journey to that potentially program-changing moment, recounted to The Athletic by several people familiar with the discussions who will remain anonymous to protect relationships, was both a whirlwind and an excruciating waiting game.

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The list of candidates sparkled with big names.

Pochettino. Jurgen Klopp. Pep Guardiola. Gareth Southgate. Graham Potter. Thomas Frank.

When Crocker sat down with Sam Gregory, the director of analytics for U.S. Soccer, to craft an idea of what might come next for the U.S. men’s program, it started with one major data point: winning. Crocker wanted a coach who had a reputation for winning across several environments. That list, obviously, yielded some big names. Many already had high-profile jobs. Others were available.Deep dives were done on each coach, no matter how famous, laying out their style of play at different teams and the systems they prefer. In the end, it yielded a starting point for the coaching search. The U.S. wanted to be ambitious. They were going to shoot for even the biggest names on the list.As Crocker picked up the phone and began making calls, the responses were overwhelmingly positive. The U.S. expected some polite ‘no, thank yous’ but heard ‘yes’ a lot more often. Meetings were set up with around half a dozen candidates. A plan was crafted.Crocker, Batson and other U.S. Soccer officials had sat in a conference room at the Westin Jersey City hotel ahead of a U.S. women’s national team Olympic send-off game against Mexico at the nearby Red Bull Arena on July 13 and looked over the itinerary for the next week in Europe. The trip was extensive, but the names on the list created genuine excitement.The journey didn’t always go as planned. Batson’s flight from Berlin after the men’s European Championship final later that week had to return to the airport due to smoke in the cabin, causing him to miss a meeting. On another trip, U.S. Soccer officials’ cab was pulled over by local authorities and then another taxi was held up by a protest blocking the roads, meaning the officials had to complete the journey on foot, luggage in tow, to make a meeting on time. There were multiple meetings with Klopp, who needed a break from the game having left Liverpool in May after more than eight years at the Premier League club.

U.S. Soccer officials met with Klopp multiple times (Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

Talks with Pochettino continued to move along smoothly. Four days after their first meeting, U.S. Soccer officials returned to Barcelona to talk again with Pochettino and Perez. Whereas U.S. Soccer led the first conversation, the second was led by the two coaches. Pochettino laid out what his plans would look like for his first few months in charge of the national team.U.S. women’s national team coach Emma Hayes was also involved. Hayes and Pochettino became friends at Chelsea, when she was in charge of the women’s side last season as he led the men’s team, and Hayes called Pochettino to lobby and tell him about her experiences with U.S. Soccer. She also served as a reference for him, advocating for U.S. Soccer to prioritize her former colleague.Hayes was involved enough that, on the day of her team’s Olympic semifinal in Lyon, France, she checked in with U.S. Soccer officials at the squad hotel to see how things were advancing with Pochettino.Between that semifinal win against Germany on August 6 and the gold medal game in Paris against Brazil four days later, Crocker, Batson and U.S. Soccer president Cindy Parlow Cone took another trip to Barcelona. Parlow Cone, like Hayes, was a strong advocate pushing for Pochettino. Over Argentine steak at a hotel restaurant, Pochettino pointed out his respect for Parlow Cone as the only World Cup winner in the room.At the USWNT’s gold medal celebration party at the Nike Athlete House in Paris, Crocker and Batson took a moment in one corner of the festivities to discuss next steps. There was still plenty to be done.

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From the moment U.S. Soccer decided to move on from Berhalter, Crocker was insistent that the federation would not be limited by financial constraints.“It’s a really competitive market out there, salary-wise, and we have to be competitive to get the level of coach that I believe can take the program forward in terms of achieving the results that we want on the field,” Crocker told a small group of reporters on a Zoom call on July 10.Berhalter made north of $2 million (£1.53m at current rates), including bonuses, in 2022. Hayes is being paid $1.6m, matching Berhalter’s base salary. To get Pochettino, who has been one of the world’s highest-paid coaches at some of the world’s biggest clubs, U.S. Soccer knew it would have to be on the higher end of national team compensation. How it would do that included some creative solutions.

Gregg Berhalter was paid significantly less than Pochettino will get (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

As a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, U.S. Soccer increased its efforts in fundraising over the last decade. That included efforts to reach higher-wealth individuals who might be able to help with efforts to donate toward the federation’s efforts to grow the game.As the men’s managerial search got underway, a donor to U.S. Soccer reached out to billionaire Ken Griffin, who has given more than $2 billion to charity and has established a civic engagement initiative called Griffin Catalyst for his personal philanthropic and community impact initiatives.Griffin has long had a connection to the sport. He played soccer growing up, his children did the same and in 2022 he joined the Ricketts family in a bid for Chelsea. Notably, Griffin has also financially supported American soccer initiatives, including donating $8 million in recent years to the U.S. Soccer Foundation to build 50 mini-pitches in Chicago and another 50 in the Miami-Dade area.The donor connected Griffin to U.S. Soccer, and Griffin agreed to donate a substantial amount toward the men’s national team program and the hire of a new coach.“Soccer is one of the most popular sports in America,” Griffin said in a statement. “I am excited to join my fellow Americans in supporting our teams’ efforts to triumph in the upcoming World Cup and beyond. When our players do well on the pitch, it expands the reach of this great sport. These athletes also have a powerful opportunity to be influential role models for millions of American children by exemplifying the values of teamwork, dedication, and perseverance.”But finding the money to pay Pochettino was not the only issue. The coach was still under contract with Chelsea, despite agreeing to part ways with the London club at the end of the 2023-24 season. He was owed a substantial amount of money, but the agreement stipulated that if he took another job, Chelsea no longer owed him anything. Pochettino’s departure terms also included a six-month prohibition from taking another leading job with one of Chelsea’s major Premier League rivals.

While U.S. Soccer’s salary was competitive on the national-team scale, it fell well short of the wage paid by one of the sport’s biggest clubs. Pochettino, then, would stand to lose money by agreeing to coach the United States team.Batson became the key middleman in the negotiation around that separation agreement. The idea was that Chelsea would pay what they owed minus the salary U.S. Soccer would pay Pochettino. In theory, everyone would be happy: the coach would receive the full compensation he was due, Chelsea would save several million dollars and U.S. Soccer would land their coach.The U.S. federation had a good relationship with the English club — which has American co-owners in private equity firm Clearlake Capital and Todd Boehly — after already dealing with Chelsea in its hiring of Hayes last year as the women’s national team coach.

Emma Hayes was an advocate for Pochettino (Patricia De Brad Smith/USSF via Getty Images)

But discussions dragged out for weeks over Pochettino.With the Premier League’s summer transfer window still open, Chelsea had to focus on getting business done and that delayed substantive talks. Pochettino was also focused on helping his footballer son Maurizio land a new club; the 23-year-old would end up signing with CD Ibiza in Spain’s fourth division. The talks were always constructive, but they were also complicated.Behind the scenes in the States, those waiting for word that the deal was done saw a finish line that kept moving. Preparations were made for an announcement on more than one occasion. The initial hope was to get Pochettino in time for the team’s September camp, but that didn’t happen. Then, the goal was to make an announcement in time for him to meet the players in Kansas City around the game there against Canada last week. Perhaps it was better he wasn’t there in person to see a listless performance against Canada, one that underlined just how badly this team is in search of inspiration.

Amid the delays, there was fresh tension over the futures of Eddie Howe at Newcastle United and Erik ten Hag at Manchester United. Pochettino was among the coaches discussed by Manchester United in the summer and also has pre-existing relationships with Newcastle sporting director Paul Mitchell and performance director James Bunce. But he resisted any temptation to hold out for a potential return to the Premier League this fall.

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The Athletic has every angle covered on Mauricio Pochettino’s appointment as USMNT head coach:

• Why does Pochettino believe in the energy of lemons?
• Is the United States job the right move for the Argentine?
• What kind of tactics is he likely to use with the USMNT?
• The inside story of Pochettino’s departure from Chelsea

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With the fate of the deal in the hands of lawyers, and Batson continuing to broker things to try to get it over the line, an agreement was finally finished.

The deal protects U.S. Soccer against any risk of poaching from a European club in the two years before the World Cup — there is a material buyout in the contract — and both sides feel the partnership is solidly set through 2026.Pochettino is going into the job with eyes wide open and with real intent regarding what he can do. After stops at clubs where there were different levels of instability and power dynamics, he felt confident in his ability to lead and make an impact at U.S. Soccer; not just with the men’s national team but even beyond that into the coaching and game models throughout the federation.

Who are the biggest USMNT winners and losers as Mauricio Pochettino takes over?

By Elias Burke Sep 11, 2024

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In the aftermath of Gregg Berhalter’s firing, it became clear that the USMNT was looking for something different for their next appointment.Matt Crocker, the technical director for the United States Soccer Federation (USSF), identified the need for a “serial winner.” Tyler Adams, Berhalter’s captain at the 2022 World Cup, called for a “ruthless” coach to take the team forward to the 2026 World Cup being played largely on home soil — the defining tournament for this generation of American soccer players.In Mauricio Pochettino, the USSF is confident it has found the man who embodies those qualities.The Argentinian former Tottenham Hotspur, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea head coach has the job of turning a team that suffered an embarrassing group-stage exit as Copa America hosts this summer into one capable of going deep enough in 2026 to take soccer to another level in the United States.Here, The Athletic has analyzed the fit of the USMNT’s most prominent stars under their new boss.

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Christian Pulisic — Winner

Helping develop Harry Kane at Tottenham. Fitting Neymar, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe into one PSG team. Facilitating the emergence of Cole Palmer at Chelsea. Pochettino loves to build the attacking parts of his sides around headline-grabbing forwards. With the USMNT, Pulisic is the most likely candidate.The 25-year-old has been involved with the senior national team since he was 17 and has become its star attacker. His tears became the symbol of the USMNT’s failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup finals, and his importance to American success in this sport continues to grow.Pochettino is expected to hand Pulisic the keys to his attack, providing the AC Milan forward with a level of responsibility he relishes. After a defining 2023-24 season at San Siro, Pulisic is in the form of his professional career. Under Pochettino, the onus is going to be on him to carry that form into the international sphere.

The 2024 Christian Pulisic: Leader, superstar… change maker?

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Gio Reyna — Winner

Reyna has established himself in the USMNT starting line-up over the past 12 months, but Pochettino’s experience of developing No 10s suggests he could now reach another level. Across Pochettino’s five years in charge of Tottenham, he helped Christian Eriksen develop from a young talent with elite potential into one of the best midfield creators in the world. Could Reyna follow a similar path?Reyna has experienced a difficult couple of years since the World Cup in Qatar, failing to establish himself as a key player at Borussia Dortmund in the German Bundesliga. He went on loan to Nottingham Forest in the Premier League for the second half of last season but could not establish himself as they battled to avoid relegation.The 21-year-old has the talent to become a star under Pochettino, but before the new head coach entrusts him with an important role Reyna, who played only nine minutes in Dortmund’s first two games of the season, must find consistent football at the club level.

(Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)

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Weston McKennie and Yunus Musah — Winners

Workhorse midfielders have been central to Pochettino’s teams.Last summer, Chelsea signed Moises Caicedo for £115million ($146m) from fellow Premier League side Brighton & Hove Albion to add dynamism to his midfield engine room, alongside Enzo Fernandez. At Southampton, his first gig in English football a decade ago, former Northern Ireland international Steven Davis provided the running alongside Morgan Schneiderlin and Victor Wanyama, with the latter then being signed by Spurs after he became manager there. For the U.S., McKennie and Musah seem set to battle for that role under Pochettino.With a World Cup and Copa America cycle now behind them, Musah and McKennie are seasoned operators for the national team, and it will be up to the new manager to decide which of them best suits his preferred 4-2-3-1 formation. McKennie, 26, is more experienced, started all three group games at the Copa America, and will probably be the favorite to assume the right-sided central midfield role initially.However, Musah is younger at 21 and has considerable potential, particularly as a passer and ball-carrier. Pochettino, who has never been afraid to give young players time and opportunities to impress, is the perfect boss for him to take the next step and own that spot in midfield.

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The Athletic has every angle covered on Mauricio Pochettino’s appointment as USMNT head coach:

• Inside Pochettino’s USMNT deal: Hayes’ role, Chelsea delays – and Argentine steak
• Why does Pochettino believe in the energy of lemons?
• Is this the right move for the Argentinian?
• What kind of tactics is he likely to use?
• The inside story of his departure from Chelsea

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Tyler Adams — Loser

When fit, Adams is one of the first names on the USMNT team sheet.He was at his best at the 2022 World Cup, with his finest performance at that tournament — and arguably his international career — coming in the goalless group-stage draw against England. Facing Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham and Mason Mount, Adams was crucial in the USMNT winning the midfield battle and controlling large portions of the game, earning him the player of the match award.Since then though, Adams’ career has plateaued. After suffering a season-ending hamstring injury with Leeds United in March 2023, he has endured several setbacks, causing him to miss most of last season. He made his long-awaited return to competitive USMNT action at Copa America, playing in all three matches before aggravating a back injury that caused him to miss the final part of new club Bournemouth’s league campaign. He is sidelined again for the opening months of the new season following back surgery.The 25-year-old is far from finished at club and international level, you’d imagine. He has proven his quality in the Premier League and for his nation, and Pochettino will be keen to see him back to his best, with the defensive midfield spot in his system tailor-made for Adams’ qualities.

That said, without the cushion of his strong performances under Berhalter guaranteeing his selection, Adams must prove he can still reach the physical level required from a Pochettino midfielder.

(Sam Hodde/Getty Images)

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Chris Richards — Winner

The present and future at the heart of the USMNT defense.Alongside Denmark international Joachim Andersen, Richards excelled under Oliver Glasner for Crystal Palace in the second half of last season, stepping up to prove his quality after England international Marc Guehi was injured.Throughout former Argentina international defender Pochettino’s time in management, athletic ball-playing center-backs have been important, allowing his sides to build attacking moves from defense and operate a high line. Richards, 24, suits this perfectly, and he appears set to become a nailed-on starter ahead of and during the next World Cup, provided he stays injury-free and continues to play club football consistently at a high level.

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Tim Ream — Loser

Ream was among Berhalter’s most reliable servants, but it might be time for the United States to evolve beyond him.His selection was backed by his consistent performances in an American shirt and for Fulham in the Premier League and Championship. However, Ream will be 37 next month and has now left the Premier League and is playing in MLS for Charlotte. Although Pochettino is not against relying on older center-backs — Thiago Silva remained an essential part of his Chelsea backline last season despite turning 39 last September.There is also the question mark of what comes after Ream for the States on the road to World Cup 2026, with Cameron Carter-Vickers largely unproven at the international level and Miles Robinson yet to test himself outside MLS. Without any apparent alternatives, Pochettino’s best solution might be sticking with Ream in the short term.However, any physical decline could limit Pochettino’s desire to implement his attacking style. As mentioned with Richards, the Argentinian likes to play high up the pitch with defenders who can cover the space behind him, which could expose Ream.

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Folarin Balogun — Winner

Balogun could be the player who benefits most from Pochettino’s arrival.

More than Palmer, Eriksen, Son or Dele Alli, the player Pochettino developed most in his Premier League years was Kane.

When Pochettino joined Spurs in 2014, the current England captain was a 21-year-old on the fringe of the first team. He had scored four goals in 19 games across competitions the previous season following several indifferent loan spells to lower-league clubs. Within five years, he had become one of the best strikers in the world, scoring 169 goals in 242 appearances under Pochettino.

It’s been a while since the USMNT had a reliable goalscorer, and Balogun’s performances at Copa America indicated he could be the player to make the No 9 shirt his own.

It’s difficult for an international coach to have a game-changing impact on an individual, considering the limited time they get with the players, but it might only take a few minor adjustments to take Balogun from a good striker to a world-class one.

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Matt Turner — Loser

At the other end of the pitch, Turner’s place in the team has never been less secure since winning the No. 1 shirt under Berhalter.Having looked set to be Nottingham Forest’s third-choice goalkeeper this season, he now seems certain to be Crystal Palace’s second-choice after securing a season-long loan to the London club on the final day of the summer transfer window.The move is unlikely to help him in his search for regular Premier League football but his case to continue as Pochettino’s No 1 is supported by the lack of competition. Ethan Horvath’s early-season form for Cardiff City in the second-tier Championship has been patchy. Gaga Slonina, the nation’s brightest young talent in his position, is playing at Barnsley in England’s third tier on loan from top-flight Chelsea, and the rest of the starting options available to Pochettino are in MLS.If Turner can break into Palace’s team and find his best form, the shirt appears his for the foreseeable future… if not, he opens the door for challengers.

(Aric Becker/AFP via Getty Images)

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Antonee Robinson and Sergino Dest — Winners

Robinson and Dest have the ideal playing profiles for Pochettino’s system, in which emphasis is placed on full-backs who provide width and further cover in midfield.At Spurs, he used Kyle Walker and Danny Rose in these roles, playing them high and wide to help stretch the opposition’s defense and allow interior attackers to operate in the vacated spaces.Towards the end of last season with Chelsea, he used right-back Malo Gusto similarly but allowed Marc Cucurella to ‘invert’ from the left side, providing another body in midfield to help the team keep possession while also providing another barrier in the middle of the pitch to protect against transitions.Given Robinson’s electric pace and threat from wide positions, he appears a perfect fit. Dest could go to another level under Pochettino with his quality in possession helping to cut through opposing teams and provides the USMNT with defensive cover if their attacks break down.

(Top photos: Getty Images)

Reflecting on Alex Morgan’s career: The athlete, the fighter, the human

Meg Linehan THe Athletic – Sep 12, 2024

SAN DIEGO — Last week, I tossed out my plans to be in Washington D.C. for a different NWSL match and booked a last-minute flight to San Diego. I then stood on the field at Snapdragon Stadium, staring through my camera lens at Alex Morgan, the athlete, one more time. I watched every microexpression flicker past, every smile, every time she blinked back tears, and the times she failed to. I pressed the button every time something felt like it could somehow capture the magnitude of the moment, yards away but able to compress the distance between us simply with a twist of the lens. There was distance too — there had to be — between Alex Morgan, the image, and Alex Morgan, the human. When Morgan stepped off the pitch in her socks on Sunday, boots in hand, it had only been three days since she had announced her retirement from professional soccer at age 35.The lack of notice and Morgan’s lengthy video explaining her decision, announcing that she and husband Servando Carrasco are expecting their second child, meant there would be no long farewell tour. Fans would only have days, not months, to contemplate what women’s soccer would look like without Morgan on the field.Her abrupt retirement set off a scramble, all the emotions of sending off one of the game’s best, grappling to define a legacy — or better yet, the first act. Morgan isn’t going too far, the same way most of her generation of women’s soccer players haven’t either. They are builders. Fighters. Morgan is no different, and she is ready to invest in Act Two.

Morgan in her final game (Meg Linehan/The Athletic)

Morgan was excellent at curating what she presented, and why, for over a decade. She came into the game right as social media changed how people interacted with women’s soccer, from the then-niche #WPSChat to Twitter, then Instagram, then TikTok, allowing players to tell their own stories. A weekly online chat with topics feels quaint now women’s soccer has finally begun to crack mainstream culture (outside of World Cup bumps) over the past few years. Before all that happened, Morgan was the one who had broken through the most.Part of this was because she, in many ways, fit a stereotypical mold, a pretty, white, ‘girl next door’ who could bang in goals and sell Nikes. But what has made Morgan so fascinating to watch over the past decade was how she wielded that particular image; the way she could stockpile goodwill, recognition and power, then deploy them in pursuit of equal pay, better working conditions and player protections across country and club.Morgan wasn’t just an image or a mouthpiece for labor-related fights. She dug into policy work and organizing across both the USWNT and NWSL players’ associations. She knew the power of her platform, her image, her name, and how to extend it to others. She knew when to step back, when to step forward, when to stand side-by-side with someone. When Mana Shim and Sinead Farrelly shared their stories of abuse suffered in the NWSL, Morgan put her name on her quotes — not just because she knew that she would be unlikely to suffer retaliation, but because she knew she could help to amplify their voices.On Sunday, Shim was with Morgan’s family watching her final moments on the field. On the opposite coast only a few hours before, Gotham FC honored Farrelly for her retirement — also out of her own hands, due to the cumulative impact of head injuries sustained throughout her career.

It was fitting that these three be tied together, one more time.

“It’s just incredible what you can do when you listen to players, when you value players, when you pay players, when players have autonomy over where they want to live and what team they want to play for. The longevity of our careers grows with all of what I just named, and Sinead was a pivotal piece in that,” Morgan said in her post-game press conference on Sunday. “So to share the same retirement date with her, because although we have very different journeys, we fought for the same thing, and the league is in a better place because of her.”That’s not to say Morgan was all business all the time.Morgan was sneaky good at being online without actually being online. She knew when a post pointing out an issue could have an impact and she didn’t mind embracing a meme or two. (Did she ever fully come around on the ‘Baby Horse’ nickname? Probably not, but she also ate carrots and fed an actual baby horse on camera for U.S. Soccer content, so there was at least a begrudging acceptance.) And no one enjoyed the challenge of figuring out how many drinks could fit into a new trophy more.

(Meg Linehan/The Athletic)

But be the face of anything, and there’s bound to be consequences.In her farewell speech, Morgan thanked fans for criticizing her. For years, teams sold tickets off Morgan’s fame, and it worked — to the chagrin of fans of her opponents at times. She could kick up entire news cycles by deciding to play overseas as people questioned what it meant for the NWSL, first with Lyon in France then a brief stint with Tottenham Hotspur during the height of the pandemic. (As we found out, it meant little for NWSL, but Spurs players did wind up with better training conditions thanks to Morgan.)While Morgan wasn’t alone in getting deals and building a following, she was one of the best.Fortunately for Morgan, she was also pretty good at soccer. Some of her best memories, she said before the game on Friday, were from winning. Winning offered a respite from the weight of the work.“You’re on auto drive. Like you feel when you have the blinders on and you’re just looking forward,” Morgan said. With winning, came celebrations. With celebrations, humanity:“You get to be human again, you’re not just an athlete. That’s the best part. We’re all humans, and we all have emotions, and we all have vulnerabilities. And in sports, a lot of times you’re so shut off from that, you’re so disconnected from your emotions, from the real world, because you’re so driven.”

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Morgan said sometimes she felt like she hadn’t smiled for weeks at a time — something she didn’t realize until after the end had come.

Those moments when she could smile and celebrate, the ticker tape parades down Broadway in New York City, were when she felt most human. Not, as she said on Friday, “this robotic thing on this platform. But I’m a sister, I’m a daughter, I’m a friend.”

On Sunday, Morgan finally had a moment for those two worlds to collide, to be an athlete and more. To have her daughter, Charlie, with her for the walkouts and anthem, and to stand with her family on the pitch and soak in all the sounds of the adoring San Diego crowd, scattered with folks who had traveled on short notice from all over the country.

“There have been so many incredible moments, but this one, this last moment I share on the field with you, I will cherish forever,” Morgan said, having mostly succeeded at keeping the tears at bay. “Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. Thank you.”

(Top photo: Jose Breton / Pics Action / NurPhoto; design: Dan Goldfarb)

Meg Linehan is a senior writer for The Athletic who covers the U.S. women’s national team, the National Women’s Soccer League and more. She also hosts the weekly podcast “Full Time with Meg Linehan.” Follow Meg on Twitter

Atlanta United parts ways with vice president, technical director Carlos Bocanegra

By Felipe Cardenas

Sep 4, 2024

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Atlanta United announced on Wednesday that the club has parted ways with vice president and technical director Carlos Bocanegra.

The former U.S. men’s national team captain had been in the role since 2015. Atlanta made their MLS debut in 2017.

“We are deeply appreciative of Carlos’s dedication and success over the last nine years with Atlanta United,” said club president and CEO Garth Lagerwey in a statement.

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“However, I believe it’s time for our club to move in a new direction. While we will continue to fight for a playoff spot down the final stretch of the season, this gives us a clean slate and a runway to properly assess all vacancies in our sporting operation ahead of what will be an extremely important offseason for our club.”

Atlanta United currently sits ninth place in the Eastern Conference standings, which is the final automatic playoff spot. They’ve lost five of their last 10 matches under interim head coach Rob Valentino. During the most recent MLS summer transfer window, Bocanegra signed Russia international Aleksei Miranchuk to replace Thiago Almada, who was sold to Brazilian club Botafogo.

Bocanegra, alongside former team president Darren Eales, led the club’s front office during Atlanta’s 2018 MLS Cup title campaign. Eales left for Newcastle United in 2022 to become the Premier League side’s CEO. That left Bocanegra in charge of Atlanta United’s recruitment strategy, as well as overseeing the first team. Atlanta’s form and player recruiting strategy has since been under heavy scrutiny as the team has underperformed consistently since 2020.

“I want to personally thank Carlos for his many contributions to the success of Atlanta United on and off the pitch,” team owner Arthur Blank said. “He was here from the beginning and deserves much credit for our MLS Championship; other trophies we’ve won over the last nine years; and the way our team captured the heart of this city even before we launched in 2017.”

Lagerwey will take over Bocanegra’s duties moving forward. Since firing former manager Gonzalo Pineda in June, Lagerwey has personally managed the search for a new coach. He’ll now add a sporting director search to his list of duties. Because the MLS regular season is still active, qualified candidates are likely to become available in the offseason.

Atlanta United’s next match is at home against Nashville SC on September 14.