USMNT Summer 2024: Beauty is in the Eye of the Berhalter

Cellar-Door

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Whether this succeeds or fails, it does feel like a bit of a turning point for USMNT. Aiming big, for a manager with basically no American ties (he has a lot of Crocker ties).
 

67YAZ

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edit: nm, gonna wait for the official announcement
You gonna shoot your shot with Adriana Lima now? Maybe Matt Crocker can be your wingman.

I think there’s always a learning curve when a manager moves from the club game to the international side, so we’ll have to see how Poch manages the transition to a limited player pool and minimal training time.

But his style should be a great match for what we have and what we need right now.

And with the WC here, can’t wait for Poch’s face to be all over - bags of Doritos, Coors Light commercials…
 

scott bankheadcase

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Small note: Poch was very big on CCV when he was at Tottenham’s academy. Might signal bigger role for him.

As a Spurs fan I will always love Poch, so this is a dream pairing for me.
 

OCST

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From what I’ve heard from someone who would know, the players weren’t exactly “calling the shots” but the atmosphere had gotten too collegial and there were objective signs of complacency.

Tyler Adams recently said in the press that they could benefit from a more “ruthless” manager and I believe he was referring to someone who could come in and stamp out the complacency and bad habits exhibited by some players on the team.

It’s kind of funny. After GioGate people assumed that Berhalter would lose the locker room because players wouldn’t like him. Instead he ended up losing full control of the locker room because they felt too comfortable around him.

I was thinking someone like Vieira would be able to come in and restore order, but this is even better.
I was posting from the subway, so I wasn't as fulminous as I sometimes can be, but yeah this is what I meant, the sense that the players liked GGG so they backed him publicly (mostly) and that was a thumb on the scale in GGG's favor. I'm sure that was a factor in him staying around as long as he did, his own relative lack of stature helped. Pulisic is a bigger star in USMNT terms that GGG, so Pulisic's endorsement was a big deal. Poch doesn't need to worry about what Pulisic says.
 

OCST

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If I’m remembering right, even when he was at PSG, his family stayed in London. That was a gif thing for him, letting his family stay settled where they were.
I would not be opposed to having camp in Europe, at least for 1-2 camps per cycle. Save wear and tear on the players. The MLS guys, who are fewer in number anyway, can fly for a change.
 

Mooch

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Anyone else knowledgable care to speculate on what this might mean for the USMNT's style of play going forward?
 

rguilmar

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Also, I’m unclear on the correct pronunciation of “Poch”. I’ve heard announcers go with two different pronunciations, one more like Polk (like the Pats WR or the 11th US President who was responsible for the Mexican-American War and much of the fulfilling of Manifest Destiny) and the other sounding more like Poach. The Spanish in me says it’s the latter.
 

Zososoxfan

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Have to imagine this being only half a cycle helped out quite a bit here.
Good point.

I’m surprised that Poch would damage his own marketability by taking this job. His Chelsea gig didn’t tarnish his rep imo- he was starting to get a tune out of that grab bag of players and I think the CW is that he did a good job and Chelsea is a loony bin- but even if he succeeds here he’ll have the stink of national team coach on him.

Maybe he figures half a cycle sets him up for LFC if Slot stumbles, I don’t know. It just feels like he took a step backwards.
This is probably a good opportunity for him to tread water, gather info on players generally (he'll be scouting a ton in this role), and the int'l game's emphasis on fitness and young players might be hand-in-glove for Poch.

I'm with @Titans Bastard. Who are we complaining about next now that the manager is off limits for awhile?

It will be intriguing to see if Poch's style can translate to a national side with limited training time available. We saw some more complicated systems this summer from Austria and Switzerland, so it isn't off the table.
Pressing strategy and cohesion will be the key.

Could be. The good news with the hiring of Poch, or at least a portion of it, is that he is from outside the US Soccer sphere and will bring new ideas with him, and that all players start “fresh”. He’s going to have different ways of evaluating and utilizing players. The Yunus/Adams/Johnny/Weston crew will be tried out in the double pivot. He might settle on a pair, he might mix and match depending on other parts or opponent, he might try something totally different.
QFT. Going outside the family is so good for USSF and US soccer generally.

As a Spurs fan, this is amazing. I never imagined the USMNT could get someone like Poch.
Time for a thread title change
You Know He's Magic, We Hope!!!

Anyone else knowledgable care to speculate on what this might mean for the USMNT's style of play going forward?
Lots of fitness work and high pressing. Turn the ball over high up the pitch. Play fast. Young players prioritized.
 

Saints Rest

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Also, I’m unclear on the correct pronunciation of “Poch”. I’ve heard announcers go with two different pronunciations, one more like Polk (like the Pats WR or the 11th US President who was responsible for the Mexican-American War and much of the fulfilling of Manifest Destiny) and the other sounding more like Poach. The Spanish in me says it’s the latter.
Getting clarity on this question might help the speculation on a new thread title pun.
 

InstaFace

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Jed Zeppelin

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Also, I’m unclear on the correct pronunciation of “Poch”. I’ve heard announcers go with two different pronunciations, one more like Polk (like the Pats WR or the 11th US President who was responsible for the Mexican-American War and much of the fulfilling of Manifest Destiny) and the other sounding more like Poach. The Spanish in me says it’s the latter.
As an Italian name it would be the hard k sound but I’m also unclear on if that carries through to the home country/language. This video with the man himself goes with the Spanish che sound.

 
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ThePrideofShiner

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Also, I’m unclear on the correct pronunciation of “Poch”. I’ve heard announcers go with two different pronunciations, one more like Polk (like the Pats WR or the 11th US President who was responsible for the Mexican-American War and much of the fulfilling of Manifest Destiny) and the other sounding more like Poach. The Spanish in me says it’s the latter.
I assume this is going to be a never-ending argument akin to how you pronounce SoSH, though all the people who don't pronounce it as a rhyme of gosh are wrong.
 

Titans Bastard

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As an Italian name it would be the hard k sound but I’m also unclear on if that carries through to the home country/language. This video with the man himself goes with the Spanish che sound.

Figuring out which set of pronunciation rules Italo-Argentines use for their names is always a bit vexing since it goes either way depending on the individual.

Benja Cremaschi, the Argentine-American on the Olympic team, does it the other way and does the hard K sound.

It’s also a testament to the steadfast refusal of the British to pronounce anything foreign in a correct way that we’re talking about an experienced EPL manager and people still aren’t sure despite hearing his name on broadcasts many time
 

rguilmar

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Figuring out which set of pronunciation rules Italo-Argentines use for their names is always a bit vexing since it goes either way depending on the individual.

Benja Cremaschi, the Argentine-American on the Olympic team, does it the other way and does the hard K sound.

It’s also a testament to the steadfast refusal of the British to pronounce anything foreign in a correct way that we’re talking about an experienced EPL manager and people still aren’t sure despite hearing his name on broadcasts many time
I mean, the pronunciation of Martinez? Oof.

Who is the ESPN Bundesliga announcer who seems take great pride in correct pronunciations? I think he got some mentions during a recent Scuffed pod. I’ll wait for him to weigh in.
 

dirtynine

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Also, I’m unclear on the correct pronunciation of “Poch”. I’ve heard announcers go with two different pronunciations, one more like Polk (like the Pats WR or the 11th US President who was responsible for the Mexican-American War and much of the fulfilling of Manifest Destiny) and the other sounding more like Poach. The Spanish in me says it’s the latter.
It’s easy - pronounced just like the “c” in Pulisic.

Thread title ideas
- USMNT: Skate where the Poch is going
- USMNT: 4-2-3-1 Liftoff
- USMNT: Apochalypse Now
 

Titans Bastard

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I mean, the pronunciation of Martinez? Oof.

Who is the ESPN Bundesliga announcer who seems take great pride in correct pronunciations? I think he got some mentions during a recent Scuffed pod. I’ll wait for him to weigh in.
I believe you are referring to Derek Rae.
 

GB5

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One of the things that I wonder if Pooch can help with is something that has always bothered me with the US program, and I think has hurt their development and that is the lack of friendlies against countries that are better than us. We always seem to play the minnows so that when we get in a big game against a high ranking opponent, it seems it takes a little while to get used to the speed and organization of a top flight program, to say nothing of the fact that we can’t generate any scoring opportunities against top not programs. That may be a talent issue but it certainly wouldn’t hurt to get multiple more looks at top 15-20 in the world programs.
The US did it a while back, I think it was under Klinsmann, maybe Bradley where the US went on the road for a few weeks and played at Germany, I think Poland and maybe one other..and got good results. Can the new coach help with this, or are the opportunities too limited for this?
 

Titans Bastard

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One of the things that I wonder if Pooch can help with is something that has always bothered me with the US program, and I think has hurt their development and that is the lack of friendlies against countries that are better than us. We always seem to play the minnows so that when we get in a big game against a high ranking opponent, it seems it takes a little while to get used to the speed and organization of a top flight program, to say nothing of the fact that we can’t generate any scoring opportunities against top not programs. That may be a talent issue but it certainly wouldn’t hurt to get multiple more looks at top 15-20 in the world programs.
The US did it a while back, I think it was under Klinsmann, maybe Bradley where the US went on the road for a few weeks and played at Germany, I think Poland and maybe one other..and got good results. Can the new coach help with this, or are the opportunities too limited for this?
UEFA Nations League killed 90% of the potential for interesting friendlies.
 

ddeveau

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Apr 5, 2006
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I also like 4-2-3-1 Lift Off. But I never thought of SoSH as an acronym, I've always just thought of it as S-o-S-H.