FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. (AP) — Mauricio Pochettino was hired as Manchester United’s head coach on Friday, agreeing to leave his job with the U.S. national team to take on the challenge of reviving the fortunes of English soccer’s once dominant force. Just three months after announcing a contract to lead the Americans through the 2030 World Cup, the U.S. Soccer Federation said Pochettino will depart next week for Old Trafford. The 20-time English champion is in the relegation zone after 10 games of the Premier League season. “They know that there’s not too many opportunities (that) can happen in your career like a side of Manchester United and, of course, when that arrives, it’s difficult to turn down,” Pochettino said during an emotional news conference at the U.S. team training camp. He signed a 2 1/2-year contract and will take over on Nov. 18 ahead of the match at Liverpool four days later, becoming United’s eighth permanent coach or manager since Alex Ferguson retired in 2013. Pochettino choked up at a news conference while sitting between USSF president Cindy Parlow Cone and CEO JT Batson. “One of the most difficult decision in our career,” he said, crying and rubbing his hands as Cone put a supportive hand on his back. “A decision that in some part is a very sad decision,” Pochettino added, “in another part is that we are professional and we need also trying to find the next step to try to make your dreams come true.” United said the 54-year-old Argentine was “renowned for his high-intensity, attacking style of football, his dedication to building strong, cohesive teams and his outstanding record of developing individual players,” and had “consistently performed at the highest level of football across multiple leagues.” Pochettino’s appointment comes one day after Michael Carrick was fired for overseeing United’s worst league start in 40 years, with one of the biggest teams in world soccer languishing 18th in the Premier League. Pochettino and his assistants will remain with the U.S. team for the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinals against Haiti on Saturday and Tuesday. “We recovered our motivation,” Pochettino said. “We recovered our capacity to dream big, the capacity to train players that really want to improve and really want to share good moments and players that really care about the federation and this country.” Pochettino took over the U.S. team in the fall of 2024 and led the co-host Americans to the round of 16 at this year’s World Cup. The USSF is likely to sound out Pep Guardiola’s interest and could also consider elevating Under-23 coach Steve Cherundolo, a former national team defender. Cherundolo will lead a senior national team training camp next month with players mostly from Major League Soccer. Going into his final two games, Pochettino led the U.S. to 21 wins, 12 losses and two draws — counting a penalty-kicks win over Costa Rica as a draw. He was the first long-term U.S. coach not to win any titles since Steve Sampson from 1995-98. “What you’ve done with the men’s and the boys program in two years has been unbelievable,” Parlow Cone said. “Not only have you contributed to their advancement, you’ve contributed to the entire federation being better.” Batson and chief operating officer Dan Helfrich will lead the search, assisted by women’s national team coach Emma Hayes and former American defender Oguchi Onyewu, a member of the USSF staff. Manchester United is paying a release fee to the USSF to terminate his contract. “Those funds are used to help us hire great coaches, help us (with) youth national team programs, coaching education,” Batson said. “Those funds are available for us to invest to make the biggest impact on our goals.” After coaching Southampton, Tottenham and Chelsea in the Premier League, Espanyol in Spain and winning the French title with Paris Saint-Germain, Pochettino takes a job that has proved to be too big for a succession of managers since Ferguson led the team to a record 13 Premier League titles and two Champions League crowns during a near 27-year tenure. United has not won the league since Ferguson’s last season in 2013 and has been overtaken by rivals Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal. Champions League-winning coaches Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho failed to meet United’s expectations, while David Moyes, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Erik ten Hag and Carrick also came up short. Despite winning the French league with PSG in 2022, arguably Pochettino’s greatest achievement was turning Tottenham into a serial title contender in the Premier League and also leading the club to the Champions League final in 2019. He has never won a major trophy in England, most recently losing the final of the English League Cup with Chelsea in 2024. ___ Robson reported from Manchester, England, and Blum from New York. ___ James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson ___ See AP’s full soccer coverage here Charles Odum, James Robson And Ronald Blum, The Associated Press
