FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — With Lionel Messi in Major League Soccer, and Argentine coach Mauricio Pochettino taking the helm of the U.S. men’s national team ahead of the 2026 World Cup, the Argentine presence in American soccer is clear.
Can Pochettino’s Argentine influence translate to U.S. Soccer eventually replicating Argentina’s winning ways in the sport? It may be easier to translate Spanish to English, but it’s easy to see the aspiration.
Argentine players such as Messi play with pride and passion, inherit feelings they rely on despite their size or other physical attributes in the most heated of competitions.
They’ve won 65 of their past 70 matches, including the last two Copa Americas and the Qatar World Cup in 2022.
Pochettino hopes to find USMNT players who play with the same purpose, despite having a player of Messi’s caliber and being far from World Cup favorites at this point.
‘The way Argentine players compete: When you lose a ball, you cry,’ Pochettino said Friday before USMNT takes on Venezuela at Inter Miami’s Chase Stadium on Saturday. ‘When you lose a game, you spend maybe one week in your room when you want to go out. It’s how you defend your patch, your flag. It’s how you defend your identity, your culture. It’s what we want to translate.
‘When you play for the national team, you need to feel something in your skin and inside yourself.’
Pochettino faces a tall task leading U.S. Soccer, but his Argentine flare could help steer the direction of the program moving forward.
The new USMNT coach is 3-1 so far: The Americans won 2-0 against Panama on Oct. 12, but lost 2-0 to Mexico on Oct. 15, and beat Jamaica 5-2 on aggregate in two Concacaf Nations League games in November.
Along with their World Cup preparation, USMNT will compete with Canada, Mexico and Panama at the Concacaf Nations League finals in March, and in the Concacaf Gold Cup later this summer.
Pochettino has fielded a group of MLS players at this January’s camp, giving the league’s players an opportunity to audition for the national team. USMNT star Christian Pulisic isn’t available since Saturday’s match and Wednesday’s tilt in Orlando against Costa Rica falls outside the FIFA international window.
‘The message is: Show me we can with you,’ Pochettino said. ‘And playing in MLS, you can compete with players in Europe.’
Benjamin Cremaschi, an Inter Miami standout of Argentinian descent who played with the U.S. at the Paris Olympics, didn’t have much trouble adjusting to Pochettino’s coaching during the USMNT in the last two weeks.
He already plays with Argentine pride from playing alongside Messi for the past 18 months, while being coached by former Inter Miami coach Tata Martino and new coach Javier Mascherano – both also from Argentina.
‘I think Argentinians play with a lot of passion. I think they’ve shown it around the world. So that’s something that they definitely bring to the table,’ Cremaschi said this week.
‘I think just the passion, the way they live the game. I feel like that’s something that a lot of players could learn from.’
Drake Callender, an Inter Miami goalie unable to play with USMNT this weekend due to a minor muscle issue, is a fan of the Argentine mentality and philosophy he’s learned from playing with Messi and his Inter Miami coaches.
‘I feel like it brings the best out of the players,’ Callender said. ‘It’s hard work combined with passion, combined with skill. It’s a type of soccer that is exciting, but also is tactically sound.’
Inter Miami youngster Yannick Bright, who was born in Italy and played college soccer at the University of New Hampshire, also echoed the Argentine passion he’s experienced.
‘It’s a different kind of futbol,’ Bright said. ‘It’s a little more like having fun with the ball rather than being all about physicality and stuff. And I try to embrace it. It’s nice to learn with the ball and be calm with the ball, rather than just run everywhere around.’
St. Louis City’s Indiana Vassilev, 23, has played on several U.S. soccer youth levels and been instructed by Argentine coaches in his career.
‘I’ve had our Argentinian coaches in the past. I think they’re very intense. They’re very direct, and focused in what they do. I think they can obviously help us,’ Vassilev said. ‘I think that’s why they were hired, and I think that’s why they’re here.’
Pochettino categorized himself Friday as a demanding and intense coach.
He wants his players to be explosive and play with power. He wants them to control the ball and fight until they regain possession. And he wants balance on both sides of the pitch to score goals and not concede them.
More important, Pochettino wants his American players to find their pride and purpose.
‘I don’t know the percentage you’re going to give more. But for sure, (if it’s) one, five or 10 percent more, you’re going to have an extra energy that you’re going to put on the pitch,’ Pochettino said.
‘If you’re able to feel that … I think we can build a very competitive team. That is one of our objectives.’
