- Lalas claims investment hasn’t panned out
- Says U.S. Soccer thought it had a better team
- Likes Pochettino but doesn’t think he’s a good fit
Former USMNT star Alexi Lalas says that if he were in Matt Crocker’s position as U.S. Soccer sporting director, he would dismiss manager Mauricio Pochettino, given the lack of tangible progress in the first year under the Argentine’s leadership.
The FOX Sports analyst said there’s too much at stake with a home World Cup to risk an underwhelming performance.
“Yeah, I would,” Lalas said on his “State of the Union” podcast when asked if he would fire the manager. “I’ve spent time with Mauricio Pochettino. I think he’s a quality coach… What I’m basing it on is Mauricio Pochettino himself. What he’s said and done… He’s come to the realization that, with his experience – and he’s talked about it – that this isn’t a soccer-first country.
“OK, we all understand that. But you know what they would do in a soccer-first country? They wouldn’t abide by this. It would be on to the next one.”
Though admitting that it’s unlikely that U.S. Soccer would make such a rash move at this point, Lalas suggested that alarm bells should be ringing at the federation after another disappointing performance. The USMNT lost to South Korea, 2-0, in New Jersey on Saturday night.
“Again, this is a home World Cup. It’s unique in that aspect, and therefore, the stakes are much higher,” Lalas said. “Whether you’re Matt Crocker or anyone else at the United States Soccer Federation, this is going to happen under your watch. If you let it happen, and it doesn’t go well, and it’s a failure, then everyone should be out.”
Ex-USMNT player Stu Holden said that, if results at next year’s World Cup are ultimately what matter, then pundits are overreacting to Pochettino’s poor results as he experiments with lineups.
“All that matters is how this team ultimately does in the World Cup next year,” Holden said. “There’s no pressure right now. The pressure comes next year. He could lose every game until the World Cup, and if he goes to the World Cup and goes to quarterfinals or semifinals, then this would be viewed as a success.”
Given the level of investment in Pochettino, Lalas said the team’s performances should have improved. Pochettino has won nine of 17 matches in charge of the USMNT.
“How would you quantify bombing out of a World Cup, or doing poorly at a home World Cup? What’s that worth to America?” Lalas asked. “Why the hell are we paying him $6 million if he can’t do anything with these players? The whole point of bringing him in is that he could do more with these players – and he’s done less.”
Lalas said that he remains pessimistic that the U.S. will show progress by next summer.
“If you ask me today if I’m confident that this team is going to do great things next summer, given what has happened? Hell no!” he said. “And Mauricio Pochettino would have to say the exact same things. This is what we do. We judge through the games. We are reactive, we are emotional about it, we are passionate about it. There are a lot of people who are like ‘Oh my goodness, we’re in deep you know what come next summer.’
“If we don’t make a change, then that’s what’s going to come into fruition. I don’t want that on my watch. I don’t want that to happen to my country. I don’t want that to happen to my sport.”
The deepest run the U.S. have made in the World Cup was the quarterfinals in 2002, with a Bruce Arena and Landon Donovan-led squad.
