Landon Donovan breaks down the process of Mauricio Pochettino and why it's working
Landon Donovan explains how Mauricio Pochettino earned buy-in from the USMNT and why his approach is producing results.
Video Transcript
He has so much experience, right?
And so he, it feels like he knew there was a process to go through.
And I think he would admit it was much more challenging than he realized when he took the job.
But what he did over time was he started to build a culture within the team that said to the players, "If you are not willing to go on the field and leave everything you have on the field every time you play, you are not going to play."
And it's one thing for coaches to say that, and then the best players go, "Yeah, but not me."
Like, "He's not talking about me."
He made it very clear.
He left Weston McKennie out of a camp.
He had, you know, his issues with Christian Pulisic and was very firm with him.
Just said, "Guys, if you're not willing to do it, I'll play somebody else."
And so now what's happened is everybody has bought in.
And when everyone's bought in like that, plus the quality You're seeing it with Weston, the quality they have, they're like real players playing real roles in big games in a World Cup, and they look like stars, total stars.
So you have to give him so much credit for that.
