The U.S. men’s national team may have hit some unwanted low points during Mauricio Pochettino’s divisive tenure, but the Argentine certainly has the backing of striker Folarin Balgoun.
The former Tottenham Hotspur and Paris Saint-Germain manager has lost seven of his 19 games in charge of USMNT, including the final of this summer’s Gold Cup. Pochettino followed that setback on home soil up with an underwhelming pair of friendlies against South Korea and Japan last month before overseeing a much-improved display against Ecuador on Friday night. However, that heralded clash still resulted in a 1–1 draw.
Balogun scored USMNT’s equalizer after falling behind to Enner Valencia’s first-half strike in a performance which Pochettino took time to praise. The admiration is clearly mutual.
“I have so much confidence in Poch and what he’s able to do for us,” Balogun gushed this weekend. “He’s given us so many ideas going forward, and added so much structure. I feel like the confidence we have in Poch is obviously showing.”
Defender Tim Ream wasn’t quite so emphatic. In response to a question about whether Pochettino’s principles were finally seeping into the squad, he shrugged: “Um, yeah, I think so.”
Ream acknowledged that “it was always going to take a little bit of time for their ideas to really take hold with the entire group” while adding: “You saw the energy that we played with. That’s something that they’ve really preached. And now I think everybody really is starting to understand and grasp that mantra of playing with intensity and being aggressive with and without the ball.
“Guys have been trying to play with that energy, but I think it’s also marrying the tactical ideas and the strategy with playing with energy and the aggressiveness. And there’s a balance to it. There’s a line you have to get up to, and you have to touch, without crossing.”
Balogun Highlights Untapped Strength for USMNT
Weah to Tessmann to Tillman to Balogun.
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On top of lauding his manager, Balogun also highlighted the impact a fervent home crowd had on him and his teammates.
Crowds during the U.S.-staged Gold Cup were worryingly low. It was a sellout crowd for the final in Houston, yet most of the 70,000 in attendance in Texas were rooting for Mexico rather than the home nation. Even the semifinal against Guatemala in St. Louis was noticeably partisan in favor of the visitors—something which Pochettino pointedly highlighted at the time.
“I would love to see my players playing with 70,000 people cheering,” Pochettino sighed. “We need the people. We need the fans. The fans have one year to realize how important are the fans in soccer.”
The 20,000 at the Q2 Stadium in Austin to watch Friday’s 1–1 draw with Ecuador offered a hint that Pochettino’s pleas had been heard.
“The crowd helped us to really motivate us and push us on,” Balogun noted. “I think they don’t realize how much we as players rely on their support. It really gives us a boost. It’s always nice when we can play at an amazing stadium like today with the home crowd supporting us and cheering us on.”
Balogun’s teammate Tim Weah directly credited the supporters bellowing out “U-S-A” for the equalizer. “We ended up getting the goal thanks to them,” he claimed. “It’s always great having that turn up.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Mauricio Pochettino Receives Vote of Confidence Amid USMNT Negativity.