Foreign USMNT head coach claims American sports | Sports News

United States Men’s National Team head coach Mauricio Pochettino sparked controversy by claiming that “American sports reward losers.”

In remarks to reporters final week, Pochettino – who declined to ship a pre-game speech earlier than the USMNT‘s commanding 4-1 victory over Paraguay of their World Cup opener – acknowledged that the taking part in type within the United States falls short of requirements set by Europe’s elite soccer nations.

“Their culture is playful,” the 54-year-old, who obtained a call from Donald Trump forward of the June 12 match, famous.

“They want to play. We told them, ‘Guys, playing soccer is one thing, competing is another.’ They’re two completely different sports. They grow up in a culture of playing.”

As proof, Pochettino highlighted the dearth of promotion and relegation in MLS. North American leagues together with the NBA, NFL and MLB equally operate as closed franchise systems, the place groups stay regardless of efficiency.

“If you start in MLS and you haven’t won a game in three months and you’re at the bottom, what’s the consequence if there’s no promotion or relegation, no international competition?” Pochettino questioned.

“American sports reward losers. But soccer is different: If you reward those who don’t win… If you don’t have goals, you don’t fight. If I lose, what happens? Nothing. They just fire the coach.

“Also, the American participant is disciplined. But with a sense of complacency that is not good in soccer. It took us a 12 months and a half to change that mentality.”

On social media, numerous American fans criticized Pochettino for his apparent lack of familiarity with how sports leagues operate in the United States, reports the Mirror US.

“Maybe the USMNT coach ought to really win one thing earlier than claiming this,” one X user posted, while another commented, “Obviously he has zero understanding of American sports however that is okay. He’s simply a human after all.”

A third user weighed in, “I believe he says that as a result of he does not perceive American sports, and he does not perceive them as a result of he does not like them.

“There are only 3-5 position groups in his sport (depending on style), a vastly deeper development system, and it’s easier to replace personnel.”

Meanwhile, others shortly got here to Pochettino’s protection, voicing help for MLS reforms whereas stating that American leagues additionally benefit struggling groups by means of high draft picks.

“Honestly, he’s not wrong. I’ve long desired promotion and relegation across the entire professional sport landscape,” one particular person said.

Another observer remarked, “He’s not wrong, you lose in Europe you get demoted to the next league. You lose in America, depending on how bad you are, you could be landing a generational talent.”

While Pochettino did not essentially commend the aggressive requirements in American sports, he maintained that soccer would not diminish the viewers for different outstanding US leagues.

“I think there’s room for everyone,” Pochettino argued.

“The United States has almost 400 million inhabitants. And there are 80 million Latinos who have soccer in their blood.

“Here, there are various people who need to speed up the development of soccer. What’s the issue? They need outcomes now.

“They want to create infrastructure for children to play, and at the same time, they want a Messi or a Ronaldo to emerge immediately. That emotional connection with the game takes time to develop.”