In June and July 2024, frustration took over American football. The United States men’s team had just been eliminated from the Copa América.
As disappointed fans walked down the ramps at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, some chanted for coach Gregg Berhalter to be fired.
Some argued that a world-class coach was needed to revitalize the team’s potential ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
There were, however, problems with this plan. The United States had never produced a world-class men’s soccer coach. And, in theory, they had neither the football prestige nor the players capable of attracting a coach of that caliber from abroad.
Historically, the United States Soccer Federation also lacked the necessary budget. Big names seemed unlikely.
Berhalter, hired in 2018 and reappointed in 2023, earned about $1.7 million a year, including bonuses. It was a record for an American-born coach leading the men’s national team. Bob Bradley, his predecessor, earned less than $1 million a year in the late 2000s.
Jürgen Klinsmann, the renowned German coach who led the national team between 2011 and 2016, was the exception: at the end of his second contract, he was receiving more than US$3 million annually, according to US Soccer tax documents.
Klinsmann, however, was not a particularly established club coach. To attract someone with a great reputation and extensive resume, the American federation knew it would need to make an unprecedented financial investment in 2024.
The leaders were not intimidated. “We started with a list of those we consider to be the best coaches in the world,” said JT Batson, CEO of US Soccer.
Among the names discussed was Jürgen Klopp, champion of the Champions League and Premier League with Liverpool. And when this attempt was leaked to the press, the day after Berhalter’s dismissal, the same fans who had complained in groups during the Copa América began to dream.
One of those fans was Scott Goodwin, founder of Diameter Capital. Born in France and with a spell in Spain, he maintained his connection with football while building a career in the financial market. In a message conversation with three friends — two of them former professional players who still work in football — he had been complaining about the problems of the American team.
When he saw names like Klopp emerge, he wrote to the group: “Let’s bring these guys in.” When one of the ex-pros commented that the best coaches might be too expensive, he replied, “I’ll pay.” And he was serious.
The idea was that if they — donors or coaches — embarked on the project and took the United States men’s team far in the 2026 World Cup, they could help change the course of football in the country. They could inspire enthusiasm and participation among American children. They could leave a legacy.
But there was one condition: Batson and US Soccer sporting director Matt Crocker needed to hire a coach who would justify the investment. For Goodwin, there were three ideal names: Klopp, Pochettino and Pep Guardiola, from Manchester City.
Batson and Crocker pursued at least two of them. They met with Pochettino in July, at a hotel in Barcelona. By August, they were convinced that they had managed to persuade him. All that was left was to figure out how to pay it. It was then that they looked for Goodwin again.
There was a difference, he said, between the salary Pochettino expected to receive and what US Soccer believed it could pay. Sponsors would cover half of that difference. Could Goodwin cover the other half?
He says he was scared by the price, but he had a solution. He called Kenneth C. Griffin, founder and CEO of Citadel. Months earlier, during lunch, the two had talked about football culture, from the training of young athletes to Lionel Messi at Inter Miami.
Griffin had a long-standing interest in the sport and had previously donated $8 million to the US Soccer Foundation to fund the construction of 100 small-scale soccer fields in Chicago and Miami-Dade County, Florida. Then Goodwin asked: Would Griffin be willing to contribute to Pochettino’s signing?
In essence, Griffin’s response was, “I’m in.” He believed that a coach “of the highest caliber” — like Emma Hayes, who received a record salary to lead the U.S. women’s national team and almost immediately led them to Olympic gold — could be “a catalyst for positive long-term benefits, even if the deal is short-term.”
A deal was structured that would end up paying Pochettino several million dollars a year, a contract that, according to US Soccer, was “funded in significant part by a philanthropic leadership donation from Griffin.”
Without him and Goodwin, the signing would not have happened. Unless, of course, Pochettino, a 54-year-old Argentine, was willing to work for much less, said US federation president Cindy Parlow Cone.
Since then, the coach’s trajectory has not necessarily been linear or upward. Indeed, Pochettino’s 20 months in charge have been turbulent. He talked about how he identified problems, destroyed what needed to be destroyed, and began rebuilding the house from the ground up. This required suffering, defeats and time.
But if the United States is successful at the 2026 World Cup, Pochettino will receive the praise, and his millionaire sponsors will look back on their investment as something worthwhile.
In his first seven months in office, from September 2024 to March 2025, Pochettino was paid around $5 million, according to tax documents. His signing bonus alone was $2.5 million.
Although he earns less than he did at Chelsea or his previous club Paris Saint-Germain — and less than some other elite coaches in Europe — he is, by a wide margin, the highest-paid employee in the history of US Soccer.
At that moment, however, he was also facing difficulties. Many observers questioned whether the high investment was worth it. Consecutive defeats to Panama and Canada, in March 2025, ended their “honeymoon” with the fans.
In the summer, there appeared to be friction with their main star, Christian Pulisic. The team continued to perform below expectations. Those who have always argued that coaches are overvalued in national team football seemed to have found proof of their thesis.
But then Pochettino’s value started to show. Young players and athletes who were previously peripheral, who received his trust, began to contribute. The team beat Uruguay 5-1 in November.
Then, heavy defeats to Belgium and Portugal brought the Americans back to reality. Still, the victory over Senegal on May 31 and a promising performance against Germany renewed confidence.
On Friday, in the opening match of the World Cup, the United States defeated Paraguay 4-1. Apparently, Pochettino prepared the American team for the biggest spotlight it has ever faced.
Excited, the team now faces Australia, this Friday (19), at 4 pm, in Group D.
