American footballers get their belief back as Mauricio Pochettino makes his mark

AUSTIN – For all the fascination with Mauricio Pochettino’s team selection and tactics for his opening game in charge of the United States, perhaps the most significant evidence of the Argentinian’s impact came in the opening 15 minutes of the 2-0 friendly win over Panama on Oct 12.

A team who had won just once in their last seven games, all on home soil, and had suffered a dismal early exit from July’s Copa America, showed no signs at all of those disappointments as they zipped the ball around the field, looking hungry for possession.

Their opponents, one of the tougher sides to face in the Concacaf region at the moment, had dealt former coach Gregg Berhalter the deadly blow of a defeat at the Copa group stage. But the Americans were clearly up to the task at the Q2 Stadium in Austin.

“(His message is to) have guys play the way they are comfortable playing and being confident going forward with the ball,” said 37-year-old captain Tim Ream.

“And I think everybody saw that, especially in the first 15 minutes. Guys were moving, guys were intricate passing and getting the ball moving quick and getting in and around their box. And when he tells guys to go and be themselves, you know, it’s a sign that he has confidence in you,” he said.

Yunus Musah opened the scoring four minutes after the break, converting a Christian Pulisic cross, before substitute Ricardo Pepi put the icing on the cake with a late goal in stoppage time.

Nothing builds belief like a win and so the victory in Texas will go a long way to casting aside the mostly miserable year the team have suffered, although Ream said the change had been evident during the build-up.

Pochettino, who had been greeted with a portrait of his face displayed on a banner behind the goal where the team’s supporters had gathered, was impressed with the response after less than a week of being with his new squad.

“Yeah, after a few days training with the team, I think it’s amazing the way that we were focused and concentrated and tried to follow the plan,” he said.

“It was a very professional performance from there, I think it’s the basis for the first step to start to grow and get better,” he added.

It was by no means a perfect display – nor a particularly revolutionary approach – and Panama had enough chances to claim at least a draw.

But the former Tottenham Hotspur boss was delighted to have seen his team cope with spells when their possession game was not so effective and Panama gained the upper hand.

The US face another test on Oct 15 when they travel to Guadalajara to take on old rivals Mexico, who have also changed coach, with Javier Aguirre returning for a third spell. AFP