U.S. soccer coach Mauricio Pochettino declared Tuesday that “American sports reward losers” after being asked an innocuous question about his World Cup team’s style of play.
Provocative Remarks
There was some nuance to his provocative remarks but Pochettino, as a native Argentine, perhaps intended to ruffle a few feathers. His team certainly didn’t need any more firing up in its impressive 4-1 victory over Paraguay in the first game. The Americans play Australia on Friday in Seattle.
But Pochettino, speaking in Spanish, fired a salvo at American athletic culture anyway. Here’s how the conversation went in a translated exchange from El Pais.
The Exchange
“We know how England, France, Spain play … Players from countries with a strong tradition have a recognizable style. What is the style of the U.S. team?” a reporter asked. “What kind of football do the Americans want to play?”
Replied Pochettino:
“Their culture is playful. They want to play. We told them, ‘Guys, playing soccer is one thing, competing is another.’ They’re two completely different sports. ... Why? 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? 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 player is disciplined. But with a sense of complacency that isn’t good in soccer. It took us a year and a half to change that mentality.”
Reactions
Demoting major league teams to a lower level due to poor performance is indeed not a thing in the United States as it is in Europe and elsewhere. “It needed to be said,” USA Today’s For the Win wrote. “The system has to change at some point.”
