Head coach of the US, Mauricio Pochettino, has played rumors and connected him to the empty management position in his former club Tottenham Hotspur, after firing Ange Postecoglou on Friday.
Argentinian Pochettino was in charge of Spurs for five years from 2014 and took the team to the Champions League final, but never won a trophy with the North London club.
Despite the fact that he signed a two-year contract in September to lead the US to the World Championship 2026, which they are together with Canada and Mexico, the name of Pochettino appeared in bookmakers lists with favorites for the Spursbaan and in various British reports.
But early on Saturday to the links, in his press conference after the game after the 2-1 home-friendly defeat of the US against Turkey, Pochettino played the conversation.
“After I left in 2019, every time I was free, and the place of the position of the manager or head coach in Tottenham Hotspur (was vacant), my name appears on the list,” Pochettino said.
“If you have seen the rumors, I think there are 100 coaches in the list. I think you're not worried about that,” he added.
In the past, Pochettino has spoken about his remaining affection for Spurs and has never excluded the possibility of returning to the club at some point.
But he suggested that the timing was not good for a second chance with his old team.
“If something has happened, you will certainly see, but we can't talk about things like this, because I think it's not really today. It is not realistic. And see where I am where we are,” he said in the stadium press room in Hartford, Connecticut.
“And the thing is, the answer is so clear, no? But we are talking about it because it is my club, like Newells or Espanyol,” he added.
Postecoglou was dismissed only 16 days after the Australian had ended the 17-year-old trophy-dried of Tottenham by winning the Europa League.
Postecoglou led Tottenham to a 1-0 win over Manchester United in Bilbao to conquer the first European prize of the North London people in 41 years and to achieve a place in the Champions League of next season.
The former Celtic boss paid the prize for the worst domestic season of Tottenham since they were banned from the top flight in 1976-77.
The US has now lost three games in a row, after losing Panama and Canada in March's Concacaf Nations League, but Pochettino was cheerful about the encouraging representation of his team after questioning the attitude of his team in recent competitions.
“I want to continue this attitude for the future until we arrive at the World Cup … That is the only way we can improve,” he said.
“If I decide in September (to have another schedule, what I want is the same level of dedication, posture, not to complain (over) to complain,” he added.