Christian Pulisic made a debatable but reasonable decision last month to\u00a0skip the Gold Cup, and that, he surely hoped, would be that. His\u00a0body and mind were \u201ctalking\u201d to him. They needed a full offseason to recharge ahead of\u00a0next year’s World Cup. He could play two friendlies for the U.S. men\u2019s national team in June, but a monthlong tournament? Nah. He told head coach Mauricio Pochettino and U.S. Soccer that he\u2019d rather take some time off.<\/p>\n
And that, we learned this week, was the only time that Pulisic and Pochettino, the\u00a0team\u2019s star\u00a0and\u00a0renowned boss, have spoken over the past month.<\/p>\n
In separate media appearances on Thursday and Saturday, they implicitly revealed discord that will now linger around the USMNT for a while.<\/p>\n
The decision, meanwhile \u2014\u00a0inflamed by criticism, by Pulisic\u2019s dad and by former USMNT stars\u00a0\u2014 has unraveled into a soap opera.<\/p>\n
Pulisic, in response to the criticism, pointedly disclosed in a\u00a0podcast interview with CBS Sports\u00a0that he\u2019d asked to play in this month\u2019s\u00a0friendlies against T\u00fcrkiye\u00a0and Switzerland, but that coaches \u201csaid no.” It was “common sense” to use the same roster for the friendlies and the Gold Cup,” Pochettino said Saturday. Pulisic, 26, who has captained the USMNT dozens of times, added: \u201cThat’s coach’s decision, I fully respect that. I didn’t understand it, but it is what it is.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pochettino, speaking Saturday ahead of the USMNT\u2019s Gold Cup opener, responded: \u201cPlayers don’t need to understand or not understand. Players need to listen and to stick with our plan. They cannot dictate the plan, because if [so], we invert, we swap positions, no? \u2026 We explain why we decide not to include [him] in the friendly games, and then if you have some problems \u2014 that is not my problem, [for him] to understand or not understand.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mauricio Pochettino and Christian Pulisic after the USMNT lost to Canada in the CONCACAF Nations League third-place match in March. (Photo by Shaun Clark\/ISI Photos\/USSF\/Getty Images for USSF)<\/p>\n
\u00a0(Shaun Clark\/ISI Photos\/USSF via Getty Images)<\/p>\n
With every comment Thursday and Saturday, the two stoked an already flammable situation. Pulisic admitted, when asked, that Pochettino\u2019s lack of communication, while not \u201can issue,\u201d has been \u201cslightly different\u201d than his relationship with previous national team coaches. Pochettino indirectly responded that he couldn\u2019t keep in regular touch with 60 players, as if Pulisic were just another one of the 60. \u201cI want to keep that all the players feel the same respect from the coaching staff and from myself,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Pochettino insisted that \u201ccommunication is good with [Pulisic], like another [player].\u201d But his insistence on treating Pulisic like any other player seems to be one source of a disconnect between the two. Pulisic is the\u00a0most famous and successful men\u2019s soccer player that the U.S. has ever produced. He\u2019s undoubtedly the USMNT\u2019s most important, and previous coaches have managed him as such.<\/p>\n
Pulisic once\u00a0told a story about Pochettino\u2019s predecessor, Gregg Berhalter, calling him to the coach’s office late at night after a friendly in which Pulisic had scored but also picked up an injury. Berhalter challenged Pulisic, and suggested that perhaps he needed to \u201ctrain harder,\u201d but not in a confrontational way; in a caring way. \u201cYou can tell he’s passionate, and he cares about his players,\u201d Pulisic said years later. That episode, during his first camp with Berhalter, made a lasting impression on him.<\/p>\n
Interpersonal and special treatment, though, can privilege a star. In March, during the CONCACAF Nations League third-place match, when Pochettino chose to replace Pulisic with Tanner Tessmann,\u00a0Pulisic appeared to wave off the sub\u00a0so that he could take a free kick. Pochettino didn\u2019t seem pleased.<\/p>\n
And a few months later, he doesn\u2019t sound pleased that Pulisic opted out of the Gold Cup \u2014 although he has publicly defended Pulisic\u2019s decision, and said he “understands” it, and called him \u201ca very talented player\u201d and \u201ca very nice guy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe people need to prioritize the national team,\u201d\u00a0Pochettino told USMNT legends Landon Donovan and Tim Howard on their podcast\u00a0recently. \u201cWe were talking about Argentine players, or Brazilian players, or English players, or Spanish players, they are desperate. Even Messi, even Neymar, even Mbapp\u00e9 for France, these guys are desperate to go to the national team.\u201d Pulisic, he said, “should be our Messi.”<\/p>\n
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And on Saturday, he didn\u2019t sound pleased with Pulisic\u2019s Thursday interview. He reinforced that he \u2014\u00a0the $6 million coach\u00a0who\u2019s worked at levels that none of his U.S. players ever have \u2014 is in control, and that no single player is bigger than him or the collective \u2014 or the player next to him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI [don\u2019t] prioritize,\u201d Pochettino said. \u201cYou say [Pulisic is] the best player \u2014 yes, he\u2019s a good player, of course. But he needs to perform. Because I\u2019m going to judge him like Diego [Luna], like another. If he performs well and he is the best, it\u2019s normal he\u2019s going to have a place in the national team.\u201d But a player wouldn\u2019t just play because he says: \u201c\u2018I want to play,\u2019 \u2018I want to this,\u2019 \u2018I want to that,\u2019” Pochettino added.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I signed my contract [with] the federation, I am the head coach,\u201d he said. \u201cI am not a mannequin. That is how we are, and that is my culture about football.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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