ROG'S INTERVIEW WITH NEW USMNT MANAGER MAURICIO POCHETTINO 🇺🇸

I type with fingers that are filled with glory: Yesterday, I spent the afternoon with Mauricio Pochettino on his first day in New York City as manager of the United States National Team. This is not a drill. It’s happening, people. Mauricio and I taped a show which will be released at 1 p.m. ET today. I have spent time in years past with Poch at Spurs and at Chelsea, and cannot lie, it was surreal to sit in a Times Square studio and chop it up with a gent that is synonymous with Premier League sidelines, while he was wearing a shirt with the U.S. Soccer Crest on his left pec. Proof that football, like life, can take you on journeys to unexpected places. 

ii. What can I tell you about our conversation? Poch and his trusted assistant Jesus Perez are so unbelievably amped to face this challenge. We talked about how he walked into a Tottenham in crisis – two managers fired in six months, a locker room in turmoil – and he transformed the club with youth, who proceeded to perform alchemy. 

Pochettino and Perez’s repeat message yesterday was that this is a massive job in their eyes, and they would not have come unless they thought they could adapt to international football and transform our U.S. team’s culture. Mauricio talked about how a good international team – like Argentina – does not worry about playing attractive football. They just have to bring a mentality that they can go eye-to-eye with any opponent and believe they can win. La Grinta. Fight. Collective desire to win by all means necessary. I closed by asking him what success would be at the next World Cup. He did not wait a second before giving me an answer that was a thrill to listen to. 

We also talked about the Pochettino philosophy, process and beliefs. Yes, we went deep on his love of lemons. America, get this man a big, big box of lemons. Do I think this is going to work? This experiment is not without its challenges: Can Poch drill his methods into an international team in which he will have two or three training sessions every time? Can he understand the mindset of the American player and the Star Wars cantina that is CONCACAF? Can he man-manage a squad who are experiencing a collective dip in form and playing time at club level? Poch’s message was, “we have to believe.” He talked about belief as if it is his super power. Bring on the October window. Bring on the Gold Cup. Until then, Let me know how you are feeling via [email protected] as I would love to know your thoughts and feelings. Go! Go! USA!

More: I broke down Pochettino’s challenge as he inherits the job in-depth here. 🇺🇸🇦🇷

iii. This has been an incredibly productive week at Men In Blazers World HQ: 

1. We filmed with the great and joyous Rob McElhenney to talk about the challenge of League One thanks to our friends at STōK Cold Brew Coffee. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

2. 31-year old Brighton Manager Fabian Hurzeler talked about his Houston Roots and how to become a Premier League coach while you are still a baby.🕊️

3. Sam Mewis and Lynn Williams broke down Alex Morgan’s retirement in a beautiful personal fashion on the Women’s Game.

2. To the Football

i. CLASH O’ THE WEEKEND: Tottenham vs. Arsenal 💣 (Sunday, 9 a.m. ET, USA)

Behold! The 196th North London Derby may be defined as much by who won’t be playing – Arsenal, searching for their third straight away win, lack seven players due to injury suspension, including captain Martin Ødegaard who left international duty in tears with an ankle injury, and red-carded ball-flicker Declan Rice. 

Tottenham have looked great this season, but only when playing Everton. Great news Spurs fans: Both Dominic Solanke and Micky van de Ven are fit to play. Brace yourself for a clash of styles. Big Ange’s all-in, all-the-time reckless abandon against Arteta’s methodical, angsty search for organization and control. 

Good Read: This game will be decided by two very different ideas of… defense

ii. Southampton v. Manchester United (Saturday, 7.30 a.m. ET, USA)

After Casemiro quiet quit against Liverpool with the world watching, all eyes will be on Uruguayan defensive midfielder Manuel Ugarte on his debut. Signed from PSG for $55m, can the 23-year-old be the latest in a long line of Manchester United of “Big Savior Signings” to disappoint us? Ten Hag has begun the season with two losses in his first three games. Losing to an ambitious yet mistake-ridden Southampton, who have not beaten United in over eight years would be the greatest low since Rebecca. 

iii. Liverpool v. Nottingham Forest (Saturday, 10 a.m. ET, Peacock)

Arne Slot’s Liverpool remain not just perfect but the only team yet to as much as concede a goal. With the Champions League’s imminent return, and Tuesday’s clash against AC Milan and “Puli! Puli! Puli! Sic! Sic!”, can they gird their loins to do battle on two fronts in a slog of a season which will demand rotation and the use of a deeper squad?

iv. Manchester City v. Brentford (Saturday, 10 a.m. ET, Peacock)

Brentford are the answer to a trivia question: Who is the last team to win away at Manchester City? Two seasons ago two Ivan Toney goals powered the Bees past their hosts 2-1. Now it feels like the only questions are will they choose to experience “Death by Haaland,” “Death by KDB,” or “Death by Doku”? No Rodri yet this season – his return is said to be imminent – yet the suspense is less, will Haaland get a hattrick? More, who is going to be the latest City player to write something uncouth on his signed match ball? 

In a parallel universe of City Darkness: City’s hearing into the club’s 115 financial breaches is reported to be kicking off on Monday. We have been promised an outcome “by the beginning of next year.”

Nicer City news: Club unveil a 4th kit inspired by Oasis’s “Definitely Maybe.” Noel even got Pep involved. How long until Everton unveil some monstrosity of a kit designed by Creed or Kid Rock? Take a closer look here.

v. Aston Villa v. Everton (Saturday, 12.30 p.m. ET, NBC)

Sigh. In case you have forgotten, last we saw Everton, they leaked three goals after the 87th minute that left fans traumatized. The first victory of the season we were seconds away from celebrating turned into us once again screaming into the abyss. After leaking 10 goals in three straight defeats we head to Villa Park where we have not won since 2019. Villa are unbeaten in 10 games against us. Why are we even playing this game? We know how it ends… with Amadou Onana adding to his two goals in three games by breaking my heart and celebrating his brace as Villa romp. 

More: The American John Textor who continues to make so much noise about taking over Everton. PS. People serious about taking over clubs do not normally make this much noise.

vi. Bournemouth v. Chelsea (Saturday, 3 p.m. ET, Peacock)

No doubt, the Bournemouth Tourist Authority nervously awaits Noni Madueke’s considered pronouncement on the quality of its environs. “Sh*t Place”? Or not “Sh*t Place”? 

Bournemouth are unbeaten, yet the real battle in this one may be between Chelsea’s owners who are currently in the throes of a Civil War. Choose your fighter, Todd Boehly versus Clearlake Capital.

AND: Your Full Television Broadcast Schedule. 📺

3. More Football, Did Ya Say?

i. The death of the screamer. Why data has led to fewer and fewer barnstorming shots from outside of the box.

ii. Goalkeeper with two degrees and thesis in Second World War history might just be top ten favorite football player ever.

iii. Barcelona under Hansi Flick are… GOOD? 

iv. Old British TV news report of Blur vs Oasis at 6-aside-football is totally classic.

v. Rob McElhenney, Alex Morgan become Classic Football Shirt obsessives. 

PrizePicks. Best PP since Pablo Picasso 

Charlie Kipp Writes: I’ve long maintained that the early-season international break is one of the biggest buzzkills in the annual football calendar. Players opting-out with “injuries,” players getting actual injuries (sorry, Arsenal fans) - none of it is fun. But I come to you with two incredible pieces of news: 1. The USMNT has a new manager, in case you haven’t heard… and 2. The Premier League is BACK, and with it, a full suite of PrizePicks selections for the taking. To that end, with apologies to maybe the nicest man in football, we are going LESS on Mo Salah 4.5 Shots.

Liverpool fans, before you freak out on me, know this is not an indictment of Salah, but rather - the PrizePicks stat category. Arne Slot’s Reds host Nottingham Forest at 10 a.m. ET Saturday on Peacock, a game that everyone rightly expects Liverpool to dominate. Will Salah, as he has for nearly a decade, factor prominently into his team’s attack? Obviously. But - when you take a look back at Salah’s stats over the past season - he exceeded five shots only five times all year… in over 50 matches, all comps. This will be a “hold onto your butts” pick, but we’re gonna trust the numbers and keep our winning streak going. Mo Salah LESS than 4.5 Shots.

If you haven’t joined PrizePicks, CLICK HERE and play $5 and get $50 instantly when you use code MiB.

Share This Newsletter with Your Football-Curious and Football-Mad Friends Alike 📧

If you enjoy this newsletter, please share it with as many of your football-curious friends as possible. Men in Blazers is based on community and word of mouth and we are immensely grateful to you for helping grow it. It is such an honor to do what we do at MiB as the sport’s profile is surging in our nation. We never take it for granted. We also love to hear from you at [email protected]. Send us a Raven and let us know what you’re loving or what you’d love to see.

And if you — or your friends — are interested in The Women’s Game, we have a weekly newsletter for that too 💙

4. Wrexham face up to Tom Brady’s Boys 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Wrexham v. Birmingham City: the “Hollywood Derby.” Words I never thought I’d type out. Massive test for Rob and Ryan’s Red Dragons who top the league heading into their Monday night clash with Tom Brady’s monied Midlands side (3 p.m. ET, Paramount +). A win for Birmingham City would take them level on points with the undefeated Town. More good news for Welshpool: 'Special' Paul Mullin in contention to start again. Mulls is one of football’s great guys. World feels better when he is running free and scoring goals. 

More. Rob McElhenney joined me this week. This is a really lovely interview.

5. Big Games to watch in Italy 🇮🇹

NOT THAT THE TABLE MATTERS THIS EARLY, but after a mixed start to the season, Pulisic and Yunus and AC Milan sit 14th in Serie A as they return from the international break to face newly promoted Venezia (Saturday, 2.45 p.m. ET, Paramount +). Pulisic is a doubt for Saturday, after traveling (and scoring) with the USMNT in Cincinnati midweek. Liverpool, then Inter await. 

Como F.C. host their first Serie A match this season at the Sinigaglia as they take on Bologna (Saturday, 9 a.m. ET, CBS/Paramount +). With two losses and one draw thus far, Cesc Fabregas’ side will hope the Como Ultras can propel them to a win over their North Italian rivals. 

6. The Women’s Game

The post-Alex Morgan era begins this weekend, as her 12th placed San Diego Wave, continuing to struggle under interim manager Landon Donovan, take on 13th placed Utah Royals (Saturday, 10 p.m. ET, ion). 

With just seven games left in the regular season, both sides need points FAST if they’re to have any chance in joining the Orlando Pride in one of the league’s eight playoff spots. Keep your eyes on the KC Current’s Temwa Chawinga in their match against Orlando tonight (8 p.m. ET, Prime Video), a goal from her would extend her consecutive goal record to nine straight games. 

More: Survey of NWSL club GMs on the state of the League.

7. Not Football, and All the Better for It

i. How Endless Shrimp brought down Red Lobster. "Endless Shrimp brought out the worst in people" is a line David Foster Wallace dreamed of.

ii. New fear unlocked: The Hell and the Horror of Cow Attacks. As someone who spent their happiest year working as a dairy farmer, this saddens me more than I can say.

iii. After 30 years, White House executive chef Cristeta Comerford has retired. Need to try those bipartisan Enchiladas.

iv. Welcome to Shorworld. Only slightly less controversial than SeaWorld. 

v. Just ordered this at the library: The Nazi of Oak Park.

vi. How to book a stay in a decommissioned Coast Guard tower in the "Graveyard of the Atlantic." Pros: neighbors are quiet, Cons: neighbors could also eat you. 

vii. I’ve Become Absolutely Obsessed With Ralph Nader’s Pens Join Me on My Continuing Investigation. Ralph Nader, huge Wirecutter guy. 

viii. TikTokers Keep Inventing Money ‘Hacks’ That Are Actually Fraud. Guys have you seen my printing your own money hack??? #grind.

ix. Very very cool: Chess players, from orbiting cosmonauts to the Wu-Tang Clan – in pictures. My life goal is to make a TV show about Chess. 

x. My friends just started a new sports newsletter, OffBall. Subscribe if you are interested in the wider culture of sports. I admire the design and the whole outlook of the project. They are soccerphiles – one of the creators is Michaela Hammond, the sister of the magical Madison Hammond of Angel City. 

xi. Make sure you watch the Sopranos documentary.

xii. This song made my week: She’s Leaving You by the unreally talented MJ Lenderman. 

It’s my birthday this weekend. There are two kinds of people in the world. Those who live for their birthdays and host a week of feasts to mark them. And those who find them to be irrelevant. I am most certainly the treasurer of the latter group. I did have a dream about my Dad last night which was very soothing. But tomorrow means very little to me at all. Watching football with you, and talking about football gives me such joy and sustenance, I feel that every day is a celebration and am honestly just thrilled that I am able to spend a normal day watching Everton soil themselves on network television with the world watching. 

More profound was spending time in my spiritual home of Chicago last weekend. Going back to my roots and reveling in watching Caleb Williams’ debut with my own eyes (I have fallen in love with the true face of this season’s Bears: Punter Tory Taylor.) The experience of watching my Chicago White Sox plummet to their 114th loss, just seven games away from breaking the 1962 Mets' historic mark as de facto "worst MLB team ever" does raise this philosophical question: Why do I only love sports teams who hurt me? Your answers to that continue to bolster me. And I pray that Mauricio and the USMNT buck that trend in the year to come. 

Big Love,

Let’s not take a second of watching football together for granted,

Make great Memories, 

Courage.

ROG