Man United hand the ex-Spurs boss a deal until 2029 and a first game at Anfield, but his best work has never been quick
Mauricio Pochettino is officially the new head coach of Manchester United, on a deal until the summer of 2029, and the club have handed him the job he has been linked with for the best part of a decade.
United confirmed on Friday that the 54-year-old starts on 18 November, after agreeing terms with US Soccer to release him and his staff once his work with the USA men’s team is done. His last USA contract carried a $10m (£7.4m) release clause, and that is the compensation United are paying.
The timing is brutal. Michael Carrick was sacked on Thursday after the club’s worst start to a season since 1986, United sit in the relegation zone after ten league games, and Pochettino’s first match is a trip to Anfield on Sunday 22 November.
What did Pochettino say about leaving the USA?
Not much about United, on purpose. He still has two Concacaf Nations League games against Haiti, on Saturday and Tuesday, and the second one finishes in the early hours of Wednesday UK time. He flies to Manchester after that.
At his USA press conference on Friday he was close to tears as he thanked US Soccer. “It was a really difficult decision, but we need to move forward. A big thank you from my heart,” he said.
Asked why he took the United job so soon after signing a new deal with the federation, he said: “They know that it’s not too many opportunities that can happen in your career like a side of Manchester United. Of course, when that arrives it is difficult to turn down the situation.”
He will speak properly as United’s head coach at Carrington, at his first press conference two days before Liverpool. Assistant coaches Jesus Perez and Miguel D’Agostino, goalkeeper coach Antonio Jimenez and his son Sebastiano Pochettino, a sports scientist, are set to join him, although United will confirm the backroom staff later and must pay extra compensation for the four of them.
Why United finally went for him
United had already struck a deal in principle with Pochettino earlier in the week, and Friday’s statement made the case for him: a “high-intensity, attacking style of football”, strong and cohesive teams, and an “outstanding record of developing individual players”.
Eddie Howe and Julian Nagelsmann were considered, but Pochettino was the only coach United spoke to directly. There were reports that the Glazers pushed the appointment through over Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his board; United say it was a unanimous decision, recommended by the club’s leadership and approved by the owners.
He nearly got the job twice before. In 2019 Ole Gunnar Solskjaer won it after his spell as caretaker, and in 2022 Erik ten Hag edged Pochettino out in a two-horse race.
Can he really make average players good?
That is the strongest part of his CV, and it matters at a club that has spent huge sums without getting value back. At Espanyol and Southampton he built sides full of players who later moved to the biggest clubs in England.
At Tottenham, Danny Rose is the best example. When Pochettino arrived, Rose was nowhere near the first team. Pochettino told him that if he trusted him and did everything asked of him, he would become an England international. Spurs gave him a five-year deal, plenty of their own fans laughed, and within a couple of seasons he was one of the best left-backs in the country.
Dele Alli arrived from League One, Kyle Walker came from Sheffield United for little money and Mousa Dembélé from Fulham, and together with Harry Kane and Christian Eriksen they became the best Spurs side of the Premier League era. Nobody knew how good that group could be when it came together. His coaching found out.
Who fits Pochettino at Man United?
Running is the heart of his game. It sounds dull, but it is what lets a side press properly and track back, and he picks players who want to do both. That is good news for Kobbie Mainoo, Leny Yoro and Carlos Baleba, and for younger players such as Shea Lacey who should expect more minutes.
Baleba is the interesting one. Pochettino trusted Dembélé to keep the ball under any pressure, which let the rest of the side take risks. Baleba’s passing was excellent at Brighton, even if his distribution has wobbled in places at United, and he could grow into that role.
Diogo Dalot could be another winner, even though he is not the most popular player at Old Trafford. Carrick has been using Yoro at right-back and Dalot on the left, and we expect Pochettino to want two new full-backs sooner rather than later.
And the players who won’t run?
They tend to disappear, whatever their name. When he took over at Spurs there were problems in the dressing room, and several big first-team names were gone within months, while two young midfielders took their places in the side.
That is worth remembering after Bruno Fernandes was dropped for questioning Carrick’s tactics. Pochettino does not leave dissenting voices to grow.
How will Pochettino’s Man United play?
His Spurs teams pressed hard, but not all over the pitch at once. The press came in sections, so the side was never left wide open to the counter-attack. It was a long way from the all-out squeeze Roberto De Zerbi asks for at Spurs now.
The full-backs are where his attacks start. At his peak at Tottenham, Walker and Rose were sometimes the furthest-forward players on the average positions map. That width let him pack the middle with a narrow, moving front four that played off each other, which suits Matheus Cunha in the half-spaces rather than stuck on a touchline.
Anfield first, then an injury list
There is no gentle start. Liverpool away is followed by a Champions League trip to Sporting CP and then Brentford at Old Trafford.
He will need a quick look at the medical room too. Luke Shaw is aiming to return at Anfield and Marcus Rashford’s recovery is being assessed day by day. Baleba, who missed the 4-4 draw with Aston Villa, faces “a number of weeks” out by Carrick’s own estimate. Benjamin Šeško is unlikely to play before January, Manuel Ugarte could miss the rest of the season with a knee injury, and Patrick Dorgu is back at United after leaving the Denmark camp with a knock.
Verdict: Pochettino is the right man, but not a quick fix
Carrick’s early changes were simple and worked fast. Pochettino’s methods take longer. In the short term we expect him to set United up well enough to win games, and this squad has too many good players to go down. The real return comes later.
His Chelsea year is often used against him, but it ended with five straight wins after a long spell of trying to make sense of a huge, unbalanced squad. Given time, he got it right.
The worry sits above him. United’s recent recruitment has been poor, and the decisions of Omar Berrada and Jason Wilcox will shape this as much as anything on the training pitch. If anyone can make it work with less money than his rivals, it is Pochettino. If he is still in the dugout in two years, we would expect Champions League football back at Old Trafford.