USMNT legend Tim Howard has issued a warning to incoming head coach Mauricio Pochettino as he implored him not to reign as a "dictator" in the role.
The former Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur boss is expected to succeed Gregg Berhalter in the post as he embarks on his first role in international management. With Jurgen Klopp and Gareth Southgate having been linked with the hotseat, the luring of Pochettino represents a major coup for U.S. Soccer.
He will become the first foreign coach of the national team since Jurgen Klinsmann, who was in charge between 2011 and 2016. Now, ex-Premier League stalwart Howard has issued some words of wisdom to the USMNT 's incoming manager as he called for Pochettino to learn from Klinsmann's tenure.
Offering his recollections on the shortcomings of the German coach after serving under him during his time as head coach, Howard said in his Daily Mail column: "Pochettino is the first foreigner to coach the USMNT since Jurgen Klinsmann was appointed in 2011.
"I was there before, during and after his reign. I spent 15 years on the national team and I don't remember a time when there was a bigger disconnect between the players and the manager than under Jurgen. He organized a lot of team excursions. He specialized in fluff and philosophical rhetoric.
"But there was zero soccer. We went to Versailles, we went to the 9/11 memorial, we went on boating trips. He made us come into lunch and sing the national anthem," he continued, as he described the ex-USMNT coach's approach. "He dictated when we slept and when we woke up. He decided what we wore.
"He replaced sugary snacks and enforced tighter curfews. He tried to change our breathing, he sent us on 'empty stomach runs' at dawn. He hired people and literally made up staffing positions for them. Jurgen tried to reinvent the wheel but he didn't teach us a lot of soccer."
Ultimately, Howard is convinced that Pochettino can use Klinsmann's reign as a cautionary tale moving forward as he prepares to take the team into a new era. With the Argentine set to manage the USA at the World Cup on home soil, the ex-PSG boss will take on the role during an intriguing period for soccer in the country.
Howard added: "The lesson for Pochettino to learn from Klinsmann? Understand the American player. Don't make it about yourself. Every culture has different nuances - wherever you coach around the world. So, yes, players have to be pushed out of their comfort zone, but you have to learn what makes people tick."
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