Mauricio Pochettino Announces Staff Ahead of USMNT Debut

Jesús Pérez and Sebastiano Pochettino are two of the newest members of the USMNT staff.

U.S. Soccer confirmed Mauricio Pochettino's staff. / Lucas Boland-Imagn Images

Mauricio Pochettino brought several long-time staff members to U.S. Soccer as he prepares for the USMNT's upcoming friendlies against Panama and Mexico.

Pochettino kicked off his first training camp as the head coach of the U.S. men's national team on Monday, Oct. 7. Not only did the former Tottenham Hotspur manager finally meet and train with his new players, but he also introduced five additions to the USMNT technical and high performance staffs.

Jesús Pérez is the new first assistant coach of the USMNT. Pérez and Pochettino have worked together for over a decade across three of Europe's top five leagues. The two first collaborated at Espanyol before joining Southampton, Tottenham, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea.

Miguel “Miki” D’Agostino, another individual who worked with Pochettino at the manager's past five clubs, is an assistant coach for the Stars and Stripes. Antonio "Toni" Jiménez, a gold medalist with Spain at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, is the new USMNT goalkeepers coach.

The last member of Pochettino's staff making the move to the USMNT is his son Sebastiano. The 29-year-old will continue his career as a sport scientist. He joined his father at Tottenham before following him to PSG and Chelsea.

The only new addition to Pochettino's team is Silvia Tuya Viñasis, who will act as the USMNT's strength and conditioning coach. She most recently worked with FC Levante Badalona in Liga F.

"I speak for our entire staff when I say we are very excited and proud to have this opportunity to work with these players and the U.S. men’s national team,” said Pochettino. “Together, we have a lot of experience and a very clear way of working. We’re going to take that experience, get to know these guys as people and players, share our knowledge, and together as a united group help this team accomplish our goals.”

Gregg Berhalter's assistant coach, Vincent Cavin is no longer on the USMNT staff. U.S. Soccer announced the two parties "mutually agreed to part ways."

Fans will get to see the early impact of Pochettino and his staff when the Stars and Stripes face Panama on Oct. 12 in Austin. The two sides will meet in an international friendly for the first time since Los Canaleros defeated the USMNT 2–1 at Copa América 2024.

Just three days later, the U.S. heads to Mexico to face El Tri at Estadio Akron.

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