The Mauricio Pochettino era with the USMNT isn’t even officially underway, but already there is a breath of fresh air. The culture around the team is down to two words: “hard work.” The squad has been running intense drills as the manager has spoken to each player one by one.
Brenden Aaronson of Leeds United was one of many players singled out by members of the media as a major underachievers on the team when Gregg Berhalter was fired. Currently with 44 caps and 8 goals, the winger has suffered from a major drop in form during his last two years at both Leeds and Union Berlin.
Now back with Leeds, Aaronson has elevated his game on the left wing and has 2 goals in 9 games for his team, looking to bounce back. That upgrade in level was seen firsthand by Pochettino, who in a press conference last week pointed to Aaronson as one of many players he wants to “test” and “build back up.”
Brenden Aaronson on Mauricio Pochettino
As the team assembled this week for their two friendlies against Panama and Mexico, Mauricio Pochettino has been working hard with the team, and US Soccer has uploaded videos on social media showcasing the drills the team is running. For Aaronson, he has already seen how things are different under Pochettino’s leadership.
Mauricio Pochettino speaks to the media during a press conference after being introduced as the head coach of the U.S. Soccer Men’s National Team at Hudson Yards on September 13, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Evan Bernstein/Getty Images)
In speaking with TJ Sports USA, Aaronson said, “The last couple of days getting to know him, getting to know the whole staff around him, has been really good. Feel like we’ve already learned a lot; we learned about the style of play we wanna play today at training. I think everyone is ready to learn from him. You can just see the buzz and its excitement, so it’s really good.”
Mauricio Pochettino and Brenden Aaronson share a strangely similar story; both were at one time observed by Marcelo Bielsa. Bielsa traveled to Murphy when Pochettino was a boy to bring him to Newell’s Old Boys.
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In the case of Aaronson, indirectly, it was Bielsa who had approved to the Leeds board to sign the American after watching him play for Austrian club Red Bull Salzburg. By the time Aaronson arrived at Leeds, Bielsa had left the club, but the decision to bring the American occurred long before Jesse Marsch had arrived.
