The die is finally cast. Mauricio Pochettino shall occupy the US Men’s National Team managerial chair in no time. One can smell the enthusiasm in the air to finally see the Star and Stripes get a coach who is surely among the revered names of the managerial world. In the opinion of Landon Donovan, however, the former US international doesn’t ‘really care’ how things will transpire under the former Tottenham boss.

“I’m cautiously optimistic,” said the newly appointed San Diego Wave manager during his recent chat on Alexi Lalas’ State of the Union Podcast. “We have seen over the last decade-plus—and I have seen it in my club and national team career—a big name means nothing.”

While as an individual, Donovan will always have praise for Pochettino, it’s the concern over how things may transpire for the USMNT under his leadership. “I believe my personal opinion is that Pochettino is much more than just a big name and I think he’s a very good manager. But we just don’t know how that’s all going to gel together.”

What the former US forward is trying to implicate is that things do not go on a positive note for great managers every time. Meanwhile, there is oftentimes a situation where other not-so-big-name coaches, although aren’t expected to, tend to witness tremendous success. Regardless, more than the name of the new USMNT manager, Donovan is rather focused on seeing good results from the team.

“At this point, I don’t really care which way it goes. I just want us to be successful because this event [2026 World Cup] is the biggest opportunity in the Men’s National Team history for us to showcase ourselves,” added the NWSL coach. Landon also insisted that Team USA will be presented with a significant opportunity as a host nation of the prestigious tournament to attain ‘tens of millions’ of new fanbases. Indeed, the prospects are unlimited. But the question is whether Donovan would be interested in being a part of this revolution.

Landon Donovan encouraged to join Mauricio Pochettino with the USMNT

Last week, the San Diego Wave announced on their social media platform X that Landon Donovan will serve the NWSL club until the end of the 2024 season. This news caught the attention of Alexi Lalas, who retweeted the post, writing, “Congratulations to @landondonovan on the new interim coaching gig. Like to see Pochettino maybe bring him into the #USMNT set-up. 🇺🇸⚽️.”

Lalas suggests that Pochettino could persuade the U.S. Soccer Federation to add Donovan to his coaching staff. While this advice might appeal to both the USSF and the Argentine coach, it’s unlikely Donovan will join the former Spurs boss anytime soon. The 42-year-old is focused on sharpening his tactical skills with the Wave and tackling the challenge of getting the California-based club back on track.

In his debut, Donovan led the Waves to an emphatic 2-0 win in the CONCACAF W Champions Cup opening group stage fixture against Panama’s Santa Fe FC. However, the NWSL campaign hasn’t been favorable, losing 1-2 to Angel City and drawing 1-1 against Washington Spirit. Perhaps some more work is required on the tactical aspect in order to see himself join Mauricio Pochettino’s mission of reviving the USMNT.