Fiery speeches and free barbecue as an incentive?
New U.S. men's national team manager Mauricio Pochettino's unique motivational methods were on full display in the latest edition of Behind The Crest, a behind-the-scenes video series from U.S. Soccer.
November was a instrumental month for the Argentine as the U.S. played its first set of competitive matches under his watch in the CONCACAF Nations League semifinals against Jamaica. The U.S. first sealed a 1-0 win in Kingston before earning a 4-2 result in St. Louis behind three first-half goals.
As part of the video, U.S. Soccer offers a glimpse at Pochettino's halftime rallying cry, where he tells the U.S. to look past those first-half goals and maintain the intensity necessary to kill off the opponent.
"We do not concede!" he yells. "We cannot concede. We need to go there and kill and play and do our jobs. If you are tired, we have players on the bench who can be a real impact and are desperate to play. We need to press all together, and when you are tired say, 'Coach, I have no more', but don't go out there and spend 45 minutes playing easy. Enjoy being serious. We need to score the fourth, the fifth and the sixth."