'Where's Poch?' - Emma Hayes key in USMNT manager hunt, U.S. Soccer president reveals

U.S. Soccer leveraged the relationship between two former Chelsea bosses to secure its highest profile men's team hire in years

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  WHAT HAPPENED?

  Mauricio Pochettino now has a new job. The U.S. Soccer Federation confirmed what the wider world had known for almost a month Tuesday, officially announcing the former Tottenham, PSG and Chelsea boss as its head coach. His hiring came after an exhaustive search following the firing of Gregg Berhalter at the end of the Copa America.

  U.S. sporting director Matt Crocker revealed that Hayes, who oversaw Chelsea women to immense success at the same time that Pochettino practiced his trade in London, played a role in bringing the Argentine aboard.

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Friendlies

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• WHAT MATT CROCKER SAID

  In an interview on TNT, Crocker explained Hayes' influence on the eventual decision: "Of course, she's an unbelievable coach, and an unbelievable person. During the Olympics, we were joking, everytime we saw her she'd be like "Where's Poch?" From that perspective, she knows him, and we used that as a reference point as well...They've got the highest respect for each other, I guess the dynamic of those two working together is exciting for us."

  Crocker also drew parallels between the two coach's experience working with young players: "Throughout the process, the one thing I think really excited Mauricio was the opportunity not just to coach the team, but to be part of changing soccer in this country, and the opportunities to start to influence this philosophy throughout the ages and stages.

  "We spoke to quite a lot about our ambitions in the U.S. way, which is going to be our culture, our philosophy, from our youngest age groups and our national teams all the way through individual age group ... giving those young players more opportunities to have, you know, the toolkits that they need to be successful when they actually play for the senior level."

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Although she vouched for his hiring, it might be difficult for Pochettino to immediately replicate Hayes' trophy haul at the helm. The English coach led the USWNT to a Olympic gold in her first major tournament in charge -- just weeks after officially joining the team - overseeing a young, talented squad.

  And she backed Pochettino to succeed in a video released on the USMNT Twitter account.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR POCHETTINO?

  The new head coach is expected to be officially unveiled at a news conference in New York this week, and will take charge of the side in a pair of important friendlies - first Panama, then Mexico - in mid-October.