'You want to do him justice' - Harry Kane, Lionel Messi, Diego Maradona, other stars provide perspective on expected USMNT coach Mauricio Pochettino

There probably isn't a player more closely tied to Pochettino than Kane. It was under the Argentine that Kane became a household name and, realistically, one of the best strikers the Premier League has ever seen.

Kane was always the centerpiece of Pochettino's Tottenham teams, and rightfully so. Throughout his time at Spurs, Kane scored 213 goals in 320 Premier League appearances, putting him behind only Alan Shearer on the league's all-time goalscoring charts. And the now-Bayern Munich star gives Pochettino his share of the credit for being the inspiration behind it all.

"I can’t speak highly enough of him," Kane said of Pochettino after a 1-1 draw with Barcelona several years ago. "He’s a fantastic manager, a fantastic man. With him, it’s always about hard work and belief. That’s what he said to us before the game and at half-time: just believe, bring energy, work. And we’ll get the reward.

"You respond to that. On nights like that, big occasions, you just want to do him justice."

Throughout Pochettino's PSG tenure, rumors continuously swirled. That's the name of the game when you coach such a prominent club. At the slightest slip-up, the chattering will begin.

Much of that chatter surrounded Messi. By making the move from Barcelona, Messi caused expectations in PSG to skyrocket. Those lofty ambitions were never reached. PSG never won that elusive Champions League during the Argentine's brief stay and, ultimately, Pochettino paid for it with his job.

Throughout their time working together, rumors swirled about Messi's frustration under Pochettino. Messi's camp, though, frequently shut down those rumors, telling the Daily Mail that any reports of a Messi-Pochettino rift were "totally false." Messi has since admitted that his biggest frustrations in Paris were off the field, as he never adjusted to life in France.

“As I said at the time, my departure to Paris was not something I wanted," Messi said. "It was not something I wanted to leave Barcelona and, so to speak, it was from one day to the next. And, well, I also had to get used to a place that was totally different from where I had been living all my life, both in terms of the city and in a sporting sense, and, well, it was difficult, but the opposite of what is happening to me now here [in Miami].”

As for Pochettino, he has since admitted that he struggled to manage PSG's big three of Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, both on and off the field, saying that his tenure as PSG "was the experience we needed, the experience of living with big stars and interacting at the top level of football.

"It was the challenge of putting yourself in a difficult situation and trying to make such a special club work. You need to constantly adapt because there was too much greatness.

"For Barca to have Messi or for Madrid to have Cristiano is a blessing. But when you put in too many players who all need their place and to be No. 1, there can be confusion. In the end, when you play, it's 11 players with one ball. There was a penalty, and who takes it? It's not even a coach's decision."

Throughout his time at PSG, Mbappe played under five different coaches. During that time, he became a global phenomenon. By the time Pochettino arrived in 2021, Mbappe was already among the best in the world, if not the best.

Pochettino's appointment was all about trying to get PSG over the hump in the Champions League. It didn't quite happen. To get there, though, Mbappe says Pochettino brought wide-spread changes from his predecessor, Thomas Tuchel.

“We have already changed the system,” Mbappe said in 2021. “Afterwards, each coach comes with his philosophy. We had a philosophy, a philosophy with Thomas Tuchel. We changed coaches, then Mauricio came up with another game plan and a new form of play. We didn’t manage to play well right away, it starts to show little by little, but now we have to confirm.”

Ultimately, that never fully materialized, with Mbappe admitting that he felt his team took a step back under Pochettino.

"This past season, we weren't as fearsome, we were far less untouchable," he told BFMTV in 2022. "We want to go back to being intimidating in France, something we have not done these past two years."

Pochettino worked wonders during his time at Southampton. He arrived at a team near the bottom of the Premier League table. When he left, he'd guided the club to an eighth-place finish, earning his move to Spurs.

One of the stars of his Southampton team was Adam Lallana, who would leave himself once Liverpool came calling. Under Pochettino, Lallana became a star. After spending the bulk of his career in League One and the Championship, Lallana was named to the PFA Team of the Year for the 2013-14 season after scoring nine Premier League goals for Pochettino's Southampton.

“He’s world-class, not just as a manager, but as a person,” said Lallana, who returned to Southampton this summer. “The way he man-manages his players. He makes you feel good about yourself. He’s had a lot of time for us and I think it shows in how well we have performed for him. He has that way about him, he’s a cool guy.”

During his time under Pochettino, it seemed as if Dele Alli was ready to take on the world. He was arguably the game's most exciting young player, with unlimited potential to be a star for years to come.

It never happened that way, as the midfielder's game was impacted by mental health struggles as he dealt with childhood trauma. His best years under Pochettino, though, were world-class, headlined by a 2016-17 campaign that saw him score 22 goals.

"Mauricio Pochettino was the best manager and I couldn't have asked for a better manager at the time," he told Gary Neville on the Overlap. "It wasn't like a footballer and a manager relationship. It was deeper than that, I felt. He was just so understanding of the decisions I was making, and he was guiding – like, he cared about me as a person before the football, which is what I needed at that time. And I think that's important for young players."

Dele credited Pochettino for supporting him in difficult moments, and for his empathetic approach, saying the coach "helped a lot in that period of my career, which is why it was tough for me when he left. Because, you know, then you [get] new managers, and it was hard for me to let anyone in at that point and to be open.

"And I felt like everything was just so fake. When people – managers – would speak to me, I just felt like the conversations weren't real. It's hard to explain. It's something like it was more, it was probably more me and in my own head and my own ego.

"You know, I weren't open to let anyone in, and I didn't feel like any of them wanted to really know me on a personal level, which is then tough for me to fully commit and give my everything for them, which obviously had a negative impact on me in the long run."

Palmer sent shockwaves throughout English soccer by making his big switch in 2023. A youth star at Manchester City, Palmer became impatient, tired of waiting for his chance. He moved to Chelsea and quickly became a star, earning his place in the England team as well.

One of the reasons he moved to Chelsea? Pochettino, who he believed was a coach that could help him reach the next level.

"I spoke to some of the people who had worked with him, even players, and they said he loves working with young players so I thought that was perfect," Palmer said. "He's probably the main reason, because a different manager might not have given me that freedom and opportunity to do what I did at Chelsea."

Palmer was ultimately disappointed to see Pochettino go, with the Argentine coach lasting just one season at Stamford Bridge. The young midfielder believed something special was being built, and it was unfortunate that he didn't get to see it built to fruition.

"When he first came he installed the foundations and made sure everyone knew what was required," Palmer said. "Then he started to teach us what he wanted to do. But first, we needed that base. As a man-manager, he would push you if you slack off. He’s been really good for me. He kept me relaxed and we had a really good relationship. He had a tough job, half the team has been injured — some very important players, too — so it’s been difficult for him.

"But everyone loved him. All the players did and he’s been very important for me as well.”

Pochettino really did make it easy for Son, with two simple words: Just run.

When Son arrived at Tottenham in 2015-16, he wasn't a goal-scoring machine quite yet. He'd scored in double-digits in each of his two seasons with Bayer Leverkusen, but he was still a rising star, one who was admittedly intimidated by the idea of playing in England. Reports at the time said that, after just one season, Son asked to leave, but it was Pochettino that convinced him to stay.

"Football is about scoring and if you want to do that, you have to go forward," Son said. "That is what he wants me to do. I don't want to do difficult things, just go straight.

"The gaffer taught me a lot about my movement, and off the ball I have changed a lot. He has made things better. I am really thankful."

Son, of course, is now one of the Premier League's most dynamic wingers, and it may never have happened if not for Pochettino's guidance.

There may not be another figure in the sport that has reached Maradona's status, so when he speaks, his words carry weight. And, in 2019, he backed Pochettino, a longtime friend, to take over at his longtime club, Boca Juniors, and lead them to glory.

"Boca have to take a technician to play and feel what Boca is," Maradona said. "It's not easy to sit in that chair. The best to do it is Maradona! But now I will not go there. I would like Mauricio Pochettino. You have to call him and convince him to come to lead the biggest team in the world."

Pochettino had roomed with Maradona during the early days of his own playing career. In 1993, he was just a young defender at Newell's Old Boys when Maradona arrived, changing his life forever. Pochettino, like all Argentines, idolized Maradona, but he quickly realized that his hero had become his friend.

"I always keep Diego in private in my mind. I love him. I love everything about him. I knew Maradona, the real Maradona," Pochettino told ESPN. "We see him on the pitch, and then there is his image. Outside it was crazy. But I promise you if he arrived here and opened the door, we'd all be in love with him.

"His energy, his personality -- and he's a person that when he's with you, he makes you feel the best. He's so careful about the people around him. I learned a lot from him. He's so careful about his people."