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Colorado Rapids head coach Chris Armas weighed in on the public war of words between new USMNT boss Mauricio Pochettino and star winger Christian Pulisic, stressing it's vital for the Argentine and Pulisic to come together and be on the same page.
Armas said that “any new manager would have spoken to Pulisic and gotten him on board with Poch’s plans - what’s best for the team, what’s best for him” - but admitted he wasn’t sure if those conversations have taken place yet between Pochettino and the AC Milan star.
“If you have Lionel Messi on your team - just forget for a second about Christian Pulisic - if you’re the new manager, you say to Messi - ‘here’s where we’re going’,” Armas said on the Overlap US. “You’d almost - for me - think you got to get him on board and say what is the best thing for our team and what is the best thing for you?"
“But Pulisic, every time I’ve seen him on the field, he plays to win, puts his body on the line, plays with intensity, and loves the passion. So he’s the most important guy, let's say, so now, when recently Pochettino comes out and says ‘No we’re not going to have different rules, here’s what it was’. I understand, a new manager coming in, ‘No it’s not what you want’. When you put on that badge, it’s not up to the player, for me, however, it’s Pulisic."
Armas implied that because Pochettino didn't tailor his approach to Pulisic, it likely led to the situation becoming what it was.
“Every manager, you've got to lead your household, lead your team how you see fit, and he’s probably saying ‘No this is the culture I’m setting and it’s not up to the player’," he said. "And it sounds like there was a little bit of uhh maybe ‘look this is what it can be, if you want be part of it this is what it is.’”
WHAT CHRIS ARMAS SAID
Armas also touched upon his star goalkeeper, Zack Steffen, and his role with the USMNT. The American international is currently in a battle with Matt Turner and a few other players for the No. 1 spot on Pochettino’s roster, with Steffen battling a slight injury at the moment. But despite that, Armas revealed that he’s in the best shape, mentally and competitively, of his career.
“Yeah, we do talk about it regularly,” Armas said when asked if he and Steffen have discussed his place in the USMNT squad. “With Zack, I’d say that from a mentality standpoint, from a competitor standpoint, from a culture of the national team and then from a quality standpoint, these days he’s looking so hard to score on. His distribution – short-range passing, long-range passing – he’s got a winning mentality, I think that, partnered with the fact that it’s up in the air a little bit, with how some of the other guys are doing, are they getting regular playing time?"
He also touched upon the former Manchester City star’s injury, which kept him out of the Gold Cup squad, and revealed that it’s a small issue and Steffen will be fit soon. Not only that, Armas is also backing the Rapids’ goalkeeper to eventually win the race for the position.
“And look, the national team staff visited recently and saw him, like a month ago. Saw his process, saw how he trained, saw the goalkeeping core, what that looks like. Yeah, then his injury, on top of that, he had a scope, and it’s one of those quick ones; he might be back in three weeks. We’ve all recovered from that, so I think he’s going to get back in it, and it becomes up to him how he does do," Armas said.
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Pulisic's status within the national team program has been a recurring topic since his emergence as the USMNT's most recognizable talent. Previous coaches have struggled to optimize his contributions while building a cohesive team structure. Pochettino's arrival brings a manager with experience handling global stars at clubs across Europe, but the international context presents different challenges like the ones the Argentine is facing now.
WHAT’S NEXT?
The USMNT faces Saudi Arabia on June 19 in the second group stage game of their Gold Cup run, which will then be followed by a contest against Haiti on June 22.