U.S. Soccer Spotlight: The 'Miracle' Inspiring Pochettino for the World Cup

Pochettino

Once again, Mauricio Pochettino was in tears.

The 53-year-old Argentine is, by his own admission, emotional. It's something fans of the U.S. men’s national team came to learn after a narrow loss to rival Mexico in the Gold Cup final in July, when Pochettino broke down while addressing his players. 

But this time, his vulnerability wasn’t public. It occurred last month in Tampa after Pochettino sparred with reporters — full disclosure, I was one of them — about the idea of the U.S. team having "regular" players following a resounding 5-1 win over two-time world champion Uruguay. 

It was when Scott Goodwin pulled him aside.

The post-match episode reminded Goodwin, one of the deep-pocketed donors who helped U.S. Soccer underwrite the former Chelsea, Paris Saint Germain and Tottenham Hotspur manager’s reported $6 million salary, of one of the most iconic tales in American sports. And one that was made into a Disney movie. 

The 2004 film "Miracle" recounts the true story of the triumphant 1980 U.S. men’s Olympic hockey team. At those Games, a team comprised of amateur college players somehow defeated the fully professional four-time defending champion Soviet Union en route to the gold medal. Five decades later, the "Miracle on Ice" team and its story is still considered one of the greatest upsets in global sports history.

That squad was coached by Herb Brooks, a no-nonsense taskmaster who despised entitlement above all else and who demanded total sacrifice and buy-in from his players. He kept them guessing about who would make the final roster all the way until the eve of those Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York, lest anyone took their spot on the squad for granted.

In the film, Brooks was deftly portrayed by actor Kurt Russell, who delivered on those great movie scenes that make you want to run through a wall.