When Mauricio Pochettino takes his place on the touchline at the illustrious SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on June 12, 2026, as he watches his US men’s national team (USMNT) kick off their World Cup finals journey, all eyes will be on him. This will be a moment unlike any other in his coaching career, a chance to shine at the grandest stage of them all.
There are managers out there who change their team of assistants from one job to another, but Mauricio Pochettino is not one of them. Joining him with the USMNT are four individuals he knows very well; Miguel ‘Miki’ D’Agostino, Antonio ‘Toni’ Jimenez, Jesus Perez, and his son Sebastiano Pochettino.
The core of Pochettino’s coaching team – Perez, Jimenez, and D’Agostino – was first assembled during his time at Espanyol, the Barcelona-based Spanish club, where he took over as manager in 2009 at the age of 36, following the end of his playing career with the club. Sebastiano later joined them as a fitness coach and sports scientist at Tottenham Hotspur, Paris Saint-Germain, and most recently at Chelsea.
There is also a new addition to the team, Silvia Tuya Vinas, who is fluent in English, Catalan, and Spanish, and will serve as a strength and conditioning coach.
During his first press conference as the USMNT head coach in New York, Pochettino expressed, “I think we have very qualified people working in the federation that can very quickly help us. But of course, we are flexible and we are always open to adding people because we know that football is changing; technology is here and now we need hands to work, people to work, because we need to analyze (lots of things).”
“We have tools to work really, really hard. In the past, many years ago, you had only one coach, one fitness coach, one analyst and that’s it. But now in this business, it’s really important to have all that you need to cover (everything), and you need qualified people working next to us to provide us information to be better and to help the players to perform.”
Understanding Pochettino’s work and his journey thus far is impossible without recognizing the coaching staff who have been by his side every step of the way, from Spain to England, to France, back to the UK, and now to the United States.
The Athletic dives into profiles of the coaches who will help prepare the USMNT for the 2026 World Cup on home soil – and how they collaborate as a team.
First up is Miguel ‘Miki’ D’Agostino, who played alongside Pochettino at Newell’s Old Boys in their native Argentina in the early 1990s. While D’Agostino didn’t achieve the same level of success on the field as his friend, he has been a crucial part of Pochettino’s backroom staff, particularly overseeing analysis and scouting.
Next is Antonio ‘Toni’ Jimenez, who manned the goal for Espanyol during the 1990s and 2000s. A former goalkeeper with a decorated career, Jimenez joined Pochettino’s coaching staff after his playing days, bringing his wealth of experience to the role.
Perez, described by Pochettino as an “extension of himself,” is his closest confidante. It was Perez, together with Pochettino’s wife, Karina, who persuaded him to make the move to the Premier League as Southampton manager in 2013, a pivotal moment in his coaching career.
As Pochettino embarks on this new chapter with the USMNT, his trusted coaching staff will be crucial in guiding the team to success on the world stage in 2026.
