Chris Richards: U.S. hiring Pochettino shows serious ambition

United States defender Chris Richards said the men’s team hiring of Mauricio Pochettino is a sign they are “serious” about growing the sport and the fact they went for a top, world-renowned coach, rather than a more straightforward option, is proof of their ambition.

Richards, who plays for Crystal Palace in the Premier League, was talking in the matchday program ahead of their home match against Liverpool on Saturday at Selhurst Park. Despite making four starts this season domestically, he was left out of Pochettino’s first USMNT squad. A source told ESPN his omission was due to a hamstring injury.

Richards is expected to be out for four weeks, but he will be keeping a close eye on his USMNT teammates when they start life under Pochettino at home to Panama on Oct. 12 before they travel to Mexico on Oct. 15.

He feels the USMNT appointing Pochettino is a sign of their long-term ambition and shows they’re not afraid of aiming big.

“You’ve seen his success in club football,” Richards said. “It’s another sign that U.S. soccer is pushing to better the game. Hiring a manager like Pochettino shows that you’re serious about growing the game.

“We could have gone down the safe route by choosing a potential coach from the MLS, but I think them going for a coach that might turn them down, and going for coaches of [his] calibre is very impressive from US Soccer. I’m really excited for it, hopefully we can win games and tournaments with him.”

Richards said the U.S. are aiming big ahead of the 2026 men’s World Cup, which will be hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico. “It’s funny, people ask me when I’m playing for a team USA: ‘How far do you think you can go in the World Cup?’ I say ‘I want to win it,'” Richards said.

“Whatever I do, we want to be the best at, and we want to win.”

Richards is at the forefront of the sport’s growth in the U.S., but he feels for participation numbers to increase, they must make the game more accessible.

“Football is the quickest growing sport in the U.S.,” Richards said. “Everyone at some point in their life growing up in the U.S. has played, whether it was when you’re four-years-old or at high school to stay in shape.

“But I think the problem is that it’s still ‘pay to play’. That’s when people start falling through the cracks because it’s not a cheap sport. There is a lot of travel involved because we’re such a big country.

“Once you eliminate the ‘pay to play’ aspect, the sport will definitely grow. Hopefully with the World Cup, U.S. Soccer and everything that falls underneath it — Major League Soccer — we can get a model where it’s a lot cheaper, and there’s a lot of avenues where people can play for free.”