Pochettino’s Argentine influence molding U.S. national team, down to the yerba mate

The U.S. men’s national team is sharing the Inter Miami training facility with Lionel Messi and his Miami teammates this week as both teams familiarize themselves with new coaching staffs. Javier Mascherano just took over at Inter Miami and Mauricio Pochettino is a few months into his job with the U.S. squad.

Mascherano is preparing his team for its first preseason game Saturday in Las Vegas against Mexican champion Club America. Pochettino is evaluating MLS-based U.S. players heading into a pair of friendlies Saturday against Venezuela at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale and four days later against Costa Rica in Orlando.

Both coaches happen to be from Argentina, which means their passion for soccer runs deep, their training sessions are intense, and their training grounds are stocked with yerba mate.

The bitter, caffeine-rich herbal drink made of the dried leaves and stems of the yerba plant is the national beverage of Argentina and Uruguay and is also popular in Brazil and Paraguay. It is more than just a drink. It is a communal custom that brings locker rooms together.

Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez carry it around in thermoses. The Argentine national team travels with large quantities of it. So does the Uruguayan national team. Inter Miami does, too.

And now, the U.S. national team is getting a taste of the tradition.

Upon hearing from Pochettino about the yerba mate custom, some U.S. Soccer staff members ordered customized mate cups for the coach and his assistants, emblazoned with the U.S. national team crest.

The traditional cup is brown and made of a hollowed calabash gourd, but can be made of metal, ceramic or wood. Most Argentine and Uruguayan players have their cup (and an accompanying thermos) personalized with their initials, jersey numbers, names of their spouses and/or children, and logos of their favorite soccer clubs.

Key Biscayne native Benja Cremaschi, the 19-year-old Inter Miami and U.S. midfielder, is an Argentine American. His father played on Argentina’s national rugby team. He has been drinking mate since he was a young boy and soaking in the Argentinean passion for sport.

He said he can feel the Argentine influence in Pochettino’s coaching style.

“The culture around Argentinean soccer is they live the sport with a lot of passion and I think what Mauricio is trying to say is this team could use that passion for the jersey and the badge,” Cremaschi said on Friday. “If we can do that, I feel this country could become an incredible soccer powerhouse in the next World Cup. I think his philosophy and the way he does things can lead us to that and I can grow a lot as a player under him.”

Like Messi and former Inter Miami coach Tata Martino, Pochettino got his start with the Newell’s Old Boys youth teams in Rosario, Argentina. He represented Argentina at the U20, U23 and senior national team level and that set the foundation for his playing and coaching career in Europe.

He played for Espanyol, PSG and Bordeaux. His coaching career included stops at Espanyol, Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur, PSG and Chelsea.

Pochettino, 52, is relaxed and friendly with players during free time, but extremely demanding at every training session, expecting full commitment with every pass, every sprint and every gym session, according to the players in camp.

“His message is that everything counts, everything matters every single day, from the minute you wake up until you go to sleep, and it’s important to understand that is what he wants,” said Tim Ream, at 37 the oldest player in the January camp. “That shines through in training sessions. They’re intense. Everything is about doing things at 100 percent, or more, if you can give more.”

That mentality is welcome, Ream added.

“Even if you’re on a team that’s always winning, you still have to have that kind of bite, because as soon as you start to feel like you’re at a point where you’re doing well, the rug gets pulled out from underneath you,” he said.

Inter Miami goalkeeper Drake Callender said: “My first impressions [of Pochettino] were `This is going to be difficult.’ It’s hard work. It’s challenging. He’s creating an environment that tests you.”

Center back Walker Zimmerman concurred.

“When you’re on the field, it’s really intense, competitive, you’re expected to work hard at all times, and when you’re off the field you can relate to them on a more personal level and have good conversations,” Zimmerman said. “Right now, they’re just getting to know us. It’s the first camp for a lot of us under this new staff, so they want to get to know us as people.”

The USA vs. Venezuela match kicks off at 3 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster and ussoccer.com