Why Mauricio Pochettino Is Willing to Break His Own Rule for Cavan Sullivan
It was telling that Mauricio Pochettino had to be reminded to comment on Cavan Sullivan’s sensational 35-yard lob after an effusive outburst of praise for the teenager’s overall performance against Mexico. Having rattled through all his tenacious technical qualities, the goal that made him the youngest scorer in U.S. men’s national team history had slipped Pochettino’s mind.
That the USMNT manager was willing to spend any time discussing an individual player is a sign of how high Sullivan already sits in Pochettino’s estimations.
Back in the spacious press room at SoFi Stadium after the USMNT’s emphatic World Cup opener against Paraguay this summer, once the whirr of an air conditioning unit had been silenced at his request, Pochettino shut down every line of questioning into any individual performance. It was not a night to hail Christian Pulisic, Folarin Balogun or Tim Ream. The team (and the fans) earned the praise of a manager constantly wary of dishing out too many accolades.
Sullivan, it would appear, is an exception to that rule.
“Talented,” “tremendous,” “unbelievable” were some of the superlatives which Pochettino used to hail the 17-year-old’s showing in Saturday’s historic 3–0 victory over Mexico. Sullivan is being treated differently because he is doing things differently to every other U.S. star to cross paths with Pochettino.
Sullivan Is Built in the Image of Pochettino
“He’s a fighter. He’s a warrior,” Pochettino gushed when uncharacteristically opening up about the performance of Sullivan. “It’s difficult to find this type of player with tremendous quality with the ball, in possession, and then [he enjoys] when he needs to chase people and recover the ball. That is my impression after [two] weeks. And that is unbelievable to have a player like this.”
It’s that quality of “balance,” that shared intensity when he is attacking or defending, which has so endeared Sullivan to Pochettino.
The Philadelphia Union phenom earned the chance to humiliate Raúl Rangel with a long-range lob by pressing the Mexican goalkeeper. Pochettino and his coaching staff had actually been imploring Sullivan to keep on charging toward the wandering custodian shortly before his moment of brilliance. The forward instinctively delayed his dart to sucker Rangel into a stray pass which he would ruthlessly punish.
“He’s relentless in the way that he presses, his counter-pressing, all those things,” the USMNT’s new captain Tyler Adams beamed postmatch. Sullivan managed to rack up as many defensive contributions against Mexico as Adams, the team’s ballast at the base of midfield, despite playing 25 fewer minutes. A fact which won’t have passed Pochettino by.
Wise Head on Young Shoulders
Pochettino was not only besotted by Sullivan’s behavior on the pitch. “I liked what he said after the game, ‘The most important [thing] was the result.’ [He’s] learning every day,” the U.S. boss beamed, “that is the good thing.”
Sullivan may have only turned 17 on Monday but he is a mature character with a feverish work ethic and clear idea about his career. This is a kid who does the dishes and goes to training rather than partying—he celebrated his recent birthday in the U.S. camp with a small cake.
That dedication has been apparent throughout his embryonic career. In preparation for a youth tournament in Spain, the then-13-year-old took a proactive approach to combating jet lag by progressively waking up half an hour earlier each day.
The occasion of his first senior international goal almost overwhelmed Pochettino’s new star pupil, but not quite. “If it wasn’t so hype,” Sullivan smiled, “I think I would’ve probably shed a tear.”
