Guardiola settles his stance on succeeding Pochettino in America

It appears the United States Soccer Federation will find itself forced to look for a new alternative to Mauricio Pochettino, after its ambition to sign Spain's Pep Guardiola collided with the latter's desire to step away from football for a full year, as he refuses to return to the dugout at present, despite the potential enticements and his long-held dream of taking on the experience of leading one of the national teams in a major tournament.

The US federation may rank Guardiola among its leading options to succeed Pochettino, who is preparing to move to Manchester United, but the Spanish coach's calculations look entirely different. He has no wish to rush his future, preferring a period of rest before settling on his next destination.

According to the British newspaper "Telegraph", the United States Soccer Federation expects to contact Guardiola over the possibility of him taking charge of the national team in the coming period, seizing on the imminent end of Pochettino's tenure. The signals from the Spanish coach's circle carry no encouraging news for the American officials.

Sources close to Guardiola insist he does not intend to return to work right now. He has decided to spend a full year away from the daily pressures of football, despite the American interest in signing him, his good relationship with the United States and the periods of his life he has spent there.

His interest in coaching national teams is nothing new. The 55-year-old has made no secret on many occasions of his desire to take on the experience, having confined his coaching career so far to clubs, leading Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City to great success at his various stops.

Guardiola previously held talks with the Italian Football Federation over taking charge of the national team, before rejecting the offer last summer. Italy turned instead to bringing back Roberto Mancini.

He also figured among the names that drew the interest of the English federation before the appointment of German Thomas Tuchel as technical director in 2024.

The idea of coaching England holds a special appeal for him, alongside his long fascination with the Brazilian national team and its famous yellow shirt, bound up in his mind with the history of world football. All of it reinforces the belief that an international job remains one of his future goals.

America: an attractive destination but!

On a personal level, the United States looks a suitable destination for Guardiola, who has spoken before of his admiration for the country and his time living in New York.

After leaving Barcelona in 2012, and before taking charge of Bayern Munich, the Spanish coach chose to stay away from the pitches for a spell. He lived near Central Park, enjoying a different life away from the clamour and pressures of football.

His attachment to the United States, and his desire to lead a national team one day, do not look enough to shift his current plans. He holds firm to the break he has set himself, which makes the American federation's task of persuading him extremely difficult.

So the American officials may be forced to strike Guardiola's name from their calculations and look elsewhere, with the next fixtures approaching and a new coach still to be settled.

Pochettino opens a new chapter with Manchester United

Mauricio Pochettino, meanwhile, is preparing to end his work with the American national team after moving close to taking the reins at Manchester United. He would succeed Michael Carrick, who paid the price for the team's catastrophic start to the current season.

The Argentine is expected to take charge of his final match with the United States against Haiti on Wednesday, in the second leg of the Nations League quarter-final, after the Americans won the first leg six goals to nil.

Once his international duty ends, Pochettino will quickly begin a very different challenge at Manchester United. A tough encounter against Liverpool awaits him on 22 November, an early test of his ability to pull the team out of crisis and restore the fans' confidence.

The Red Devils' management dismissed Carrick after a run of disappointing results. The team managed just one win in the first ten rounds of the Premier League, dropping to eighteenth place with 8 points, inside the relegation zone.

United's misery was not confined to the domestic competition. It extended to the Champions League, where they sit seventeenth in the league phase with 6 points, after two wins and two defeats.

They began their European campaign with a 4-0 rout of Azerbaijan's Sabah, before falling to Atletico Madrid by two goals without reply. A heavy 4-1 defeat to Como followed, then they returned to winning ways with a thrilling 3-2 victory over Roma in the fourth round.

Winning tune or not, United's situation remains worrying. They sit just two points off twenty-fifth place, the last spot qualifying for the next stage, leaving them under pressure to collect points in the coming rounds.

The challenge only grows with a run of tough encounters on the horizon, starting with the match against Sporting Lisbon on 25 November, then tests against Leipzig, Bayern Munich and Villarreal.