USMNT's Pochettino: Pulisic is one of the best in the world and needs to be protected

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — U.S. men's national team head coach Mauricio Pochettino praised Christian Pulisic as one of the best offensive players in the world but said he was concerned about the AC Milan star's workload given his stellar start to the season.

Pulisic has scored six goals and contributed two assists in all competitions for Milan, starting all nine games this season.

“I think he is a fantastic player, one of the best attacking players in the world,” Pochettino said of Pulisic in a press conference on Friday.

“I think we are a bit worried that sometimes we have to protect (Pulisic),” Pochettino said. “We see that because he arrived a bit tired, but I told him beforehand that he should build a very good relationship with the club and try to help.”

“And when we really need him, he has to be in shape, happy, strong and the quality is there because he has enormous talent.”

After a difficult spell at Chelsea in the English Premier League where he struggled for playing time, Pulisic has arguably become a key figure for Milan in his second season with the Serie A giants.

“It’s hard to explain,” Pulisic told reporters. “I think there are times in your career when it feels like everything you touch goes in, and other times when it feels like you try everything and the ball just doesn't go in. “

“As an attacking player, we’ve all been through that. So I just try to live in the moment when things seem to be going well and just keep going. I mean, for me, this is the result of all the work.” I've put my whole life into it, so it shouldn't be a surprise that I have this ability and just reach so high.

After being hired on September 10, Pochettino is preparing for his first games as USMNT coach, with friendlies against Panama in Austin on Saturday and bitter rivals Mexico in Guadalajara three days later.

And the former Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and Tottenham manager said the key takeaway from the current national team camp was that players and staff got to know each other.

“There are almost 40 people working together and the ability to organize, know each other and determine the way we want to work is the most important thing from the start,” he said.

“Football is always about competing and winning because our fans definitely want to win. But at the same time, they have to understand that in our first contact with the entire organization and the players, we cannot push (the players) too much. They have to adapt to take advantage of our ideas.

Pochettino added that he was impressed by the team's “work discipline” and the players' overall performance.

There has been a lot of talk this week about the intensity of Pochettino's training sessions. Part of it is simply getting used to a new manager. The Argentine is aware of how this affects the players' performance and that intensity is not just about the physical aspect but also the mental aspect.

When it comes to implementing his philosophy, Pochettino said he will be flexible with his tactical plan, especially when it comes to playing out of defense.

“Sometimes people say, 'No, this is my philosophy, my idea and I'm going to die with my idea.' No, I want to live,” he said, laughing. “It's amazing. I want to be smart. I want to win. I don't want to die. Sometimes we can't play. Sometimes we have to find a different way to get our player into a comfortable zone, not an uncomfortable zone.” reduce…the confidence with which we play.

“You have to adapt yourself, your ideas, your philosophy, because we coach the player, we don't coach ourselves,” he said. “We have to be a coaching staff that trains the team. We coach the player because if we don’t, we start coaching ourselves and then we always blame the player.”

“We don’t want to blame the players. We want to provide them with all the tools so that they can perform at their best depending on the characteristics of the team.”