Pochettino’s ‘different’ vow to the US invites unwelcome speculation

The US manager's relationship with the international job has changed with a full World Cup cycle beginning

I hope, in this lifetime, you find someone who loves you the way Mauricio Pochettino loves Tottenham Hotspur. The grip Spurs have on his heart seems the stuff of a literary classic: his imperfect partner who called things off at the first sign of trouble must merely check in on him occasionally to rekindle hopes of a reunion.

Perhaps a bit extreme, but this week's revelation - that he'd return to Tottenham even if they were relegated and chalking his absence up to imperfect timing, not the part about handing the club a decade-old title - has implicity laid out the terms of his return as United States manager. Others may always have interest in his services, and a certain North London suitor will never get the door slammed in their face outright.