TA: Guardiola top candidate for United States coach if Pochettino leaves

If Carrick leaves Manchester United, it could trigger a chain reaction in international football. According to The Athletic, if United States head coach Pochettino leaves, Guardiola would be the top choice for the national team coaching job in the minds of US Soccer Federation officials.

The report states that US Soccer has begun preparing for Pochettino's potential departure. If the Argentine is confirmed to coach Manchester United, Guardiola would be the top candidate in the minds of US Soccer officials.

However, the biggest challenge would be convincing the Spanish coach to take charge of a team again just six months after leaving Manchester City. This is because when Guardiola left Manchester City, his goal was to take a break and step away from football for a while.

After the European season ended, Guardiola was also on the shortlist for a national team coaching position. In July, the Italian Football Federation contacted him, hoping he would lead the Italian team's rebuilding efforts. The Italian team had just missed out on the World Cup for the third consecutive time.

But the 55-year-old coach gave the Italians no hope, sticking to his decision to take a long break from football. Giovanni Malagò, then president of the Italian Football Federation, told Italian media: "Guardiola was very frank, he chose to take a year off, also for family reasons. However, if he were to do something, it would be with us."

Although it remains a difficult dream to achieve, Americans can still hope for Guardiola's good relationship with the country. In 2012, after coaching Barcelona for four seasons and taking a voluntary year-long sabbatical, Guardiola chose to live in New York, where he recharged before later coaching Bayern Munich and then Manchester City.