SAN JOSE, Calif. — The star striker is sidelined. The stakes are immense. And Mauricio Pochettino steps into a spotlight.It sounds like 2026, like the challenge facing the United States World Cup team after Folarin Balogun’s red card Wednesday night in a 2-0 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina.But it is not. It’s April 2019. And this, a seven-year-old scene that suddenly feels pertinent, is evidence that Pochettino, now the U.S. men’s national team coach, has been here before.Pochettino, then at English club Tottenham Hotspur, was preparing for a Champions League quarterfinal decider, perhaps the biggest game he’d ever coached. And the week before, he’d lost his leading scorer, Harry Kane, to an ankle injury. “It’s very, very sad,” he’d said.But when he walked into a news conference on the eve of this decisive second leg against Manchester City, he was calm, confident, even jovial.“We have the belief,” he said, “and we will be strong.”And sure enough, the following day, Tottenham stunned Man City. Kane’s backup, Fernando Llorente, scored the pivotal goal off the bench. A second forward, Son Heung-min, scored two as Spurs triumphed on an unforgettable night in Manchester.“Of course, (it’s) better to play with all the players fit and available,” Pochettino said afterward. “(But) you know, football is about the squad, it’s about the collective effort. It’s a collective sport.”A few weeks later, in the semifinals, that collective also stunned Ajax. Pochettino started Son and Lucas Moura, both natural wingers, as a makeshift front two. Moura scored a second-half hat trick to complete a three-goal comeback and send Tottenham, an oft-overshadowed club with a decade-long trophy drought, to its first Champions League final.Son Heung-min and Lucas Moura show their disbelief after a famous result vs. Ajax in the 2019 UEFA Champions League semifinals (Simon Hofmann / UEFA / Getty Images)Pochettino leapt and ran euphorically onto the field. He eventually fell to his knees, overcome with emotion. And he proved the point he’ll surely try to make this week.