Open Extended ReactionsFor the U.S. men's national team, the recently concluded Gold Cup represented an opportunity for manager Mauricio Pochettino to blood some inexperienced players. But he did take time to reflect on what the Gold Cup meant for him personally. At this summer's Gold Cup, Chris Richards demonstrated why he's long been expected to be a pillar of the U.S. defense. It was then that a conversation with Palace assistant Paddy McCarthy, himself a former Palace defender, helped turn Richards' season around. "I think he's been in [the lineup], he gets injured, goes back on the shelf, comes back.