Mauricio Pochettino’s new club has finally been announced. Tottenham’s ‘London rivals’ Chelsea.
Chelsea officially announced through their official channels on the 30th (KST) that ‘Pochettino will lead the team from 1 July’. The contract is for two years with a one-year option. Pochettino will be joined by his former teammates from Tottenham. Jesús Pérez, Miguel Diagostino, Toni Jiménez, and Sebastiano Pochettino. Sebastiano is Pochettino’s biological son. “Pochettino’s experience, leadership, character, mentality and tactical approach will be of great benefit to the club,” Chelsea said, “He is a world-class coach with a tremendous track record and we have high hopes for him. Chelsea sacked manager Graham Potter in April and spent the rest of the season with ‘legend’ Frank Lampard in charge. The Blues, who finished bottom of the table, were in search of a mastermind. Julian Nagelsmann, former Bayern Munich manager, and Luis Enrique, former Spain national team coach, were among the names on the shortlist, but the Blues ultimately chose Pochettino because of his success at Tottenham.
Pochettino was a master defender during his playing days. The Argentine international played for Newell’s Old Boys, Espanyol, Paris Saint-Germain, and Bordeaux. After retiring in 2006, Pochettino quickly moved into coaching. Starting at Espanyol, he moved on to Southampton before blossoming at Tottenham in 2014. His high-pressing, fast-paced style of football, with a focus on young players, attracted a lot of attention. With the so-called DESK line-up of Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen and Son Heung-min, Pochettino took Tottenham to the top four of the European Champions League. In the 2018-2019 season, he led Tottenham to their first ever Champions League final.토토사이트
Pochettino was dismissed from Tottenham in disgrace after a short spell in charge of Paris Saint-Germain in 2021, where he led the club to the Ligue 1 and Coupe de France titles. Despite the success, a falling out with his star players and failure in the Champions League led to his departure after just one season, but Pochettino’s value has not diminished. He was consistently linked with the likes of Real Madrid and Manchester United. Pochettino, who had longed to return to the English game, took the reins at Chelsea and once again found himself on the biggest stage. Returning to the English Premier League (EPL) after a four-year absence, Pochettino was tasked with leading a rebound for the Blues, who finished the season in 12th place, their worst ever finish.
For Tottenham fans, the news will come as a shock. As we know, Spurs and Chelsea are London derby rivals. Pochettino had previously criticised Chelsea for their behaviour during the so-called ‘Battle of the Bridge’ in May 2016, when Spurs and Chelsea clashed for the title. Some Tottenham fans have reacted to Pochettino’s actions. They have labelled him a ‘renegade’. According to the UK’s Daily Star, one fan posted a photo on social media of Pochettino burning his autobiography. Other angry comments include “I hope it’s worth it as Pochettino completely destroys Tottenham’s legacy” and “I hope we lose every game and are unemployed by Christmas”.
According to football statistics site Opta, Pochettino is the fifth manager to have been in charge of both Chelsea and Tottenham. Glenn Hoddle, Andre Villas-Boas, Jose Mourinho and Conte have all experienced the two rivalries before Pochettino.
Tottenham are currently on the hunt for a new manager. Having finished the season on an acting basis with Christian Stellini and Ryan Mason following the departure of Antonio Conte, Tottenham are in a bit of a bind. Every manager they’ve approached has been rebuffed. Arne Slott, who was recently tipped as the favourite for the job, has rejoined Feyenoord, leaving allegations that he used Tottenham as leverage to secure a new contract. Celtic boss Enrique Postecoglou, Oh’s mentor who has done a tremendous job in the Scottish Premier League this season, has also expressed his desire to stay at the club.
In fact, Tottenham fans have been clamouring for Pochettino’s return. Having overseen the club’s golden era, Pochettino was seen as the right man to revive the club. In fact, Pochettino was most strongly linked with Tottenham.
However, this was not the case. Pochettino was not on Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy’s agenda. European football transfer market expert Fabrizio Romano said: “Tottenham have not been in contact with Pochettino. He hasn’t rejected Tottenham, there hasn’t even been a conversation. It’s not Pochettino’s choice. Dan Kilpatrick, the Evening Standard’s dedicated Tottenham reporter, also said: ‘Levy was opposed to rehiring the club’s most famous manager of the EPL era. The two have remained in contact but it has never led to a deal.
Levy reportedly remembers well the downfall of the Pochettino era in 2019. His failure at Paris Saint-Germain was also one of the reasons for his rejection. ‘Overlooking Pochettino is clearly a big gamble,’ said Patrick. ‘Whoever Levy appoints will face comparisons with Pochettino,’ he warns, ‘and if he gets the job done at Stamford Bridge, Spurs fans will have to live with the memory of the manager they once had and could have had forever.