Mauricio Pochettino, the Argentine football manager, has always held a special place in the hearts of Tottenham Hotspur fans. It's fair to say that no other Spurs manager since Keith Burkinshaw in the 1980s developed as strong a rapport with supporters as Pochettino did.
The former Spurs boss was adored at N17, with chants of “Mauricio Pochettino, he’s magic you know” echoing loudly and proudly at every home and away game. Despite his popularity, however, he never managed to clinch a trophy during his tenure at the club despite coming tantalizingly close on several occasions.
A turning point came after the Champions League final defeat in 2019 which led to an unfortunate series of events culminating in Pochettino losing his job just months later.
A different ball game with PSG
After leaving Tottenham Hotspur behind him, Mauricio had relatively unsuccessful spells with both Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Chelsea before taking over as head coach for USA’s national team back in summer.
Pochettino recently opened up about his time spent managing PSG. He admitted that there were significant differences between managing PSG compared to what he had been accustomed to previously. The atmosphere within PSG was vastly different from what he experienced during his time with Tottenham Hotspur.
Mauricio Pochettino, USNT manager, said:
“Well… I don’t know, human beings always long for what they don’t have or what they don’t know, and we always think that the other is better. You have to try it, that’s why you have to get out of your comfort zone. I believe that we must analyse the moments of the players, not their names, but their circumstances and contexts. PSG was an incredible experience… difficult, hard, where you really discover who you are, you really temper your sporting character.
“Behind an experience like this everything becomes a little more relative, you start to understand things that, perhaps, you didn’t understand before when you were at Southampton, at Espanyol or at Tottenham.”
Daniel Levy's decision in 2023
In summer 2023 it became clear that there was potential for Mauricio Pochettino to return to manage Tottenham Hotspur once again if desired by both parties. However, Daniel Levy - chairman of Spurs - decided against this move.
Instead of reappointing their former manager, Levy first targeted Arne Slot. When this move proved complicated, he turned his attention to Ange Postecoglou. Whether or not this decision was the right one for Spurs is yet to be seen. Only time will tell if the chairman made a wise choice or if it's another decision that he'll regret in the long run.
Mauricio Pochettino's reflections on his time at PSG and Spurs provide an interesting insight into the contrasting experiences of managing different football clubs. His journey from being a beloved figure at Tottenham Hotspur to facing challenges at PSG highlights how varied and unpredictable a football manager's career can be. As fans continue to watch developments unfold, they will no doubt be keenly interested in seeing whether Daniel Levy’s decision proves fruitful for Spurs in the future.
