|
On the Paris Saint-Germain website there is an interview with coach Mauricio Pochettino in which he talks about his brief stint at the club. “We will do great things in the future,” promised the headline.
So often in soccer, things are not so simple.
PSG is a complicated and demanding football club and few ask more of their coach than of sports director Leonardo.
Pochettino arrived with a writing to win the domestic league and have a reasonable inclination in the Champions League. It has not happened either and it is understood that he and Leonardo have already fought brutally. When that happens in Paris, it is usually the coach who loses in the long run.
–
Daniel Levy would dare to approach Mauricio Pochettino for a surprising return to Tottenham
–
At Tottenham, all of this has not gone unnoticed. Without a coach of his own since the firing of José Mourinho in April, talks about the return of his predecessor Pochettino are not entirely ruled out.
Discussions, internally at least, about trying to lure Pochettino back to North London have taken place with technical acting director Steve Hitchen, in particular, who is understood to be drumming the Argentine.
It would be a bold move by President Daniel Levy, a gamble, even to try. The two men parted ways on pretty bad terms when Pochettino left North London in November 2019.
His relationship with at least some members of the squad was also damaged.
–
–
Leaving PSG would make Pochettino miss the opportunity to train players like Neymar even more.
–
But Tottenham is a club in need. There is still talk of Brighton coach Graham Potter and Belgium coach Roberto Martinez, but Pochettino, who led the club to the 2019 Champions League final, would be a significant improvement on either of them.
Pochettino has spoken in the past about wanting to ‘finish what we didn’t finish’ at Tottenham. Still, for Levy to try to take him home seriously now would be extraordinary, especially given that any evidence of a genuine breakup at PSG would in all likelihood be exploited by other big clubs in Europe.
Real Madrid is left without a coach after the departure of Zinedine Zidane. The Spanish media were full of conversations about Pochettino within minutes of the news. In Italy, for his part, Antonio Conte has left Inter Milan.
Pochettino continues to have his roots in London. His family has stayed there and his son Maurizio is in the Watford books. When he left Tottenham, he felt that the break with a club in which he had formed such ties had come too soon.
–
–
The Argentine won the French Cup this season but failed both at national and European level
–
The Spurs’ interest in Pochettino is genuine; There is no doubt about that. But is it realistic?
Logic tells you it is not. Why would you leave a club that provides you with an almost ironclad guarantee of a trophy every season? What would you say about him if you did?
Why would you want to leave Neymar and Kylian Mbappé behind?
But his lack of control over the overall football operation at PSG is known to affect Pochettino, just as it did with Thomas Tuchel, now anticipating a Champions League final with Chelsea, in the period before him.
But is the alternative really more attractive? His previous experience working with Levy exhausted him in the end.
–
–
With the possible departure of Harry Kane in the summer, the Spurs are a team in need of a rebuild
–
Either way, PSG was adamant this week that they didn’t want to lose a coach they only named in December.
That leaves Pochettino facing the option of resigning if he really wants a return from Tottenham.
In your first job at one of the super clubs in European football, leaving after less than six months is not necessarily the best aspect.
Walking away from the Spurs, a club in need of a new rebuild, seems illogical to one of the smartest minds in football.
–
Share or comment on this article:
–
