Mauricio Pochettino, He's Magic You Know

An in-depth and insightful look at our new incoming manager...

Contribution article from our very own Charlie.

With it seemingly being a matter of time until our new manager is officially announced, it is time to share my thoughts on why I think the hiring of Mauricio Pochettino by Chelsea is an incredibly astute decision.

Last year, I wrote a dissertation on Professional Football Management with a focus on team cohesion, managerial style, and recruitment, and Mauricio Pochettino was one of my ‘case study’ managers.

His insightful interview with The High Performance Podcast was one way I was able to delve deeper into who he is as a person, and as a manager. Thankfully I was taken aback by this interview as I have long had the feeling that Pochettino was destined to become Chelsea manager one day. This is because it is now the fourth time Chelsea have been interested in acquiring the Argentine’s services, dating all the way back to April 2018 when Roman Abramovich was looking for an Antonio Conte replacement.

In that time, the club has been managed by Maurizio Sarri, Frank Lampard, Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter, and Frank Lampard again. That list simply shows the lack of stability at the club over recent years. I wholeheartedly believe Mauricio Pochettino can be the man to change that, whilst also retaining the tradition of bringing success to West London.

Within Pochettino’s interview with The High Performance Podcast there were several aspects of his character that seriously impressed me. One of these factors is his constant reiteration about human connection being an important factor in developing a bond with a player. This is vital as when there is a bond between player and manager, the player will run the extra mile for them on the pitch. Pochettino also attributes that “when you create a happy environment with a good energy all the people that arrive from different countries, it will be powerful.” This is something Chelsea certainly could do with, with our large and multi-cultural dressing room, that has certainly not been the best environment in recent years.

Furthermore, within Pochettino’s coaching experience, he has found it effective to mix experienced, older, and younger players all together. He believes this will create the best platform for players to succeed and so “the players [will] play the way you want them to play and talk to each other the way you want them to talk.” Bearing in mind the current makeup of our squad, the importance of Pochettino coming in and doing this at Chelsea, simply can’t be underestimated.

Pochettino has several important values that he believes in. For his playing staff, “attitude is contagious.” Within already established teams, to maintain a level of cohesion amongst the players, it is effective to ensure that new players understand the team’s values quickly so that they can assimilate into the existing structure. This is something we have struggled with in recent times with countless new signings coming in and struggling to settle, costing the club millions in failed transfers. To have a manager so conscious of this fills me with the greatest confidence.

Another value that Pochettino, as a seasoned manager, really believes in is trust. For me, it is something that is built over time, and naturally, through interactions between playing and coaching staff. He is able to build this layer of trust authentically by developing close relationships and using tactile approaches. Ascribing to the power of handshakes, which stem from his Latin American heritage, Pochettino insightfully states that “you do not manage a robot, but a person.”

In the eyes of many, the Argentine manager is viewed as an excellent man-manager. One reason for this is when motivating players, Pochettino stresses the importance of knowing the player as an individual, with a past, so he can tailor his advice and feedback. For example, sensitive players may be more receptive to a more mellow tone, whilst other players may need more of a push, in private, and in some cases publicly. He also demands consistency and a collective philosophy to consider everyone’s views all the way from the kitman to the chef to his captain.

When managing, to help understand the player’s perspective better Pochettino draws on his 17-year multicontinental playing career to inform some of his managerial decisions. He also adds that his experiences within the game have made him correlate attitude with determination so that “a big loss makes [him] want to go one step further.” The most significant loss in his managerial career would have been the Champions League Final in 2019, where his Tottenham Hotspur team lost 2-0 to Liverpool. I am left with no doubt that this defeat is spurring Pochettino on to leave no stone unturned in his pursuit of managerial success, which will be to go one step further and win the Champions League and the Premier League too.

Within the professional aspect of football management, there is an emphasis on creating and maintaining authority, accepting blame, and taking responsibility on and off the pitch. Pochettino, who manages these tasks well, specifically noted that he likes to assert authority over his teams whilst still allowing his players to retain their own identities. This will help our young creative attacking players thrive with names such as Mykhailo Mudryk, Noni Madueke, Mason Mount, and Christopher Nkunku specifically coming to mind. Our new manager has already proven himself in this capacity, here in the Premier League, with Harry Kane, Heung-Min Son, and Dele Alli playing scintillating attacking football at Spurs. For defining the line between personal and professional relationships, managers ultimately need to act in the best interests of their team. For example, throughout Pochettino’s managerial career, in his first encounter with players in a new job he says: “The one thing is if we are friends, another is if [the player] deserves to play or not. To not mix that is so important (…) I want to make clear my decisions are not personal.” This partly explains why Pochettino is known for being such a warm character, who commands respect from everyone he works with.

Having mainly focussed on Mauricio Pochettino in a personal sense in this article, I must also add that I am extremely excited by his very intelligent footballing brain. His time at PSG should not dissuade anyone, as other top managers such as Carlo Ancelotti, Thomas Tuchel, and Unai Emery also faced similar problems in Paris. Pochettino’s bodies of work at Southampton and Tottenham were largely excellent.

Down on the South Coast he assembled a young, hungry, and attacking side that finished 8th in 2013/14 centred around players such as Luke Shaw, Nathaniel Clyne, Adam Lallana, Jay Rodriguez, and Rickie Lambert. These players have gone on to play for England and in the upper echelons of domestic and continental football, thanks to Pochettino’s influence in their development.

Following his short spell at Southampton, in May 2014 Pochettino made his way to North London to manage our long-time rivals Tottenham Hotspur. In his five and a half years there, Pochettino turned Spurs into a well-oiled attacking outfit, taking them from mid-table to challenging for the Premier League. His team was built around a physically imposing defensive spine consisting of Hugo Lloris, Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen, Eric Dier, Moussa Dembele, and Victor Wanyama.

His teams also consisted of well-rounded fullbacks such as Kyle Walker, Danny Rose, and Kieran Trippier. These strong foundations enabled the likes of Harry Kane, Heung-Min Son, Dele Alli, and Christian Eriksen to flourish for several years.

Throughout this period, Pochettino’s Tottenham teams caused Chelsea serious problems, no matter whether it was Jose Mourinho, Antonio Conte, or Maurizio Sarri in our dugout. Some of these matchups included a 5-3 loss at White Hart Lane in January 2015, a 2-0 loss in January 2017 which stopped us making Premier League history by winning a 14th successive game, and worst of all a 3-1 loss at Stamford Bridge in April 2018 which was Spurs’ first win at Stamford Bridge in 28 years. However, in this period Chelsea did successfully manage to stop them lifting silverware by winning 2-0 in the Carabao Cup final in 2015 and with the infamous 2-2 draw in ‘The Battle of The Bridge’ that ended their title charge in May 2016.

For Chelsea to return to challenging for the Premier League, for the first time since 2016/17, we must buy into Pochettino’s philosophy and principles. We will hopefully see front-foot attacking football at Stamford Bridge, but most importantly we should see a nastiness and defensive resilience return. That resilience has been the bedrock of our success over recent years, whether it be under Mourinho, Conte, or Tuchel, and so it is imperative we look to bring this solid foundation back to Chelsea.

For this to happen, we must solidify the spine of our team, and that means bringing in a commanding goalkeeper, a physically dominant defensive midfielder, and a well-rounded number nine. With our recruitment team in place now, I am very confident that we will make the correct acquisitions to enable Pochettino to assemble the side that will make us challenge for success again.

In football, things are never as bad as they may seem, and I truly believe that by hiring Pochettino, buying into his blueprint - and letting our recruitment team sell our unneeded players as well as making the three aforementioned acquisitions (plus renewing Mount) - we will finally challenge for the Premier League again. If everything goes to plan, I wouldn’t even rule this out from happening as soon as next season. We will have no European football and thus free midweeks, affording Pochettino significantly more precious time with the team on the training pitches. The last time this was the case was in 2016/17. I wonder who won the Premier League that season…

Welcome to Chelsea, Mauricio Pochettino. Or Judas, as Spurs fans may now call him.

Charlie