Spurs on brink of special era – if they keep Pochettino
Tottenham and their manager are on the path to greatness as the crushing victory over Real Madrid in the Champions League shows
Who would you prefer managing your club: a coach with two Champions League wins, a La Liga, and the World Club championship in less than two full seasons in senior management, or a coach who, in eight years as a manager, has won nothing?
Zinedine Zidane or Mauricio Pochettino? Based on their CVS there is no choice, yet you will not find a single Spurs fan willing to swap their coach for the Real Madrid legend. In fact, if Zidane’s troubles continue in Spain, I am confident Pochettino would be the first name on the Christmas wishlist of the Bernabeu president, Florentino Perez.
Some managers, such as Zidane, are figureheads. They inspire with their presence, command the respect of a dressing room and ensure the egos work together.
Their work should not be underestimated at the superclubs. Zidane deserves more credit for what he has achieved in Madrid since taking over in January 2016. No one will convince me Zidane is a superior training-ground coach to his predecessor Rafa Benitez – the most studious and tactically aware manager I ever had – but moulding superstar players into a unit brings its own challenges. Benitez did not succeed with the same group of players.
There are other coaches who change the mentality, reputation and status of a club so their imprint remains long after they have moved on.
Football historians can create their own list of these coaching pioneers; from Matt Busby, Bill Shankly and Rinus Michels to Johan Cruyff, Sir Alex Ferguson
Oand Pep Guardiola. Pochettino is changing our perception of Spurs by following the tradition of his compatriot and mentor, Marcelo Bielsa. He has absorbed Bielsa’s ideas, but he has yet to shrug off one of the more unwelcome habits of his teacher.
Speak to any coach inspired by Bielsa and they will lavish praise, but his honours list is modest. He has never won a major trophy in Europe, and his last title was in Argentina in 1998. Does this diminish Bielsa’s genius or scale of his influence? Of course not, but the greatest managers want success to enhance their prominent standing.
Tottenham are deservedly winning plenty of applause for their brilliant form, but here is one compliment they will not like: they are the best trophy-less team I have ever seen.
English football has never had a side play so consistently well without anything to show for it. People talk about Kevin Keegan’s Newcastle entertainers of 1996, but Spurs are vastly superior.
I was at Wembley in midweek to see the dismantling of Real Madrid in the Champions League. It felt like a statement performance.
You heard some say Madrid are a fading force, no longer the side who won three of the last four Champions League finals. I have no time for such nonsense, when the breaking down of a formidable opponent is attributed to one team’s weakness more than the other’s strength.
Fair enough, Real had two or three first-team players missing, but they had not lost a group game for five years before Wednesday. They are a team packed with extraordinary players who were made to look an ordinary side.
Pochettino’s line-up demonstrated the youthful vigour that makes them one of the most exciting teams in Europe, and we should also remember how close they were to winning the away fixture a fortnight ago.
This was not a solitary impressive performance, but a level Spurs have been building to for three years.
Pochettino said this game could be a turning point f all the transfers last summer, none has had more impact than Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah.
Romelu Lukaku has also made an impression at Manchester United – who have made a better start to this season – but Salah has only one goal fewer. It is some goal rate. Since Luis Suarez was sold to Barcelona in 2015, the most goals any Liverpool player has scored in a season is 14 (Philippe Coutinho in 2016/17).
Salah (left) scored his 10th of the campaign in midweek. When I saw Salah score his first for the club at Watford on the opening day, I felt this was a player who would score 15 this season. I underestimated. He is on schedule to get 25.
The Egyptian is more than a traditional winger. He is a wide striker who can get into scoring positions. There has been plenty of criticism of Liverpool’s recruitment in recent years – much of it deserved. But as with the signing of Sadio Mane in 2016, they have spent very well in bringing Salah back to England after his poor spell at Chelsea.
Paying more than £35 million seemed risky, but as with Mane, Salah already looks to be worth more than he cost.