Pochettino free to dream of Premier League return
With his gardening leave finally over this week, the former Spurs manager wants to stay in England
Mauricio Pochettino still likes to remind Daniel Levy, the Tottenham Hotspur chairman, that he originally wanted to appoint Louis van Gaal as manager instead of him. He also remembers when, as a young coach at Espanyol, he was touted as a potential successor to Jose Mourinho at Real Madrid. “In life, look what happens. I always thought I’d replace him,” says Pochettino. “Jose was at Real Madrid and there was information put out that maybe I was on their radar if he left. I said [to myself ], ‘Oh, maybe one day I can take your place at Real Madrid’ and look at how life works out. He has taken my place at Tottenham. Unbelievable, eh?”
Unbelievable indeed, but six months since his shock dismissal, Pochettino is officially a free man again. And, while he may be convinced he was second choice at Spurs six years ago, the Argentine will now be at the top of the list for just about any club considering a managerial change.
Pochettino chatted with Levy in the days leading up to his Tottenham gardening leave expiring this week and has also spoken to Mourinho. He wishes both well and is now ready for his next challenge, insisting he will listen carefully to any offer.
In what could be considered a boost to Newcastle, or any club who might have assumed Pochettino would hold out for a Real Madrid or Manchester
United, the 48-year-old is refusing to set any parameters on what his next job must look like other than admitting his preference would be to stay in England and the Premier League. “After six months, our tanks are completely full,” says Pochettino, referencing his staff who have also been on leave. “We are a coaching staff that are open to listen to all the projects, all the people.
“You never know when it’s going to be the motivation or the inspiration to say, ‘Oh, they are the right people’, and you want to be with them or their club. We are very receptive to listen to all the people because every single conversation we can learn from and maybe we can see a motivation to go with them. From outside, it’s difficult to measure the capacity of the clubs, the capacity of the players, the squad. You need to share ideas in the moment that some club approaches you and start to talk. To try to find if the project is a good fit or not. Also, there is the pace of the project [to consider].”
Perhaps the biggest clue over where Pochettino wants to manage next is given away by the fact that, rather than returning to his native Argentina or Barcelona, where he has lived previously, he has remained in England. Since lockdown, Pochettino has taken the time to go back through all of his work at Southampton and Spurs to try to return even better.
Of his decision to stay in London, he says: “We have our house and our home here. We feel very good for the future in this country. People are very respectful and the football is so exciting. It’s difficult to move to Barcelona. And then my kids, Maurizio is playing for Tottenham, Sebastiano has a girlfriend here in London. At the moment, my idea is to stay here.
“I am not going to change [my feelings] now because I am not involved in the Premier League. Because I am no longer the Tottenham manager, I am not going to change my vision. I still think the Premier League is the best league in the world. Of course, it can be my priority but I am not closed to move to a different country. It would be difficult, but not impossible.” Given Pochettino guided Spurs through two consecutive transfer windows in which the club did not make a signing, his skill-set could be perfectly matched to the post-coronavirus football world in which it is anticipated all budgets will be impacted. But his failure to win a trophy during 11 years in management is a stick with which his critics will continue to beat him. “It’s easy to say ‘Oh, this guy won a lot of titles and this guy didn’t win’,” he says. “But we are not a coaching staff that started at Bayern Munich. If you start your career at Bayern Munich, it’s completely different to if you start at Nuremberg, with all respect to them. You win a title with Nuremberg, it’s going to be more difficult. If we talk like this, 90 per cent of coaches in the world are losers.”
While his focus is very much on the future, it is clear Pochettino does not easily let go of his past, as proved by his recent conversations with Mourinho and Levy, and his one and only invite on to the luxury boat of Spurs owner Joe Lewis. “What I was talking about with Daniel was to say thank you for trusting in us,” says Pochettino. “I also joked with him, ‘You signed me because the manager you liked at that time, Van Gaal, chose to go to Manchester United!’
“Daniel told me that at the time, he was very clear about that, it was very public. I was a very young coach, with my experience in Spain and my 1½ years in Southampton. The football vision at Tottenham was completely different then to what it is now.
“When myself and Jesus [Perez, Pochettino’s assistant] met Daniel and Joe Lewis for the first time on his boat in Nice, I think they were very clear about what success would be over a five-year period. That’s why it was amazing for us as a coaching staff to go very quickly [to a higher level]. Today, Tottenham is one of the best clubs in the world. We feel very proud of that.”
Pochettino adds: “The decision was fantastic for us [to be hired] and when the decision is not good for you [to be fired], you need to show the respect. Always Daniel is going to be my friend, all the people there, I have very good relationships with them.”
Confirming “yes, yes, yes” he has spoken to Mourinho, Pochettino makes it clear there are no hard feelings: “We have kept a very good relationship. I am so happy that he is at Tottenham, replacing me. And, for sure, he is very grateful for the way that we helped to build the club, which is now his club.”
‘For sure, Mourinho is very grateful for the way that we helped to build Spurs’