The cliché says that in order for a coach to survive long in a football team in the modern age, he must have a strong and cohesive dressing room, maintain a normal relationship with the big stars and at the same time treat the last of the scalloped cotton wool to save Marmor feelings. In that sense, Thomas Tuchel did a pretty good job at PSG and evidence of that came this week after the official announcement of his dismissal. “We will never forget what you did here,” he said Killian Ambape On the social network. Four months earlier, with the help of crutches (due to a previous operation), Tuchel hugged Neymar and tried to cheer him up a few minutes after the painful loss in the Champions League final. It really wasn’t a bear hug.
There is no doubt that Tuchel enjoys in two and a half years in Paris the support of his players and the advanced negotiations with Neymar and Ambape on renewing their contracts – he is also part of the German’s success. The trouble is that at a club of this size, it is not enough. The semi-finals of the Champions League since 1995 and qualified with it for the first final ever.Because, in the hierarchy, are the top owner Nasser El Khalifi and the professional manager Leonardo – two figures that are very difficult to please.In an interview he gave to a German sports website on Christmas Eve, send Tuchel Explicit criticism of his employers: “Am I still the coach or politician, the sports minister? I love the game with all my heart. To the coach is the only thing I love but in a club like this, it’s not always just football.”
In the official dismissal announcement, PSG claimed that “after a deep examination of the sporting situation at the club we decided to terminate Tuchel’s contract.” So it’s true that PSG are ranked only third in the table (one point less than leader Lille) and have climbed with great difficulty and after a big reversal to the last eight of the Champions League, but it would be a bit superficial to throw the stutter in the French league to Tuchel’s dismissal, half a year before the contract ends. His. The first reason is that the German has faced throughout the year a chain of injuries to his stars, dismissals and Corona. The second reason, and for which it was probably really decided to quit his job, is the problematic relationship that Tuchel had with Leonardo over procurement matters and other such and other statements in the media that the bosses did not like.
And into this playground will soon land Mauricio Pochettino – 17 years after leaving the club where he was captain of the team. Even though he arrives in the middle of the season, Poch will have no problem adapting, as he has learned French, and speaks fluent Spanish – the dominant language in the locker room at the Parc de France. In Paris it is believed that they have recruited a charismatic figure who can take PSG one small step towards winning the trophy with the big ears and judging by the relationship he had with owners and players at previous clubs, then in terms of Pochettino’s personality he is one of the right people to wallow in the Hollywood swamp Of Paris.
Since being fired from Tottenham last November, Pochettino’s name has been mentioned many times in the media as a leading candidate for Manchester United and even Real Madrid. According to reports, Massimiliano Allegri was the leading candidate on behalf of Leonardo but due to excessive financial demands (the Italian demanded 12 million euros per season), Al Khalifi preferred to turn to Pochettino. In terms of resume, the Argentine made a great name for himself after leading Tottenham to the historic Champions League final in 2019, a club he returned to the map in five and a half years, with few financial expenses, and limited expectations. Even earlier he had shone with Southampton in a season and a half, to which he arrived after success at Espanyol, although he barely knew English.
But this time the challenge seemed completely different from anything he knew. Pochettino joins a club where he will have to serve a little more as a coach, as Tuchel claims, while bringing quick results that will satisfy the Qataris and remove the concerns. He will not have real time to build the team, as he did thoroughly and gradually in the Premier League, and there is nothing to talk about in the discourse of long-term processes. “This is exactly the problem. In Paris you are not asked to raise expectations, they do not want to embark on a journey of empowerment. Pochettino bought his world as a constructive coach, demanding modesty, respect and family. What happens when a coach gets a chance at a club that demands just the opposite?” Jonathan Liu The Guardian journalist.
Mauricio Pochettino in 2016: “One day I would like to train PSG. It’s part of my dreams. It’s a club that I follow a lot. I try to watch all the matches, especially in the Champions League.”
– Football Tweet (@Football__Tweet) December 25, 2020
It is clear that Pochettino’s key to success on the pitch will be to place the right line-up that will get the most out of Neymar and Ambape, something that Tukel has been working on a lot lately, while Angel Di Maria, who came out a bit out of the picture, will have to start recovering. A little more stable in its performance this season. But beyond that, Pouch gets an excellent football team that is in a not-so-simple health crisis. 10 players have been absent from the last league game against Strasbourg due to injury – a phenomenon that has been repeated since the team returned to activity in the summer.
One of the great virtues of Pochettino as he proved in the amazing champions campaign with Tottenham in 2018/19, is that alongside the magical personality, he is a tactical flexible coach, who knows how to achieve results in knockout games, and embarrass his opponents on the other side (even with quite a bit of luck). Assuming he gets a full and qualified squad by February / March, he has plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the chances of finally bringing the Champions Cup to the City of Lights. If he also manages to politically maneuver at the club, flow with the party culture of his stars, close his eyes when necessary, attract Leo Messi (?) And more, then PSG has made a good deal.
Exactly nine years have passed since the last time Paris expelled a coach at Christmas. So, in the early days of the Qataris, he was sacrificed on the altar of coach Antoine Cumbra, even though PSG were the winter champions. Carlo Ancelotti, who arrived in his place, lost the championship at the end of the season to the humble Montpellier. So, Paris was still in the process of growing up and needed a big name on the lines to attract all the stars to it. In 2021, Pochettino does not come for the same reasons, he gets a team ready with the potential to fulfill all the owner’s dreams. And that’s a big difference.
