After more than a year out of work, Mauricio Pochettino is back in the management hotseat with a Parisian folklore project too good to pass up.
The 48-year-old Argentinian has spent his time since being beaten by Tottenham, following a five-year spell in which he won the hearts of Spurs fans and football lovers alike, but as he takeover at PSG – a club he played for 20 years ago – is presented with a completely different praise.
With sky-high expectations rule a team of megabucks with superstitions included Sportsmail takes a look at what Pochettino is looking to change and implement ahead of his first game under control at St-Etienne on Wednesday night.
Mauricio Pochettino has been named PSG manager for his first job in more than 12 months
Neymar and Kylian Mbappe will work under the new boss, but can they adopt his methods?
WHAT HAPPENS TO PSG?
Pochettino defeated Spurs on the English and European stage by implementing high-brow and high-intensity tactics where the team star was, quite simply, the team. Even one featuring Harry Kane.
So he has a lot of work to do to lobby this superstitious team into a complete unit.
It will be interesting to see how Pochettino decides to go near this condition. Although PSG have not achieved so far this season, they are still second in the Champions League and full of quality.
To what extent is Pochettino aiming to ‘damage feathers’, so to speak? He told his players this week that there have been ‘plenty of daisies’ and that the ‘time to laugh is over’. Heavy early words.
Quickly, very early indications are that a 3-5-2 format could be used, as the tactics board is outlined in Pochettino’s first meeting with the players.
Of course, that could be a red herring, with Spurs ’4-2-3-1 preferred coach. Certainly his players and resources for pursuing both are established.
Pochettino informs his new players, with a tactical board in the corner showing a 3-5-2 shape
He is pictured taking orders for the first time earlier in the week.
CAN THE SUPERSTARS?
This is the question that might explain Pochettino’s time at PSG.
It’s no secret that Thomas Tuchel found it difficult to deal with star players Neymar and Mbappe throughout his tenure, with a real public falling out on the line with the young French star in a separate case. memorable.
Pochettino developed stars like Kane and Dele Alli at Spurs, but none of them had real quality and a worldwide aura of those two.
Pochettino laughs when he meets Neymar before talking to the squad in his first day at work
Argentinian coach talks to Kylian Mbappe in his first training session at the club
They are known to have direct contact with the board as well, the pair sometimes look to win and, since this connection doesn’t seem to have ended, Pochettino needs to find a simple balance.
He bases his sides on a perfect unit – but in Paris, the individual star is the main attraction.
Will Poch try to change the culture, or will he weave his practices into the current environment? Time will tell.
LOCAL SPECIFICATIONS?
As you would expect, the rumor mill has been in full swing since the arrival of Pochettino.
Lionel Messi, Sergio Ramos and Kane are all attractive spots that have been linked with a move to the French capital, although any big money move is likely to come in the summer and could not. for them to come to fruition if Mbappe changes to Real Madrid.
With more pressure, Pochettino could secure his first signing this month by making the Moise Kean loan deal from Everton permanent, for a reported £ 31m.
Moise Kean (left) has secured a loan spell at Paris Saint-Germain this season, scoring nine goals.
The Italian striker has been one of the standout players this season and is second in the team’s goal-scoring charts on nine.
Beyond that, talk of a loan move for Alli has been silent for now, while Hugo Lloris, a French World Cup-winning captain, is likely to stay in north London despite ties about returning to his home country.
Instead, as Sportmail has revealed, Pochettino is more likely to attack Inter Milan for another of his previous allegations: Christian Eriksen. The Dane is having an awful time in Italy but was a creative star at Pochettino’s Spurs until he decided he wanted a new challenge. Eriksen is unwanted at Inter so is a reasonable target in January.
AND THE TIME ON THIS SESSION?
No change here – European success is a priority for PSG.
That being said, unlike previous years when the Ligue 1 title expired before Christmas, Pochettino’s new team currently sits in third place in France’s top flight and work they have to do.
Their efforts to jump Lfrog and Lyon start at St-Etienne on Wednesday night, but the main event for Pochettino is the Champions League final-16 tie against Barcelona, which starts next month .
The 48-year-old alongside president Nasser Al-Khelafi and sports director Leonardo this week
Before last season ‘s run to the final – and the case with Bayern Munich – in the shorter version of the summer playoffs, PSG had not progressed further than the west. -final tours and the inability to reach the final levels of several managers has been falling by the wayside over the past decade.
While Pochettino can win a cup as early as next Wednesday – against Marseille in the French equivalent of the Community Shield – his 18-month contract shows he will not be able to do the most time and patience. found at the Parc des Princes.
While capturing the Ligue 1 title again is a priority, a deep European run would promise at least some summer work on and off the pitch.