Mauricio Pochettino: The young manager waiting for his big moment
Mauricio Pochettino recently got sacked by Tottenham. After an extremely poor start to the season, it was not an unexpected decision on the part of Spurs chairman Daniel Levy. But his untimely departure says nothing of his tenure.
The former Argentina international took Tottenham to new heights after taking over in 2014. He had just come off very successful spells at Southampton and Espanyol, and was given a batch of talented young players to groom into stardom.
And Pochettino did just that. He mentored Harry Kane, Eric Dier, Harry Winks, Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen, and turned them into top-notch players. Such was the emphasis on development of English talent that many Spurs players went on to feature for the White Lions.
Tactically, Pochettino converted Tottenham into a well-oiled goalscoring machine, with Kane at the helm as a main man. With a smoothly functioning 4-3-1-2 formation, Spurs played some truly awe-inspiring football up front while remaining very solid at the back.
Pochettino also made some very good, economical signings in Heung-min Son, Victor Wanyama, Lucas Moura and Davinson Sánchez. These improvements, as well as the growth of academy graduates, meant that Spurs improved every season.
But Spurs were never the biggest spenders compared to the rest of the big Premier League teams. In fact, they reached the Champions League final without spending a single penny on new signings due to the funding for their new stadium.
This season, Pochettino has been unable to motivate his frustrated squad and that has reflected in the results. But his 5-year reign as Tottenham head coach proves that he is among the finest managers in Europe and has the ability to deliver results.
At Barça, Pochettino will face no difficulty in adaptation. He knows the city of Barcelona inside out due to his time at Espanyol as a player and manager, and shown his tactical flexibility in his various coaching roles over the years.
Pochettino will value La Masia more than big-name signings, which is what has been sorely lacking from recent head coaches. Although he has not been trained in the tiki-taka philosophy, Pochettino has what it takes to succeed at Barça.