Mauricio Pochettino: Chelsea agree deal to appoint ex-Tottenham boss as new manager - BBC Sport
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Mauricio Pochettino: Chelsea agree deal to appoint ex-Tottenham boss as new manager

Last updated on .From the section Chelseacomments920

Mauricio Pochettino
Former Argentina defender Pochettino has managed Espanyol, Tottenham and PSG

Chelsea have agreed terms to make former Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino their new manager.

He will join the club in the summer, with Frank Lampard remaining as interim manager until the end of the season.

Pochettino, who has also managed Southampton, has been out of work since Paris St-Germain replaced him with Christophe Galtier in summer 2022.

The 51-year-old Argentine managed Spurs for five years from 2014 and led them to the 2019 Champions League final.

Pochettino will be Chelsea's sixth permanent manager in five years, following the sacking of Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter earlier this season.

Lampard took interim charge of the Blues at the start of April following Potter's dismissal.

Chelsea have had a difficult season, losing to Manchester City in the third round of both the FA Cup and League Cup.

They also lost to Real Madrid in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, which ended any viable hopes of them qualifying for Europe next season.

They are currently 11th in the Premier League, having won just one of their past 11 games, losing eight of them.

Pochettino had been linked with a return to Tottenham after they parted company with Antonio Conte in March.

He guided Spurs to the League Cup final in 2015 and a Premier League runners-up spot in 2016-17, with his side missing out on winning both to Chelsea.

Following his stint at Tottenham, Pochettino took over from Tuchel at PSG in January 2021.

The French club finished second in Ligue 1 at the end of the 2020-21 campaign but did win the Coupe de France and the Trophee des Champions, which were the first trophies of Pochettino's managerial career.

Pochettino started his managerial career with Espanyol before his 16-month spell at Southampton.

Pochettino wants a team fans can 'fall in love with' - Balague

In April, Spanish football expert Guillem Balague told BBC's Football Focus that the Argentine was approached in September as a possible replacement for Tuchel, but turned the club down before they appointed Potter.

"It was a different time where I think Chelsea had made up their mind on Potter, and Pochettino sensed that," said Balague.

"Now it feels like the club is ready for him. Before, the fans were missing Tuchel, who won them the Champions League the year before.

"But the fans and the club are wanting him to arrive."

Balague believes Pochettino wants to produce a team Chelsea fans can "fall in love with".

"He wants a team that presses, that is aggressive - he wants players that know they have to fight to get into the starting XI," Balague added.

"He is obviously going to have to trim the squad and those players that stay will have to fight for their place and know that nothing is guaranteed."

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920 comments

  • Comment posted by andychapman, at 11:08 14 May 2023

    Completely dagger to the heart as a Tottenham fan. Thanks Daniel levy

  • Comment posted by Surrey Soothsayer, at 11:11 14 May 2023

    They should have kept Lampard as the continuity boss. His managerial record is high calibre.

    • Reply posted by liverpool supporter right here, at 11:15 14 May 2023

      liverpool supporter right here replied:
      Pochettino will never beat Lampards record. Lampard is unique and we will never see the likes of him again

  • Comment posted by Footballistically, at 11:10 14 May 2023

    My turn to manage Chelsea can't be too long. Just need to finish my PM stint.

    • Reply posted by chris_cat, at 11:13 14 May 2023

      chris_cat replied:
      Come on I’m sure you can do both at the same time.

  • Comment posted by AdamSalford, at 11:09 14 May 2023

    Will be sacked by Christmas.

    No money to spend for years due to the way they’ve structured their recent signings’ transfer fees and thus a team of players on massive, long contracts who don’t need to perform to earn their money for the rest of the decade.

    Good luck motivating that lot, Poch.

    • Reply posted by liverpool supporter right here, at 11:30 14 May 2023

      liverpool supporter right here replied:
      Good luck on Pochettino trying to win over the Chelsea fans who hate Tottenham

  • Comment posted by FreddieThe Frog, at 11:11 14 May 2023

    Lampard back in by Christmas.😂

    • Reply posted by liverpool supporter right here, at 11:17 14 May 2023

      liverpool supporter right here replied:
      What as permanent or interim manager😆

  • Comment posted by Eddguy , at 11:18 14 May 2023

    Don't reckon it'll be as bad as people are making out tbh. He generally gets his teams playing in an decent way and his handling of any egos is bound to have improved since his time at Spurs. Let's face it if you've worked with Neymar, Mbappe etc at PSG there's no ego fazing you after that

    • Reply posted by garreth546, at 11:20 14 May 2023

      garreth546 replied:
      😂😂😂

  • Comment posted by knackersinc, at 11:24 14 May 2023

    Omg. Can you imagine the pressure? Having to improve on Lampard's results? Not a job I'd fancy, to be honest.

    • Reply posted by liverpool supporter right here, at 12:25 14 May 2023

      liverpool supporter right here replied:
      I think Chelsea might just sneak a win against Burnley

  • Comment posted by daygavin, at 11:15 14 May 2023

    As a Spurs fan, this is worse than the Sol Campbell betrayal. Almost all Spurs fans under 40 will tell you our most hated club, by a distance, is Chelsea. And after everything Poch created with us: excitement, spirit, goals, cup runs…this just sucks tbh. I don’t care about trophies, I just want the spirit back. And this makes it feel further away than ever. Dark days.

    • Reply posted by nikki7luc, at 11:18 14 May 2023

      nikki7luc replied:
      Great....Come on Chels....

  • Comment posted by Julian, at 11:11 14 May 2023

    I think we can guess where Kane’s heading…

    • Reply posted by Alex A, at 11:18 14 May 2023

      Alex A replied:
      Perfect solution to Chelsea’s goal scoring problems

  • Comment posted by Viral, at 11:04 14 May 2023

    Chelsea have got definitely better manager than the current one and the last but I still believe sacking Tuchel was the wrong move. All the best Pochettino but he will have to manage massive egos which he couldn’t at PSG.

    • Reply posted by Neil Adams, at 11:11 14 May 2023

      Neil Adams replied:
      The biggest ego belongs to Todd Boehly

  • Comment posted by living room, at 11:16 14 May 2023

    He's a good manager. Chelsea will do well with him.

    • Reply posted by liverpool supporter right here, at 11:19 14 May 2023

      liverpool supporter right here replied:
      When you mean well you mean top four but no trophies

  • Comment posted by Toaster, at 11:24 14 May 2023

    Should have stuck with Potter, the issue wasn’t the manager, it is the squad that’s the problem

    • Reply posted by madmicky, at 11:38 14 May 2023

      madmicky replied:
      Really playing one of best right wing backs in the world as a right of defence, that a good idea was it?(see the Villa game) Potter was clueless and made so many bad choices.

  • Comment posted by Scientist101, at 11:18 14 May 2023

    He'll need to sell at least 12 players. Chelsea have 3 signings coming in the summer, maybe a couple to come back from loans plus they need a striker and one or two more to strengthen some weaker areas. A lot of good young talent at Chelsea...needs a manager to take them by the scruff of the neck and turn them into a team. No easy task.

    • Reply posted by liverpool supporter right here, at 11:32 14 May 2023

      liverpool supporter right here replied:
      And that will be Pochettino will it. It is just going to be PSG all over again. Can he keep the egos in check and keep the players happy when they are not playing

  • Comment posted by Karen, at 11:16 14 May 2023

    Interesting for Poch to go to Chelsea, whose owner is dictating the transfers, when he hated that at PSG and ended up with a load of players that he didn't want or need.

    The potential of the Chelsea squad though should provide a real test for him to show what he can do. He is rated very highly, but yet to see the real evidence of why consistently on the pitch.

    • Reply posted by garreth546, at 11:20 14 May 2023

      garreth546 replied:
      He’s got full control hence why the negotiations took longer than expected, when I say control at least 60% is his final say or do until Chelsea get a director of transfers then all will be good. Horrid season glad to see the back of it

  • Comment posted by Duck-Billed Platitude, at 11:19 14 May 2023

    He has to get rid of twenty players and keep the Americans away from the dressing room, and the decision-making.

    • Reply posted by Honest discussion, at 11:30 14 May 2023

      Honest discussion replied:
      20!? Maybe 5-6.

  • Comment posted by StevieP, at 12:14 14 May 2023

    Am I the only person finding it hilarious that some Spurs fans are moaning about Pochettino moving to Chelsea when they were happy enough to appoint Vila-Boas, Mourinho, & Conte?? And look how well THEY worked out for them...

    • Reply posted by youarehavingagiraffe, at 12:16 14 May 2023

      youarehavingagiraffe replied:
      George Graham

  • Comment posted by Alex A, at 11:17 14 May 2023

    Good to get Poch in early so he’s got time to sort the mess out and build a team

    • Reply posted by Mr and Mrs Banks, at 11:46 14 May 2023

      Mr and Mrs Banks replied:
      Got time? This is Chelsea’s we’re talking about. He’s got 6 months tops.

  • Comment posted by JustPassingTheTime, at 11:04 14 May 2023

    Good luck to him. He needs complete backing of the boardroom and should be allowed to sell whoever he wants. Even if he starts badly, stick with him and make a long term plan.

    • Reply posted by liverpool supporter right here, at 11:35 14 May 2023

      liverpool supporter right here replied:
      Complete backing from the board. Yeah like how they backed Potter. The owner will fire him when the results are not happening

  • Comment posted by just-for-fun, at 11:03 14 May 2023

    Good manager, let’s see if he could control the troublesome Chelsea dressing room!!

    • Reply posted by Is anyone still unclear, at 11:52 14 May 2023

      Is anyone still unclear replied:
      Luckily Lampard has set such a low bar that two wins in a season will be a success

  • Comment posted by BGD, at 11:06 14 May 2023

    Do we need to start another spreadsheet?

    • Reply posted by liverpool supporter right here, at 11:34 14 May 2023

      liverpool supporter right here replied:
      Pochettino to be James Bond after the first seven games

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