Diving into Mauricio Pochettino’s first interview as Chelsea boss
May 2nd, 2016.
A resurgent Chelsea, uncharacteristically languishing in mid-table form, against a Tottenham Hotspur side with an eye on the Premier League title led by Mauricio Pochettino.
The scuffle that transpired across Stamford Bridge on the pitch and the sidelines will be seared into every Spurs and Chelsea fan’s mind, with the likes of Erik Lamela, Christian Eriksen and Danny Rose playing the role of antagonists.
One man involved, as we all were, was Pochettino, defending a side that had played some mind-blowing football but was on the verge of surrendering the crown to football’s biggest fairytale in Leicester City. He was protecting a group of players jarred with emotions, as demonstrated with the nine yellow cards they collected on their way to a 2-2 draw.
Fast forward seven years, and Pochettino is set to take charge of the team across the pitch from him that fateful evening. A Chelsea team that has gone through changes on every single front. From the support staff and the ground staff to the directors and players, you name it.
To measure the size of the task the former Paris Saint-Germain and Southampton boss has on his hands is matchless, but as he always is – calm and appealing off the pitch, spiritually passionate on it, Pochettino said in his first interview “We are here to try to help the club and the fans. In the end, the most important thing in football is for them to be happy and to feel proud of us and the way we approach games. The players need to know that. Of course, there are always up and downs in the history of football, but Chelsea is a club that it is impossible to have these up and downs. We need to be sure that we bring what the club needs to be at the top because the history of the club is to be at the top.”
It’s not an exaggeration to say that Pochettino was the Spurs’ best coach over the last decade, turning them into an uncomfortable team to play against. They were one of the hardest working teams in the division, thanks to their pressing, tactical aptness in possession and fearless approach to football.
Chelsea could use some of these qualities, and that’s something Pochettino was particularly interested in – to bring joy to the fans while winning, but also finding the right ways and patterns to winning.
The newly minted bench boss also remarked “We are so happy that today we can start here at Cobham in the training ground and meet the people and the staff. It is exciting for us and what we want is to bring the happiness again to this great football club. We will work hard, play in a way the fans can enjoy football, and the history of Chelsea is to win – but it is important also in the way we are going to build those victories.”
The size of the project Todd Boehly and his team are building has been an experimental failure that can still bear fruit with time if they’re able to place things in the right spots. It’s been exciting and volatile. Chelsea’s new gaffer, however, said it was an easy decision due to the clarity of the plans presented to him, “For me, it is a pleasure and honour to now be involved with Chelsea Football Club. We are so excited, and I know Chelsea very well, it is one of the greatest clubs in the world. So of course, it was easy for us to make the decision to move here.”
“From the beginning, the owners and sporting directors were very clear about the project and we were very excited to join them in this project. We are here to try to help the club and the fans. In the end, the most important thing in football is for them to be happy and to feel proud of us and the way we approach games. The players need to know that,” he insisted.
Pochettino nearly won a Premier League title and a Champions League in North London, before collecting three trophies with PSG. He’s been subject to criticism for losing dressing rooms and failing to handle big egos, but he believes he’s a better manager that has seen plenty through the years and is grappling with the nitty-gritty of modern-day football.
“I am much, much, much better! No, I think it is an important experience to analyse. We have had times in the past to analyse everything and to be better. Evolution is every day, trying to be better. Experiences are something you must capitalise on because if not, experience is nothing. I think we are in the correct way to try to add things and help the players to be better. We are a better coaching staff and a staff that loves to innovate, be ahead of everything, but also share and mix with the football of the past.”
The Argentine mastermind is one of the most intelligent speakers in football. He labeled Chelsea as the best team in England over the last 10-15 years, while also mapping out plans to win trophies – which ultimately is the main determinant of success in the culture created by Roman Abramovich.
Pochettino also zeroed in on offering the right ‘tools’ to the players in the preseason. Prior to last season, the trip to the USA hindered Chelsea’s preparations, resulting in fatigued, tired bodies ahead of match day one. Quite the self sabotaging approach, that, knowing the ruthlessness of the Premier League.
This new coaching group led by Pochettino has charted out a plan for the players coming into training at Cobham prior to the pre-season trip. He added “The expectation is to for them to be open and to let us manage. They need for us, first of all, to create a platform so they can feel comfortable here. They need to have their space and feel important.”
“Our expertise is to give Chelsea the best tools for the players to be successful, to improve individually and collectively. We have the experience and together we can create a fantastic journey. That is what we want: to be together, to work together, and be part of this football club,” Pochettino, heralded for his player management and the inclusivity he infuses, further remarked.
The transfer window, led by sales of key first-team players, is as critical as the pre-season in setting Pochettino and the team up for success.
The Blues hierarchy are hoping for a more settled squad ahead of the first outing at Stamford Bridge against Liverpool. There cannot be repeats of last summer or the winter transfer window, with the latter seeing almost 10 new players walk into a club already in a state of transition.
It was one of the reasons behind former Blues boss Graham Potter’s ruination.
Irrespective of the chaos, there’s a lot to feel excited about at Chelsea, courtesy of the calm and methodical approach that Mauricio Pochettino will implement at Cobham. Steady as she goes is quite the reversal in terms of approach from last offseason to this summer. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
-Roy Akarshak
Twitter: @RoyAkarshak
Photo: Ank Kumar. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.