Mauricio Pochettino, 51, who led Tottenham Hotspur to the top of the Premier League, has taken charge of Chelsea.
Chelsea announced on its website on Sept. 29 that it has signed Pochettino to a two-year contract. Pochettino will begin his official duties as Chelsea manager in July.
After a long search, Chelsea chose Pochettino because of his success in the English Premier League. The Blues, who finished 12th in the league this season after going through several managers, including Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter, and Frank Lampard, focused on Pochettino’s experience as a trump card in rebuilding the franchise. 토토사이트
“We felt that Pochettino’s experience and leadership qualities would be of great benefit to the club going forward,” said Chelsea sporting directors Lawrence Stewart and Paul Winstanley. “He is a manager who has performed at the highest level in multiple leagues. His mental and tactical qualities are highly regarded.”
With Pochettino on the Chelsea bench, the Blues will inevitably face off against his hometown club Tottenham. Chelsea and Tottenham are both based in London, so there is a lot of rivalry between them. Whenever the two teams play, they don’t hide their hatred for each other. As a result, there isn’t much player exchange between the two teams.
On the other hand, managers who have managed both Chelsea and Tottenham have become a common sight in recent years. According to soccer statistics site Opta, Pochettino is only the fifth manager to have been in charge of both Chelsea and Tottenham. Starting with Glenn Hoddle, Andre Villas-Boas, Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte all experienced the two rivalries before Pochettino.
Hoddle was a legendary Tottenham midfielder in the 1980s who briefly played for Chelsea in his playing days. Villas-Boas, Mourinho, and Conte all came to Tottenham from Chelsea and spent two years in charge of Spurs from 2001 onwards.
Pochettino is a bit different. He’s only the fifth manager in history to take charge of a club in crisis, but his track record at Tottenham is enough to make him stand out.