He’s arguably the most intriguing manager in world football. 

Mauricio Pochettino made a name for himself at Southampton before turning Tottenham from a mediocre mid-table side into a Champions League finalist. 

Right now, ‘Poch’ is in Paris managing an all-world front three of Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi and Neymar at PSG. Despite losing 3-1 against Nates over the weekend they are 13 points clear at the top of the table and look set to win yet another French crown. 

PSG’s league form, coupled with their decent progression through the UCL has led to many rumours about their Argentinian gaffer. And with the uncertainty about the managerial future of the likes of Manchester United and Real Madrid, his name has been continually thrown up, thus posing the question as to just how good a manager Mauricio Pochettino really is?

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Who is Mauricio Pochettino?

Unlike the likes of Zinedine Zidane or Pep Guardiola, ‘Poch’ doesn’t have that good of a playing career to build his managerial career on. Playing at the likes of PSG and Espanyol, he was a serviceable player, without being outstanding. This has forced him to build a managerial career from basically scratch. 

His first managerial team was the last club he played at, Espanyol. After coming into a side that was facing relegation, he led them to a mid-table finish. After staying there for the best part of three years, he came to terms with a mutual termination of his contract. 

This led him to England, with his first job at Southampton. Despite staying there for only a season and a half, he led them to their highest league place in over a decade, finishing 8th in the 2013/14 season. 

He was then headhunted by Spurs, and this is where his career took off. Finishing 5th in his first season, he was bound to take the side of these young and exciting spurs players to unbelievable heights. After finishing 5th in his first year, he took that same side to contention for the league, until late heartbreak at Stamford Bridge broke Spurs’ hearts. 

The following season they maintained a good level. Breaking the near 3-decade hoodoo at Stamford Bridge as a Deli Alli brace saw them get the three points for the first time in nearly 30 years. They ended up finishing 2nd place behind Chelsea. 

After middling performances for the following season, this led to the 2018/19 Champions League campaign where they overcame a 3-0 deficit in the Semi-Final against Ajax to reach their first-ever Champions League final. 

Despite losing 2-0 to Liverpool, the morale was high heading into the new season. Despite this, after a poor run of results saw Spurs hovering in 14th place, Poch was sacked and replaced by Jose Mourinho. 

At the start of 2021, he took over PSG and his first managerial trophy as Paris Saint-Germain defeated rivals Marseille with a 2-1 victory in the Trophée des Champions. He followed this up with his second career trophy with a win in the Coupe de France Final against Monaco. 

This brings us to the present day and where his star-studded PSG side sits first in the league and has one foot in the Champions League quarter finals. 

Poch’s career as a manager can be described with the phrase “so close, yet so far”. All of his sides have played very good football throughout his time there. However, he hasn't gotten the silverware to back up that good football. He has been unlucky at times, and at times he has struggled under the bright lights. 

Punters- At TopSport, PSG are 4th favourites to win a first-ever UCL crown, and are currently paying $6.75.

What does a Pochettino side look like?

One of the reasons for his relative success at nearly every club he has been at is his managerial style. This is built on key principles that allow for his players to get the best out of themselves. 

He is a very good man-manager, with his emphasis on squad morale and blooding youth at every opportunity. This allows for constant, natural refreshment in the squad as well as competition for nearly every position. 

He also deploys a high pressing, high octane style of football. Both in and out of possession, his side play at a frantic pace that tries to make the opposition uncomfortable and always uncertain with the ball. Out of possession, his sides sit in mid-block. With this, it allows for them to sit back and soak up pressure. As well as implementing a violet press that suffocates the opposition once they build the ball in the middle third of the pitch. 

This is achieved through his favoured 4-3-3 / 4-2-3-1 system. In this formation, the wide forward sits inside, acting as two narrow number 10's that facilitate the advanced number 9. His system is very focused on play down the middle. With the only width in his sides coming from the full-back. He emphasises his full-backs to give his side width to allow for central overloads and intricate passing moves. 

These overloads can be exploited through clever movement and third man runs. It is pivotal that his players have very good close control ability and can pick out a pass with deadly accuracy. 

In build-up play, his sides are relatively patient until they get into the final third. This is where the tempo increases, and they look to get into the 18-yard box very quickly. This is done via those narrow inside forwards that sit in the half-space and very rarely drift wider than that. 

Should he deploy a 4-2-3-1 system, the two holding midfielders are very restricted in their movement. Looking to sit back and disrupt play, whilst playing simple and effective passes to the more creative players in the squad. 

Whereas in the 4-3-3, the single defensive pivot is the only holding player, whereas the two more advanced eight push forward for even more of a central overload. This system is more often deployed in games where his side are expected to win, or when they are chasing a game. 

Punters- At TopSport, France are paying $7 to become the first back-to-back World Cup champs since Brazil (1958 and 1962)

Does he work at Manchester United? 

One of the sides he has been linked to is Manchester United. It seems that this move is almost inevitable. With so much talk for so many years, it’s a move that almost seems detained to happen. Should it go through, will he work at the Red Devils?

We have seen this season that one of United’s faults is that their pressing system is borderline dysfunctional. Ever since Ralf has come in it has slowly gotten better, but it is still an area of the game that needs major improvement. Considering Poch’s press heavy style, this appointment could go either one of two ways. 

He could completely rejuvenate the squad and suddenly Untied are pressing machines. Or the players down tools and are left exposed due to a lack of cohesion between coach and playing squad.

Considering Poch's man-management skills, it wouldn't be that surprising to see a transformed United side if he comes in. 

In possession, United’s squad would need some overhauls to fit his system. Firstly, the likes of Jadeon Sancho and Marcos Rashford would find it hard to secure a place in the squad. Considering their enjoyment of playing very wide and with a lot of space to run into, the narrow nature of Poch’s attack wouldn't suit them. They are good enough players to adapt and change their game, so we will only know for sure should the move happen. 

Aaron Wan-Bissaka isn’t good enough offensively to provide the only width while Poch’s attractiveness to ball-playing centre-halves might see Harry Maguire shoved out the door. 

Punters- At TopSport, Manchester United are paying $23 to win a 4th UCL title. 

Does he work at Real Madrid? 

Real Madrid is a lot more interesting prospect. While that squad will perhaps be more suited to Poch’s team than United’s, the turbulence with the board and the unsteady nature that nearly every one of their managers has endured might be the beginning of the end. 

That midfield three of Toni Kroos, Casemiro and Luka Modric would adapt fine to Poch’s system, and Ferland Mendy’s and Dani Carvajal’s ability to get forward would be good enough for Poch. Vinicius Junior would need to invert more than he would like, but with Benzema being the focal point, there wouldn't be many issues being efficient upfront. 

The style of La Liga will suit Poch’s game style brilliantly as well. The amount of space and low tempo nature of the league will allow Poch’s side to feast on the opposition defence. The ruthless press that he operates will work a treat should the side click to it. 

Punters- At TopSport, Real Madrid are paying $26 to win a 14th UCL trophy, and which would double that of the next best team (AC Milan has 7).

Where would he do his best work?

Considering he hasn't tested himself in Spain yet and the Real Madrid job is one of the more lucrative gigs in football, it would be hard to believe that he would decline their eventual offer.

However, Poch does have unfinished business in England. His story doesn’t have a happy ending (yet) and he would be desperate to right that wrong. If the Untied board give him the backing, he not only needs but deserves, then it would be more than an appealing job to move to Manchester. 

He has the ready-made squad in Madrid, but the story and revenge in Manchester. It wouldn't be a surprise to see him return to Spain, but the Premier League narrative would be ten times better should the magical Argentinian make his return. 

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