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PARIS: Mauricio Pochettino is said to be Thomas Tuchel’s successor as Paris Saint-Germain coach and the number one item in the Argentine’s inbox will be February’s date with Barcelona.
Tuchel reportedly received his marching orders on Thursday, four months after guiding the Qatari-backed club to its first Champions League final, August’s 1-0 loss to Bayern Munich.
The German, whose dismissal has not yet been officially confirmed by the club, leaves the Parc des Princes having secured a knockout match in the Champions League with Barça and PSG third in Ligue 1, one point behind the leader Lyon.
Pochettino’s opening match in charge will be the January 6 trip to Saint-Etienne in the resumption of Ligue 1 after the winter break.
Then, on February 16, the 48-year-old has his first massive test against the Catalans of his compatriot Lionel Messi, with the return on March 6.
Pochettino was fired after five and a half years at Spurs after leading the north London team to their first appearance in a Champions League final against Liverpool in 2019.
Although he has yet to win any trophies, the former PSG defender’s actions are high in management circles.
The Parisians will be eager to complete their signing and avoid losing their man who has been linked to players such as Real Madrid, Manchester United and Barça in recent months.
Pochettino will join Neymar, Kylian Mbappé and another wealthy company in PSG’s first post-Christmas training session on January 3.
While the club refrained from public comment on the abrupt personnel change, France’s World Cup winner Mbappé took to Instagram to point out Tuchel’s departure.
“Unfortunately, it is the law of football, but no one will forget your time here,” Mbappé said.
“You wrote a great line on the history of the club and I thank you coach,” he added.
IDEAL FIT
Pochettino arrives in the French capital with his successful spell at Spurs preceded by a season at Southampton.
His first coaching job was at difficult Espanyol, where in 2009 his first game in charge was against his long-awaited rival in February, Barcelona.
He earned praise for saving the Spanish team from relegation, where he played with Marcelo Bielsa in 1998.
With his long-awaited new employers hungry to finally fulfill his Champions League wish, Pochettino will have little time to adjust before his new team runs full blast for Barca.
Like Tuchel, as illustrated by the Mbappé tribute, Pochettino is comfortable managing a crowded locker room of a galaxy of stars.
The son of a farmer from Murphy, in northern Argentina, he is a stickler for details, added to his tactical acumen, devotion to an engaging style of play, personal skills and popularity with PSG fans from his playing days. , makes him an ideal candidate as the new occupant of the PSG dugout.
He will have under his wing several compatriots in which to count such as Mauro Icardi, Angel Di Maria and Leandro Paredes.
His early arrival before the winter transfer window will allow him to bring in fresh faces, with the French newspaper Le Parisien identifying one as his former Spurs pupil, Inter Milan attacking midfielder Christian Eriksen.
And going forward, given his relationships with Argentina and knowing each other well, Pochettino may be the catalyst for Messi, a six-time Ballon d’Or winner, to start considering PSG as potential new employers when he’s free to move from the Camp Nou final. it’s from the season.
