Pochettino opens up on his future and idea of managing a national team

Former Tottenham Hotspur boss Mauricio Pochettino has told the BBC (BBC1 27/11/22 via Evening Standard) that he is keen to return to management after the World Cup and is interested in taking on a job with a national team.

Pochettino was in charge of Spurs from July 2014 to November 2019 and became a fan favourite in North London. He won 160 of the 293 games he oversaw for Tottenham (Transfermarkt), producing a win rate of over 54% during his time with the club.

The pinnacle of his tenure was undoubtedly the incredible run to the Champions League final in the 2018/19 season. Dramatic wins against Manchester City and Ajax in the knockout stages will forever be remembered by Spurs fans, but the disappointing defeat to Liverpool in the final was the beginning of the end for Pochettino.

He was sacked just six months later, and would go on to manage Ligue 1 giants PSG. His time in France came to an end in the summer, but Pochettino has been linked with many jobs since.

There’s been talk of the 50-year-old returning to Tottenham (90Min). But, the most prominent rumour of late is that Pochettino will take the England job after the World Cup should Gareth Southgate leave the post, and the man himself has fueled the fire by admitting he is interested (The Athletic).

During the BBC’s World Cup coverage, Pochettino did little to quash the speculation. He said: “After Paris, we decided to wait until after the World Cup.

“You need time after some experiences and the experience in Paris was tough. A great experience, but a tough experience. Then you need to process every single club. It’s a nice time to become stronger.”

On his future plans, Pochettino added: “It excites me the idea of managing a national team, but the identity of the team is so important: the people, the culture, you need to understand everything.

“It’s the same when you work in a club. It’s about creating the culture to compete and to win. But, yes, I am open to listen [to offers].”

Spurs Web Opinion

Honestly, it would be a dream for me to see Pochettino as England manager. I am very happy with Antonio Conte at Spurs and wouldn’t want him to leave at all, the next best thing would be for the national team to get Pochettino, and I think he would be a big success with the current crop of players.

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