Mauricio Pochettino opens up on why he chose Chelsea

The 51-year-old returns to England after just two years away, one of which was spent with French giants Paris Saint-Germain in the wake of six impressive seasons in the Premier League

Posted Tuesday, July 04, 2023 by 101 GREAT GOALS

Former Argentine international Mauricio Pochettino made a name for himself long ago in the top flight of English football during impressive stints at both Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur. Now, a new project awaits as he returns to England to become the latest headmaster at Stamford Bridge for Premier League giants Chelsea surrounding hopes that the club hope to have finally found the right man to restore order and progression in west London.

The 51-year-old spent just two years away from England, one of which saw him in the technical area at the Parc des Princes with French giants Paris Saint-Germain in the wake of six impressive seasons in the Premier League which so nearly saw him guide Tottenham to a fairytale Champions League win in 2018-19.

Now, as the fourth Blues manager in the last twelve months after Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter, and Frank Lampard all failed to get the club firing in 2022-23 on the back of incessant spending by owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali, all eyes will be on the Argentine while wondering if he can wrangle the talent on offer at the club and get them firing on the domestic front.

But for Pochettino, it was always easy to say yes to Chelsea on the back of the club's achievements in recent years.

"It was easy to say yes to Chelsea. We'll work hard, play in a way the fans can enjoy football. The history of Chelsea is to win and be at the top. We can't have up and downs. In the last 10, 12, 15 years, Chelsea is the greatest team in England".

That same greatness has recently come under threat after the Blues finished not only outside of the European places but outside of the bottom half of the table regardless of the £600m that the club spent between the summer and winter windows during the 2022-23 season, which included breaking the British transfer record when they prized World Cup winner Enzo Fernández from SL Benfica.

Unquestionably, Chelsea does have a cadre of young talent that, if Pochettino can come to grips with, should be able to get the club back in among the dogfight surrounding the European places in 2023-24.