Stamford Bridge has experienced infinite changes in various divisions this past year, with the coaching department going through its fair share. The Chelsea hierarchy's hunt for a successor is reportedly nearing a conclusion, and it seems that the former Tottenham Hotspur and Paris Saint-Germain boss, Mauricio Pochettino, will take over the mantle as Chelsea manager in the coming campaign.
This article will explore the Argentine's impact at his previous jobs and break down the tactical principles that he would potentially bring to West London soon.
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Making his name at Southampton for attacking, dynamic, and high-pressing football, Pochettino did enough in one season to attract the attention of Tottenham Hotspur - whose fans were desperate to escape from perennial mediocrity. His objective was to elevate an inconsistent club, accustomed to bouncing around the top four, and revolutionize them to a regular title challenger while playing attractive football in the long run.
And it is fair to say that he impressively ticked off the checklist while working with a limited budget - finishing in the top three for three consecutive seasons after the first adaptation year - while finishing as runners-up in the League Cup (2014-15) and Champions League (2018-19).
Pochettino also closed the gap with the champions for two seasons but slipped away in 2017-18 as Manchester City pulled off a one-of-a-kind 100-point campaign while enduring disruptions to home games after shifting to Wembley to accommodate the renovation of the White Hart Lane.
And he did so by improving various aspects of Spurs' game, one of them being an intensive press.
We can measure this by analyzing the passes per defensive action (PPDA) of the team - it is a metric that calculates the amount of opposition passes before a player makes a defensive action. Therefore, according to the metric, the lower the PPDA, the higher the intensity of the press.
(A lower PPDA output on the y-axis indicates a more intense press)
Under the Argentine coach, Spurs improved with their offensive and defensive output while keeping a larger share of the ball throughout the years - according to whoscored.com, their possession statistics increased from 29.4% the year before Pochettino took over to 58.8% in his last full season in charge.
(Pochettino took over Spurs in 2014)
It is tough to evaluate Pochettino's tenure at PSG as it lasted for only a season and a half. Despite winning Ligue 1, Pochettino struggled to implement his ideas and thus failed to attain the cub's holy grail - the Champions League. And so, he ended up like all his predecessors who fell short of the same task - getting replaced the following summer.
Nevertheless, the data suggest that the team did not reach the heights once achieved under Thomas Tuchel, who led PSG to their first Champions League final two seasons prior.
Under the Argentine, the Parisians did not reach far in cup competitions either - getting knocked out by Real Madrid in the UCL and uncharacteristically exiting the Coupe de France in the round of 16.
And so, according to the merciless managerial culture at PSG, the decision to sack Pochettino was warranted when looking at his team's performance. But you could cut the man some slack for trying to balance a star-studded trio of Messi, Neymar, and Mbappe while trying to find the perfect defensive formula - a challenge that his replacement, Christoph Galtier, has also failed at.
So, what can Chelsea fans expect from Pochettino?
Tactically speaking, Pochettino prefers to play with a back four. However, he has proved to be versatile - adopting a back three during the 2016-17 campaign when Tottenham finished second in the league.
His teams were renowned for their belligerent pressing system that allowed attacking opportunities after regaining possession up-field.
Offensively, Pochettino used inverted wingers that drifted inside while the full-backs overlapped with a striker pinning the opposition center-backs and a double or single pivot as the gel between the defense and attack.
Chelsea fans should take heed to the fact that Pochettino was heavily influential in transforming Harry Kane, Son Heung-min, and Eriksen while finding a perfect position for Dele Alli - a feat no other manager could achieve later, however, other factors also contributed to his downfall.
The abundance of experience the fifty-one-year-old would bring to Stamford Bridge in developing young players might be invaluable considering the plethora of youthful talent Chelsea have invested in.
Pochettino favors aggressive attacking full-backs that are heavily involved in the final third - which would be positive news for Reece James, Ben Chilwell, and Malo Gusto - they would take pleasure from knowing that Kieran Trippier, Kyle Walker, Danny Rose, and Ben Davies enjoyed their best years under the Argentine head coach.
Furthermore, his teams were direct - moving through the lines with quick short passes while combining positional rotations in the attacking third.
And Pochettino achieved all that he did at Tottenham while navigating through the player transfer market with minimal net spend.
As a painful and arduous season comes to a close, the Chelsea faithful are left with little to no optimism for the near future. But the arrival of Mauricio Pochettino would surely shed some light on the pitch-black tunnel that the club finds itself in.
Despite the strong affiliations with a close rival in Tottenham, Chelsea fans must accept that Pochettino is the best candidate available for the job. Not just that, during his time in North London, the Argentine attested to his potential to be an elite manager.
With Chelsea hitting unprecedented new lows that seem surely unrepeatable, any progress under the new manager would be considered a positive.
Besides, Pochettino would walk into a newly transformed club where he can stamp his authority and mold the team in any way that prefers. And although the club owners have gone through three managers during their first season in charge, they seem to maintain a long-term stance on the next managerial appointment.
After all, though it may not seem like it, this may be the perfect opportunity for Pochettino to become a Chelsea manager to steer the club to the top, where the Pride of London belongs.
(Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)
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