In an offhand comment in a barely related article, Mauricio Pochettino has been linked to Chelsea. Of the risky options, he would be the least risky.
In an unrelated article about what missing the Champions League would mean for Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspurs, Chelsea oracle Matt Law slipped in an offhand comment about how Mauricio Pochettino would be Chelsea’s first choice to replace Antonio Conte.
He later tweeted that there was a “less than a 5% chance of that happening“. Still, if someone like Matt Law is dropping that rumor, there is some truth to it. Few have their finger more on the pulse of Chelsea than Law.
But would it be a good appointment (if possible obviously)? Compared to the other choices Chelsea have lined up, Pochettino would be the least risky. But it would still include risk.
The Blues have reportedly shortlisted Luis Enrique, Thomas Tuchel and Maurizio Sarri if they decide to cut ties with Conte. The obvious weakness that all three have is that they would be new to the league. Pochettino avoids that.
After that, the differences become more nuanced. Enrique is the only one with significant silverware. Tuchel the only other with any silverware. For a club like Chelsea, trophies are a must. There will be little leeway for someone who comes up empty handed year after year.
Enrique and Tuchel would be the most attainable simply because they are unemployed. Chelsea are competing with Paris Saint Germain and possibly Real Madrid and Arsenal for managers. Availability is a big plus. As for Pochettino, it is incredibly unlikely that he would jump ship to a rival club. This is a man who has refused to manage Barcelona because of his connections to Espanyol.
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Style wise, they all check similar boxes. But Pochettino has the edge there for being closest to Chelsea’s culture. Since Jose Mourinho was manager, Chelsea have had a culture of being defensively strong followed by fast attacks. That would mesh with Pochettino’s style well.
The other check in Pochettino’s column is his CV is simply more detailed. Enrique can only point to a season at Celta Vigo and his time at Barcelona as successful. Tuchel has two good years at Dortmund to show. Sarri really only has his time at Napoli. But Pochettino has three years at Espanyol, one at Southampton and four at Spurs to show off. At each, he vastly improved a team and had them punching above their previous weight class.
So Pochettino would be the least risky of the managers on Chelsea’s shortlist because of his familiarity with the league and ability to make teams greater than the sum of their parts. His record of developing youth is also vastly above and more detailed than the other three.
But the major concern is his trophy cabinet. This is a man who has won no trophies in his career yet prioritizes “big trophies” over any trophy. Any port in a storm and it is not a good trait to turn one’s nose up at the smaller ones. Trophies breed trophies as successful managers have proven time and time again.
There is the possibility that his empty trophy cabinet is a result of taking Spurs as far as they can go. With a team like Chelsea with more overall individual quality, there is a chance he could get more out of the parts. It would be a gamble, but compared to Enrique, Tuchel or Sarri, it could be one worth taking.
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Of course, this is all theoretical. As Law stated, the chances of it happening are incredibly slim. But it certainly does not hurt to send out feelers for the possibility. If Conte is departing, Chelsea could do far worse than taking their London rival’s manager.