Barcelona need a dynamic and energetic manager and Mauricio Pochettino seems perfect for the job

Andy West 21:12 27/05/2019
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Mail
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • WhatsApp
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • With the doubt over Ernesto Valverde’s future at Barcelona still lingering, it’s worth considering that the decision of club president Josep Maria Bartomeu will be partly conditioned by the availability of a suitable replacement.

    If Valverde goes, who should replace him? There don’t appear to be any particularly obvious candidates, with the fact that unconvincing names such as Ronald Koeman and Quique Setien have been bandied about illustrating that Barca’s options are not exactly abundant.

    Perhaps, though, there is one extremely clear successor to Valverde who would be the perfect man for the job, meeting all the required criteria.

    After all, the Catalan club would be looking for a dynamic and energetic personality following the staid and sensible reign of Valverde. With the squad facing an overhaul, they would need someone who can integrate and develop young players alongside established veterans, utilising a passing-and-pressing style befitting Barca’s Cruyffian heritage.

    The right man would ideally know Spanish football well and, following the haunting Champions League capitulations in Rome and Liverpool, he should also have a proven track record of instilling his team with mental resilience in tough away games, especially on the European stage.

    Doesn’t all of that sound more than a bit like…Mauricio Pochettino?

    It is widely acknowledged that Pochettino has done a great job in England, and that his work has earned him the right to step up into the European elite – if the money to do so with Tottenham is not forthcoming, even the London club’s fans would not begrudge him the opportunity to chase serious silverware elsewhere.

    So, why not with Barca? Well, there is one major obstacle, explaining why Pochettino has only really ever been linked with Real Madrid rather than the Camp Nou: his past life with Espanyol.

    Over the course of two playing spells and his first job in management, Pochettino spent 13 years with Barca’s big crosstown rivals, whose hatred for the fancy-dan show-ponies across the city knows no bounds.

    And for that reason alone, many people believe there is absolutely no way he can ever become Barca coach – he has even said so himself, once quipping that he would prefer to return to Argentina and work on his farm than manage Barcelona.

    Should he now rethink that attitude? That depends upon the extent of his ambition. If he wants one of the very top jobs in football, his options are limited.

    Two of the possible clubs, Real Madrid and Manchester United, have recently resembled madhouses with a rapid turnover of managers and haphazard transfer strategies. They would be risky moves for any manager.

    Another two, Manchester City and Liverpool, are occupied for the foreseeable future. Juventus likewise. Paris St Germain? A poisoned chalice. Bayern Munich? A possibility, perhaps.

    Which only really leaves Barcelona, a club with a long established playing style which suits Pochettino’s own philosophy, the budget to add new stars and a burning ambition to reclaim the Champions League trophy after a long wait.

    There is also, of course, Lionel Messi. Like the Barca number ten, Pochettino also hails from the Argentine hotbed of Rosario and started his career in that city with Newell’s Old Boys before heading to Europe with a move to Barcelona. They have a similar back story, and the chance to manage Messi during the latter stages of his career would surely be an enormous temptation to Pochettino.

    The only thing stopping him is loyalty to Espanyol, whose fans, no doubt about it, would absolutely despise their former coach if he turned coat and took over at the Camp Nou. For a principled man like Pochettino, that would be a tough call.

    It has been done, though, on many previous occasions. Luis Enrique, for example, made nearly 250 appearances for Real Madrid before becoming a star player and later manager for Barcelona. There are plenty of precedents in the football world of revered heroes betraying their former teams and joining a bitter rival.

    Pochettino doing so would be nothing new so perhaps – if he really wants to become one of the greatest managers in the world, he should just get over himself.

    Or is that too callous?

    Recommended