Pochettino, respect, and the ‘never kicked a ball in your life’ theory | Barney Ronay


The Tottenham manager betrayed English football’s disdain for the views of those who did not play the sport but when those dry up it will be time to start worrying

Deep down, behind the club loyalties, beneath the professional distance, everyone loves Mauricio Pochettino. You can deny it. But search your feelings, you know it to be true. There is just something very likable about Pochettino: the barking laugh, the pouchy dimples, the way he strides around the touchline looking like the world’s most handsome oil rigger.

Plus of course there is his success as a coach, which has come in the most interesting way, as a developer of players, the author of a style of play. Pochettino has been 100% successful in getting Spurs into the Champions League on a restricted budget over the last three years, which has always been the only realistic goal no matter how many times people keep telling him he has to win the League Cup.

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