Chelsea overlooked Mauricio Pochettino’s connections to close rivals Tottenham because they believe he has the perfect qualities to turn the club around.
Pochettino was announced as the new Chelsea manager on Monday, with the club confirming he will begin his two-year contract on July 1. The 51-year-old will replace Frank Lampard, who stepped in to become interim manager following the sackings of Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter during a disastrous 2022/23 season.
Chelsea finished 12th in the Premier League, despite Todd Boehly’s ownership group shelling out over £550million on new players over the past year. Pochettino will have a huge task on his hands and the Blues’ hierarchy are convinced they have found the right man for the job.
“Mauricio’s experience, standards of excellence, leadership qualities and character will serve Chelsea Football Club well as we move forward,” said Chelsea’s co-sporting directors, Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley.
“He is a winning coach, who has worked at the highest levels, in multiple leagues and languages. His ethos, tactical approach and commitment to development all made him the exceptional candidate.”
Pochettino has been out of work since being sacked by Paris Saint-Germain in July. He won the Ligue 1 title with PSG but failed to deliver the much sought after Champions League trophy.
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The Argentine started his managerial career with Espanyol before enjoying a successful campaign with Southampton in 2013/14. From there he moved to Tottenham, where he spent five years, leading the club to their maiden Champions League final in 2019.
Chelsea considered the likes of Luis Enrique and Julian Nagelsmann before settling on Pochettino as their new manager. “The sporting team conducted a diligent and thoughtful process that the board is proud of,” co-owners Todd Boehly, Behdad Eghbali, José E. Feliciano, Mark Walter and Hansjörg Wyss said in a statement.
“We are delighted that Mauricio will be joining Chelsea. Mauricio is a world-class coach with an outstanding track record. We are all looking forward to having him on board.”
Pochettino will bring in trusted lieutenants Jesus Perez, Miguel d’Agostino, Toni Jimenez and Sebastiano Pochettino to work with him at Cobham. He will take over a bloated squad that has just endured a terrible campaign, with Lampard laying out the extent of the job on Sunday after a 1-1 draw with Newcastle.
Asked if he would leave a note for the next head coach, Lampard said: “There are things that need to improve. That note should not be a public one. There are clear things that need to improve. He’ll have a pre-season to work with the team.
“We’re not physically competitive enough. Newcastle are and we haven’t been. We have the capability now for the new manager to get the squad in the place he wants it to be. That’s going to be a challenge as well.”
He added: “It’s about getting the right high level of manager. Pochettino’s history shows he has worked with clubs at the level. It won’t be an overnight thing but we have to be careful with expectations. There’s a lot of work to be done. The basics I keep talking about, the standards collectively have dropped.”
