LAGOS, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)-Mauricio Pochettino was appointed manager of Chelsea on Monday as the Argentine coach will be tasked with making the most of a costly assembled team that has underperformed at the start of a new era for the English club.
Pochettino signed a two-year contract with the club, with an option for an additional year, and will start in the position on July 1, according to Chelsea.
His return to the Premier League, where he enjoyed an outstanding 5 1/2-year stint with Tottenham that included a run to the Champions League final, is marked by his first coaching position since leaving Paris Saint-Germain in July of last year.
Generally, he was anticipated to accept the Chelsea role, which is regarded as one of the most prominent jobs in European soccer.
Graham Potter, who was ousted in March after almost seven months in leadership, has a permanent replacement in him.
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Since then, the squad has been led pro-tempore by former Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard, and it concluded the Premier League season in 12th place, finishing in the bottom half for the first time since the 1995–96 campaign.
The club’s new American ownership, backed by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, had a fast start to their rule despite Chelsea spending about $630 million over the previous two transfer windows.
However, despite the unprecedentedly high spending, Chelsea has only amassed 44 points, the fewest it has ever had in the history of the Premier League.
Since leaving Tottenham in 2019, Pochettino has been connected with several of the top soccer teams in Europe, including Manchester United and Real Madrid.
He won the French title with PSG, but left last year and has been out of work until now.
“Mauricio’s experience, standards of excellence, leadership qualities and character will serve Chelsea well as we move forward,” Chelsea sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley said in a statement.
“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.”
Chelsea described Pochettino as a coach who is “renowned for his sides’ high-energy and eye-catching style.
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The club said “He has built a reputation for helping young players realize their full potential within a strong squad ethos,”
Lampard used his final news conference as interim manager — after the 1-1 draw with Newcastle on Sunday — to speak bluntly about what Pochettino can expect upon taking over.
Lampard said he saw immediately after taking charge that “standards collectively have dropped.”
“We are not physically competitive enough — that’s a strong opinion I have,” Lampard said. “Also, we’ll have the capability now to get the squad in the place he wants it to be. That’s going to be some work as well.
“The squad has been too big and that the biggest challenge I have found day to day is coming in and trying to work with big numbers and players who, for whatever reason, are disillusioned that they are not playing or they might be leaving. Those situations can be sorted out now — and they need to be.”
While Pochettino coached some of the most well-known players in the world, including Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, and Neymar at PSG, he will have a less well-known team at Chelsea that is nonetheless full of talent and is primarily young, including Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez, wingers Mykhailo Mudryk and Noni Madueke, and defender Wesley Fofana.
They belong to the group of players that joined the team over the past year for hefty sums of money and on long-term contracts but who have since been disoriented due to the club’s difficult season.
Many Tottenham supporters, who still revere the former Argentina defender for temporarily elevating their team to the top of Europe, may find it difficult to accept Pochettino’s appointment as Chelsea’s manager.
After Antonio Conte left, Tottenham is currently without a permanent manager, and the remote chance of Pochettino making a sentimental comeback has now been eliminated.