Mauricio Pochettino to Bayern Munich? The Poch is as hot a property as Harry Kane
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Updated 22/03/2018 at 15:54 GMT
Mauricio Pochettino's work speaks for itself as Bayern Munich apparently consider the Tottenham manager's obvious class, writes Desmond Kane.
A banner with an image of Mauricio Pochettino manager / head coach of Tottenham Hotspur and the Argentina national flag during The Emirates FA Cup Quarter Final match between Swansea City and Tottenham Hotspur at Liberty Stadium on March 17, 2018.
Image credit: Eurosport
There has been nothing lost in translation as the Poch fits as snugly into a Tottenham tracksuit as Steve Perryman back in the day. It has been four years since Mauricio Pochettino spoke English for the first time as a manager in England. And what a bloody marvellous ride it has been.
“Sometimes, it seems poor, my English, and it’s difficult to explain in the way that I want,” he said after touching down at Tottenham. “And, it’s for that I used the translator in Southampton.”
Wonder what his German is like? It seems that German champions Bayern Munich, sticklers for the Bavarian lingo, are suitably convinced that the man from Santa Fe in Argentina is muttering the same language as them without asking if Poch can "Sprechen Sie Deutsch?"
Or what if he can’t? His brand of football speaks for itself. He has earned his spurs at Spurs after the failed and aborted projects overseen by Andre-Villas Boas and Tim Sherwood.
According to reports, Bayern sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic has placed chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and president Uli Hoeness on Poch watch.
Pochettino has brought longevity, productivity and creativity to Tottenham since 2014. He is also on course to deliver continental contentment
He lost to Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea in the League Cup final in 2015 before finishing fifth in the Premier League. They finished third in 2016 and second last year.
This season is no different with four points splitting second-placed Manchester United from Poch’s posse. If United are usurped in the FA Cup semi-finals next month, Pochettino will be close to delivering Tottenham's first trophy in a decade.
"For me, when you are consistently winning in the Premier League or the best competition in the world like the Champions League, that helps you to create (a winning mentality)," he said.
There has been progress every season Pochettino has coached Tottenham, a theme chairman Daniel Levy must have warmed to when his man coached Southampton to their best finish in 21 years by ending eighth in 2014.
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Mauricio Pochettino, pictured left, says Harry Kane is happy at Spurs (Nigel French/PA)
Image credit: PA Sport
Despite being faced with the discomfort of playing home games at Wembley Stadium this season while White Hart Lane is rebuilt, Pochettino has never wavered.
They throttled European champions Real Madrid 3-1 at Wembley in November, and largely outplayed last season’s European Cup finalists Juventus over two legs in the Champions League last 16 in a 4-3 aggregate defeat that encompassed Tottenham’s recent growth.
Granted, he has been assisted by the flowering of Harry Kane and his fetish for filling goal nets, but there has been more to Poch’s team than one man.
He likes his team to press high, to attack with width and to probe with pace. With Kane - the scorer of 102 goals in 142 games - the fulcrum of the side in a 4-2-3-1 formation, Dele Alli and Eric Dier have similarly flourished under Pochettino’s youthful outlook.
If he remains intact next season he'll be the club's longest serving coach since Keith Burkinshaw's last eight year between 1976 to 1984.
He is also a disciplinarian with no time for people who swing the lead, as Andros Townsend discovered three years ago. He did not recover from his fall-out with the Poch and a once blossoming career is now staving off relegation at Crystal Palace.
Discipline for me is very important. I can understand the player – we have a young squad and a player can make a mistake – but when you cross the limit it is important to stop that. As a manager I am very fair but the discipline is very important. The staff need to show respect to the player and the player needs to show respect to the staff.
If the golden Jupp Heynckes is deemed sharp enough to emerge from retirement to manage Bayern at the age of 72, a supreme 46-year-old tactician on the rise deserves serious attention.
If Kane is one of the world game’s most coveted strikers, Poch is already an A-list manager who has a skill set suitable for FC Hollywood.
There is simply no language barrier to success stories.
-- Desmond Kane
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