Tottenham: Time for Mauricio Pochettino to prove Champions League worth
Mauricio Pochettino has built a good reputation in the Premier League. However, it will be his Champions League performances with Tottenham that could really make his name.
Mauricio Pochettino is a highly rated manager in the Premier League. Some of the biggest clubs in England have been linked with the Argentine. But for Pochettino to truly prove his worth, it’s finally time for the Tottenham Hotspur boss to make his name in the Champions League.
Pochettino has transformed Tottenham after he took over a mismanaged club two and a half years ago. After the Harry Redknapp era, the club took a turn for the worst under Andre Villas-Boas and Tim Sherwood.
The club spent badly after selling Gareth Bale to Real Madrid for a world-record fee, and Pochettino was left to pick up the pieces. Under the Argentine’s watch, the Spurs squad underwent a clear out and much stronger, younger, vibrant, exciting squad emerged.
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Now Spurs find themselves back in the Champions League, except the club have been here before. Pochettino has not. This is the first time the Spurs boss will manage at the very highest level and it could be the real making of Pochettino in the eyes of the world. Not England, the world.
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Tottenham take on AS Monaco in their first game in Group E. Also in the group is CSKA Moscow and Bayer Leverkusen. Pochettino and Tottenham will be happy they have no outstanding opposition in the group. Although, they do have three teams who are very capable in their own right.
There are no easy games in Group E. Tottenham will have to be at their best for all six games to advance. Nothing can be overlooked in such a level group. Pochettino will have to wait before he can match his wits against Luis Enrique at Barcelona, Zinedine Zidane at Real Madrid, Carlo Ancelotti at Bayern Munich or Massimiliano Allegri at Juventus.
The Spurs boss will have to guide his team to the knockout stages in order to meet the big boys of Europe. Group E represents the first test along the way for Pochettino. A chance to get a taste for what’s to come without fully removing the safety net.
Spurs should be just fine in qualifying out of Group E but Pochettino will be tested and early. This is where the fixture list gets congested and squad rotation starts to take effect. Team selection and tactics take priority and that is something Pochettino has excelled at in the past.
But that was at Premier League level. Now it’s time for the Champions League. It’s time for Maurcio Pochettino to really make his name.
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