Although Mauricio Pochettino never won a trophy at Tottenham, he still reformed the club and gave their supporters something to cheer about by transforming Spurs from a mid-table side into one that would challenge for titles and finish in the top four for four consecutive years.
He also had his fair share of downs as Spurs manager however with him still without a trophy at the end of his reign as well as some interesting decisions along the way.
Here are his four best and worst moments as Spurs manager.
The second-half come back from Pochettino’s Spurs at the Johan Crujff Arena was arguably the best moment of his managerial career. Lucas Moura scored a hat-trick which saw Spurs progress on away goals into the final of the Champions League before they eventually lost to Liverpool. However, prior to half-time it looked almost certain that Ajax would progress through to the final after scoring two goals in the first 45 which put them up 3-0 on aggregate. Pochettino’s substitution at half-time bringing on Fernando Llorente was one of his best subs as Tottenham manger as it completely switched up the dynamic of the game and allowed Moura to run off Llorente rather than being a sole striker like he was in the first half prior to the Spaniard’s introduction.
From European ecstasy to humiliation, four months on from the Champions League final, Pochettino’s Spurs were torn apart by eventual winners Bayern Munich at home conceding seven goals and losing 7-2, with former gunner Serge Gnabry scoring four. This result was really a point of no return for Pochettino and his time at Spurs with him eventually getting sacked one month later. It was the first time that Spurs had conceded seven at home in any major competition and the heaviest defeat for an English club in Europe in 24 years.
Another European highlight of Pochettino’s career at Spurs however was beating Real Madrid 3-1 at Wembley, a team who had won the previous two Champions League titles and went onto to win a third consecutive title later that year also making it four in five years. A brace from Dele Alli and a goal from Christian Eriksen saw Spurs in “European dreamland” after outplaying Madrid, with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring a consolation for the visitors. On the day Pochettino beat Zinedine Zidane tactically all ends up with Spurs better in every single area of the pitch, leading to them getting the victory and eventually topping the group.
Kyle Walker was one of the cornerstones of Pochettino’s best team at Spurs and it was a huge mistake letting him go to title rivals at the time Manchester City, whether it had been wages or the relationship between player and manager Walker decided to leave in the summer of 2017 where Spurs and Pochettino should’ve been doing everything in their power in order to keep him. The England international was replaced by Kieran Trippier who was a completely different player and didn’t offer anywhere need the same speed Walker did and this led to the decline of Spurs as a whole after losing their full-backs with Danny Rose injured at the time Spurs sold Walker. Both Rose and Walker were integral to Pochettino’s methods and it severely hurt the team when Walker was sold, someone who Pochettino never managed to properly replace which ended up reflecting in results and position in the league over the years.
On the other side of transfers however Pochettino made an unbelievable signing in Dele Alli for only five million from League One side MK Dons. Although Dele’s form lately hasn’t been up to par with what Spurs fans are used to, his first three seasons at the club were exceptional for a young attacking midfielder, with Dele scoring 37 goals and registering 26 assists within his first three years at Spurs. His form helped propel Spurs to challenging for the league and his dip in form coincided with Spurs’ dip in the league table which shows his importance in Pochettino’s side and for only five million was a bargain.
Losing 5-1 to an already relegated Newcastle United on the final day of the season in 2015/16 and failing to secure second in the process was up there with the Bayern humiliation in Pochettino’s reign. The defeat was by far the worst of the season with Spurs only losing by one goal in every game prior to that, Spurs looked uninterested after they could no longer win the title after it went to Leicester City. Losing by a four-goal margin to a team who had ten men, were already relegated and the result meaning Spurs failed to secure their best ever Premier League finish shows why this game would’ve been one of the worst in the Pochettino era at Tottenham.
The last best moment of Pochettino’s career would’ve been seeing off the old White Hart Lane with an undefeated season making it a fortress, winning 17 games and drawing two and was the first time Spurs had gone unbeaten at home since 1964/65 and only conceding nine goals in the process. With their last season at their old ground going unbeaten was one of Pochettino’s best achievements as a Spurs manager by making their home a fortress.
Finally, one of the most confusing and bizarre moments of Pochettino at Spurs was when he didn’t sign a player for 18 months after finishing second the season before. Most clubs would be looking to push on in order to win the title and look to sign players. However, between January 2018 and July 2019 Spurs didn’t sign a single player, whether it had been the powers above him or Pochettino himself this was extremely strange as most clubs would be looking to kick on from finishing second and signing more players in order to try and win the league but Spurs didn’t. Who knows how different Pochettino’s reign may have been if he’d attempted to push on and sign some players.
