Chelsea news: The Blues will be hoping to get some memorable moments out of Mauricio Pochettino
After more than two months of waiting, Chelsea finally have a new manager. Having rushed into the appointment of Graham Potter, the owners have spent their time in recent weeks finalising the deal for Pochettinno. With nothing left to play for on the field it was all-focus on getting the next part right after 12 months of errors and mistakes.
"The sporting team conducted a diligent and thoughtful process that the Board is proud of," said Todd Boehly, Behdad Eghbali, Jose E. Feliciano, Mark Walter and Hansjorg Wyss in the statement announcing the Argentine as the new head coach. Two managers on and lessons have been learned.
"Pochettino is a coach renowned for his sides’ high-energy and eye-catching style and he has built a reputation for helping young players realise their full potential within a strong squad ethos," the statement added.
"Mauricio’s experience, standards of excellence, leadership qualities and character will serve Chelsea Football Club well as we move forward," was the written reasoning behind Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley's choice to select Pochettino.
"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."
Blues fans won't like the comparison with their London rivals but it comes in good spirits, here. Pochettino made quite the name for himself with being somewhat of a cult figure for perfecting the pose next to his players when signing new deals. In announcements for the extensions of Dele Alli, Harry Winks, Christian Eriksen, Eric Dier and Harry Kane, Pochettino was seen in a close to identical position for all of them.
With a black suit and tie on, his right arm extended over the far shoulder of the player, left hand rested on the table and subtle smile, Pochettino had his stance on lock. "Of course we laugh a lot about that. It’s nice, a funny moment," Pochettino said when asked about the repetition and noise made over it.
"But when you make that with the first player after you cannot change because they become jealous - 'Why you change the way to approach me in the picture?' It depends on the mood, the week – I don’t know. Many reasons to decide with suit or tracksuit."
In later deals at Tottenham he changed tac, standing over Kieran Trippier in a tracksuit and embracing Kyle Walker-Pieters in a type of pre-match handshake for his.