Mauricio Pochettino faces a defining moment in his Tottenham Hotspur reign as the in-demand Argentine tries to keep his bid for a first major prize alive against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League.
Mauricio Pochettino
London:
Pochettino, yet to win a trophy in his managerial career, has been linked with a move to Manchester United at the end of the season. There was a time when Spurs used to struggle to get into the top four of the Premier League, but Pochettino has made it into a Champions League mainstay.
“We feel so proud and with all the circumstances, the team is doing fantastically. The performance of the squad is unbelievable,” said Pochettino.
“We are showing great character and very good quality, fighting against big sides and being in a position that’s very close to the top. We hope to keep going in the same direction, to fight for big things.” But for all its undoubted growth in the Pochettino era, there remains a nagging feeling of unfulfilled potential about Tottenham, which has won only three cups in the past 28 years.
Failure to land a big prize with the generation of Tottenham stars he has cultivated so astutely, including Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen and Son Heung-min, would be considered a missed opportunity. His team has finished in the Premier League’s top three for the past three seasons and it retains an outside chance of winning the title this campaign.
But its poor record in domestic cups under Pochettino is a significant blemish and Tottenham’s European exploits have been equally confounding. Although Spurs look set for another top four finish, it would still be a source of angst among Tottenham fans if Pochettino departs without lifting a single trophy.
Tottenham has never gone past the last 16 of either the Champions League or the Europa League since Pochettino arrived from Southampton in May 2014. Now Bundesliga leader Dortmund, which visits Wembley, stands between Pochettino and his first European quarter-final.
Pochettino, yet to win a trophy in his managerial career, has been linked with a move to Manchester United at the end of the season. There was a time when Spurs used to struggle to get into the top four of the Premier League, but Pochettino has made it into a Champions League mainstay.
“We feel so proud and with all the circumstances, the team is doing fantastically. The performance of the squad is unbelievable,” said Pochettino.
“We are showing great character and very good quality, fighting against big sides and being in a position that’s very close to the top. We hope to keep going in the same direction, to fight for big things.” But for all its undoubted growth in the Pochettino era, there remains a nagging feeling of unfulfilled potential about Tottenham, which has won only three cups in the past 28 years.
Failure to land a big prize with the generation of Tottenham stars he has cultivated so astutely, including Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen and Son Heung-min, would be considered a missed opportunity. His team has finished in the Premier League’s top three for the past three seasons and it retains an outside chance of winning the title this campaign.
But its poor record in domestic cups under Pochettino is a significant blemish and Tottenham’s European exploits have been equally confounding. Although Spurs look set for another top four finish, it would still be a source of angst among Tottenham fans if Pochettino departs without lifting a single trophy.