Mauricio Pochettino, the former manager of Tottenham, has signed a contract to become Chelsea’s new manager.
Frank Lampard will continue to serve as the club’s interim manager through the end of the current campaign. He will join in the summer.
Pochettino has been unemployed since PSG replaced him with Galtier in 2022. He has previously coached Southampton.
From 2014 to 2019, the 51-year-old Argentine manager of Spurs guided them to the 2019 Champions League final.
Earlier this season, Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter were fired, making Mauricio Pochettino the sixth permanent manager of Chelsea in five years.
Following Potter’s firing, Lampard assumed interim control of the Blues at the beginning of April.
Chelsea has had a challenging season, losing to Manchester City in both the League Cup and FA Cup third round.
Chelsea’s loss to Real Madrid in the Champions League quarterfinal ended their hopes of competing in Europe next season. The defeat proved to be a significant setback for the club.
With just one victory in their last 11 games and eight losses, they are now in 11th place in the Premier League.
After Tottenham parted ways with Antonio Conte in March, Pochettino had been mentioned as a potential replacement.
In 2015, he led Spurs to the League Cup final; in 2016–17, his team finished as runners-up in the Premier League, losing both competitions to Chelsea.
After his time at Tottenham, Pochettino replaced Tuchel as PSG’s manager in January 2021.
Pochettino won his first managerial trophies, Coupe de France and Trophee des Champions, despite PSG finishing second in Ligue 1.
Prior to his 16-month tenure at Southampton, Pochettino began his management career with Espanyol.
Pochettino desires a team that supporters can “fall in love with.” The Balague
Spanish football analyst Guillem Balague revealed to BBC’s Football Focus in April that the Argentine was approached by the club in September as a potential Tuchel replacement but declined the offer before they hired Potter.
Balague claimed, “Pochettino sensed that Chelsea had made up their minds about Potter at a different period.
“It appears that the club is now prepared for him. Before, Tuchel, who had brought them the Champions League the year before, was missed by the crowd.
But the club and the supporters want him to show up.
Balague is of the opinion that Pochettino wants to create a team that Chelsea supporters can “fall in love with”.
He wants a team that presses and is aggressive, and he wants players who understand they must compete to make the starting XI, according to Balague.
The players who remain will have to compete for a spot and understand that nothing is guaranteed. He will undoubtedly need to cut the roster.
