Its been rumored for weeks, but today it was made official as Tottenham Hotspur have hired Southampton manager Mauricio Pochettino away from St. Mary’s and given him a five-year contract to take over managerial duties at White Hart Lane. Pochettino will bring with him the three assistants that were with him at both Southampton and Espanyol.
The 42-year-old Argentinian, Pochettino took Southampton to eighth place in the Premier League, and it is hoped that he can take Spurs, who have more talent on the roster, on paper anyway, further up the standings from the sixth place they finished in this year. He will also be managing in Europe as Spurs have qualified for the Europal League competition next year.
Commenting on the appointment Club Chairman Daniel Levy said:
“In Mauricio I believe we have a Head Coach who, with his high energy, attacking football, will embrace the style of play we associate with our Club. He has a proven ability to develop each player as an individual, whilst building great team spirit and a winning mentality.
“We have a talented squad that Mauricio is excited to be coaching next season.”
Speaking on his appointment, Mauricio Pochettino said:
“This is a Club with tremendous history and prestige and I am honoured to have been given this opportunity to be its Head Coach.
“There is an abundance of top-class talent at the Club and I am looking forward to starting work with the squad.
“Tottenham Hotspur has a huge following across the world and I have great admiration for the passion the fans show for this team. We are determined to give the supporters the kind of attacking football and success that we are all looking to achieve.”
Pochettino spent eighteen months with the Saints. He had spent the previous three years managing at Espanyol where he spent the majority of his playing career.
Joining Pochettino are Jesús Pérez (Assistant Head Coach), Miguel D’Agostino (First Team Coach) and Toni Jiménez (Goalkeeper Coach).
Attention at Southampton will now turn to youngsters such as Luke Shaw and Adam Lallana and whether or not they will leave the club in the summer transfer window. Speculation that Tottenham could be a destination for the pair, with Pocchettino now in charge.
Thank you for reading. Support LWOS by following us on Twitter – @LastWordOnSport – and “liking” our Facebook page.
Feel free to discuss this and other footy related articles with thousands of fans at r/football.
For more on sports injuries, check out our friends at Sports Injury Alert.
