Is he the providential man who will allow Chelsea to recover from a nightmarish 2022-2023 season? Mauricio Pochettino was appointed Monday, May 29, coach of the London football club for two years, with an optional additional year.
"Mauricio is a world-class coach with an exceptional track record," club co-owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali said in a statement. The Argentinian, 51, is making his return to the Premier League, the English top division, four years after being sacked from his post by Tottenham.
Eliminated from all cups, Chelsea finished the league in a disappointing 12th place, far from the usual standards of the 2021 Champions League winner. Mauricio Pochettino will have to start from scratch, and only on the national scene: the Blues are not qualified for European competition next season.
Frank Lampard's failed interim
The businessman Todd Boehly and the Clearlake investment fund have nevertheless invested more than 600 million euros in the transfer market during the summer of 2022 and the winter of 2023, but this recruitment, focused mainly on players young and with high potential, did not shine by its consistency.
Without a club since his ousting from Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in July 2022, Mauricio Pochettino replaces Frank Lampard, club legend as a player, who provided a failed interim. Previously, the German Thomas Tuchel and then the Englishman Graham Potter had been sacked from the coaching position during the season.
The former international defender, who played for Espanyol Barcelona and PSG in particular, led as Tottenham coach until the Champions League final in 2019, lost against Liverpool. Vice-champion of England in 2017, he also won the French championship with Paris in 2022.
