Known to be a disciple of Marcelo Bielsa, Mauricio Pochettino is widely considered one of the better managers in the business, demonstrating his ability by turning Tottenham into a consistent Champions League side, even reaching the final last season.
As well as his ideas and preference for attacking football, the Spurs manager might have picked up some of his mentor’s unpredictability, which Hugo Lloris talked about in an interview with L’Equipe alongside the captain of France’s rugby national team, Guilhem Guirado.
Amid comparing the differences in their respective sports and praising each other a lot, the two also discussed their roles as captains, as well as their input in day to day activities like training.
One part that stood was how much more planned rugby is, as the team will know who is playing the next game days before, whereas a football manager might not reveal the starting XI to his squad until game day, which changes everything.
He said: “At club level with Tottenham, we sometimes work on two or three systems throughout the week and, at the last moment, bam! The manager decides to throw in another one…”
Asked by Guirado if players were lost if that happened, the goalkeeper replied: “No, because there’s continuity to it. It’s more difficult with the national team because the time together is so short every year.
“That’s why I attach a lot of importance to the preparation period before a competition. That’s the moment where success is created. It’s the moment when the manager can put his idea together. It’s impossible in just a few days, especially when there’s a coming and going of players”.
Maybe Pochettino just wants to keep his players on his toes? Either way, his philosophy seems to be working as Tottenham currently sit third in the Premier League.
