Mauricio Pochettino has to fear for his job after the elimination of Paris Saint-Germain in the eighth final of the Champions League. Le Parisien and L’Equipe predict that the Argentine coach will have to leave the French top club at the end of the season. Sporting director Leonardo, however, still stands up for Pochettino after the 3-1 defeat against Real Madrid.
“We shouldn’t throw everything in the trash,” Leonardo said in conversation with RMC Sports† “We don’t have to start from scratch after every defeat. The goal is to win the Champions League and until the break we were on schedule. We need to see how we can improve the team and maintain morale to end the Ligue 1 season on a good note. Pochettino is still part of this project and it is not time to think about that yet.”
Le Parisien and L’Equipe However, think Pochettino will be held responsible for the Champions League elimination. The Argentinian is still in possession of a contract with PSG until mid-2023, but both usually reliable newspapers do not think that he will fulfill this commitment. This is not only due to the elimination in the Champions League, but also the lack of a clear philosophy or playing style.
“Where is his charisma? This is the biggest game of the season, but where is it? He sits on his ass on the couch,” said Jérôme Rothen’s studio criticism RMC Sports† Pochettino himself said afterwards that he would ‘go and see what the future brings’. The former coach of Esnpanyol, Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur has been the trainer of PSG since January 2021. He replaced Thomas Tuchel and won both the Coupe de France and the Trophée des Champions, but had to leave the league title to Lille OSC.
In the current season, PSG is at the top of France with great force majeure. That is the only prize PSG can still win this season, because the battle for the Trophée des Champions was lost to Lille, the eighth final was the final station in the cup tournament and the Champions League dream has also shattered. It has been suggested for some time that Pochettino will leave PSG at the end of the season, with Zinedine Zidane being emphatically named as his successor.
Pochettino, in turn, has been mentioned for some time as a candidate at Manchester United, where he, together with Ajax coach Erik ten Hag, would be at the top of the wish list to take over from interim manager Ralf Rangnick after this season. Incidentally, Pochettino is not the only one who has to fear the consequences of the Champions League elimination from PSG. Le Parisien writes that the position of sporting director Leonardo will also be discussed.