In France, more and more signals indicate that Mauricio Pochettino is in his last weeks as coach of Paris Saint-Germain. The Argentine coach is under increasing pressure due to the varying results and now also has the entourage of Lionel Messi against him, assures L’Equipe Monday. The attacker’s camp has “serious doubts about Pochettino’s tactical skills”. His decision to let the players celebrate after the Ballon d’Or was awarded also did not go down well.
Paris Saint-Germain failed to win the last two league games against OGC Nice (0-0) and RC Lens (1-1), which has led to considerable pressure on Pochettino. According to Messi’s entourage, the Argentine coach’s view of the game is ‘too restrictive’. Pochettino is struggling to get his star team going and has not yet managed to get Messi to perform optimally. The star player, who came over from Barcelona, has only scored once in Ligue 1 to date, which has caused irritation among his advocates.
Pochettino is mainly accused of failing to make the dream vanguard function with Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar. The Argentinian has already made frequent changes this season and rarely appeared with the same starting line-up. Neymar is sidelined for the time being with an ankle injury, but much doubt has also arisen about the positions of Mbappe and Messi. PSG’s style of play has been labeled ‘too coy’, with a marked inability to switch to a more attacking tactic. Last weekend, Pochettino was saved by Georginio Wijnaldum, who headed his team to a draw against Lens in injury time.
Doubts about Pochettino are also increasing in the PSG dressing room. He would not be tough enough and takes too much sobriety and understanding towards his players. For example, part of the selection would have been allowed to celebrate Messi’s Golden Ball two days before the game against Lens. According to reports in the French media, Pochettino strives daily to avoid quarrels. Pochettino has already been openly credited with credit from his squad on several occasions, as he has even been compared to his predecessor Thomas Tuchel. However, he would have ‘lost the credit’.
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