Mauricio Pochettino has returned to English football having been appointed as the new Chelsea manager. The 51-year-old impressed during talks with Chelsea’s hierarchy as he laid out his vision for the future of the club following a disastrous first year under new ownership. Pochettino has taken charge of 595 games as a manager, winning 289 of them to leave him with a career win percentage of 49%.
Pochettino began his managerial career with Spanish side Espanyol in January 2009, becoming the club’s third coach of the season. Despite having only taken the team for two training sessions beforehand, Pochettino guided Espanyol away from La Liga relegation to secure a comfortable mid-table finish, with the headline result seeing them win away at city rivals Barca for the first time in 27 years.
Pochettino was not out of management for long, replacing Nigel Adkins as Southampton manager in January 2013. In his first full campaign on the south coast, Pochettino guided The Saints to eighth place in the Premier League table – their highest league finish since 2002/03 courtesy of their highest points tally since 1992/93. His work courted attention from English football’s big boys, with Spurs swooping in to appoint Pochettino in May 2014. His first full season in 2014/15 saw Tottenham reach the final of the League Cup and finish fifth in the Premier League. Spurs were in contention to win the Premier League in 2015/16 but a late collapse saw them concede the title to surprise winners Leicester as well as eventually the runners-up spot to Arsenal. A club record points haul and a season-long unbeaten home run the following season could not prevent them from finishing second in the league behind Chelsea. Pochettino guided Tottenham into their first ever Champions League final in 2018/19, but the north Londoners fell agonisingly short in the 2-0 defeat to Liverpool in Madrid. Five months after that heartbreaking defeat in the Spanish capital, Pochettino was sacked by Daniel Levy with the club languishing down in 14th place.
Pochettino was appointed as PSG manager to replace Thomas Tuchel in January 2021, ending the season with the Trophée des Champions and the Coupe de France but behind Lille in Ligue 1. The French giants regained their league trophy in Pochettino’s only full season in charge, with the manager leaving the club in July 2022.
Pochettino’s win record at Tottenham was 55% in all competitions during his five year spell at the helm. This includes his 132 victories in 256 Premier League games alongside 61 draws and 63 defeats. His win percentage crept up to 66% with PSG, with the three titles collected in the French capital the only trophies he has won in his managerial career. Mauricio Pochettino’s win record is as follows: Espanyol – 33%, Southampton – 38%, Tottenham – 55%, PSG – 66%, Career – 49%.