Mauricio Pochettino sacked as PSG manager

The 50-year-old Argentinian taskmaster had assumed office in January 2021, and finished second in Ligue 1 behind Lille while falling short against Manchester City in the UEFA Champions League semifinal.

Pochettino then led the side to a Ligue 1 title while also clinching the French Cup last season.

“Paris Saint-Germain confirm that Mauricio Pochettino has ended his role at the club.

The club would like to thank Mauricio Pochettino and his staff for their work and wish them the best for the future,” PSG tweeted from their official handle.

According to insiders, former Lyon and Nice coach Christophe Galtier is expected to be named as PSG’s new head coach.

Pochettino simply became the latest in a succession of top-class coaches to fall short of the Qatari owner Nasser Al Khelaifis’ ultimate goal — winning the UEFA Champions League.

Frankly, when rumours of Pochettino’s departure began to swirl in June, few would have been surprised. In reality, he’s looked close to the brink for most of his 18 months in charge – some might even suggest he was lucky to have lasted this long.

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His brief time in charge clearly was not seen as much of an excuse given there were reports claiming his job was already under threat by April 2021.

Talk of a potential return to Tottenham surfaced and then evaporated as PSG seemingly opted to stand by him, with the fact he got them to the Champions League semifinals potentially showing there was a reason for optimism.

And then there was the connection with fellow Rosario-native and boyhood Newell’s Old Boys fan Lionel Messi. Keeping Pochettino around surely could not do any harm with respect to helping the six-time Ballon d’Or winner settle in Paris.

While Pochettino could not solely be blamed for Messi not hitting similar heights to his Barcelona days, it is fair to say their connection has proven only anecdotal.

It might be going too far to suggest Pochettino’s reputation has not been damaged by a lack of European success and finishing second in Ligue 1 last season.

After all, he has arguably underachieved – but in the context of PSG since the takeover, which coaches haven’t?

Former PSG boss Carlo Ancelotti has now won the Champions League twice since leaving the Parisians. Unai Emery took Villarreal to the semifinals this season.

Thomas Tuchel won the competition with Chelsea just a few months after being shown the exit.

Perhaps Pochettino was wrong to take the job in the first place. Given Al Khelaifi’s tendency to throw money around with little regard, placing greatest importance on big-reputation signings, there was always likely to be an element of the club being mismatched with a coach whose teams are typically hard-working.

Of course, Pochettino does depart having won three trophies, including this season’s Ligue 1 title. But at PSG, that is not even the bare minimum these days if good progress is not made in Europe.

(With inputs frpm PSG Media)