Mauricio Pochettino takes charge at Chelsea. The fallen top club announces via the official website that an agreement has been reached with the manager on a two-year contract.
Pochettino takes monster job at Chelsea
Pochettino’s appointment has been in the air for a while and was made official on Monday afternoon. For the Argentinian, his move to Chelsea means a return to the Premier League, where he previously worked for Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur. With the latter team, Pochettino reached the final of the Champions League in 2019.
Pochettino has been without a club since leaving Paris Saint-Germain last summer. At Chelsea, he takes over from Frank Lampard, who has been interim manager for the group at Stamford Bridge since the sacking of Graham Potter. Chelsea has the option to extend his contract, which initially runs until mid-2025.
Chelsea have invested heavily in the selection with new club owner Todd Boehly, but the results have been very disappointing. The Blues only finished twelfth (!) in the Premier League and are no longer active in the cup competitions in which they participated this season. Pochettino’s job is to help Chelsea back to the top.
Chelsea explains the choice for Pochettino
Chelsea have explained their choice to appoint Mauricio Pochettino as their new head coach. The Argentinian succeeds the fired Graham Potter and his temporary replacement Frank Lampard.
“Mauricio’s experience, quality standards, leadership ability and character will serve Chelsea well,” said co-sports directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley. “He is a winning coach, who has worked at the highest level, in several competitions and who speaks several languages. His ethos, tactical approach and commitment to development made him the dream candidate.”
The group of owners, consisting of Todd Boehly, Behdad Eghbali, José E. Feliciano, Mark Walter and Hansjörg Wyss, have also jointly responded to Pochettino’s appointment. They said, “The sporting team has gone through a careful and well thought-out process that the board is proud of. We are delighted that Mauricio is going to Chelsea. Mauricio is a world-class coach with an outstanding track record. We all look forward to having him on board.”
The 51-year-old coach will include Jesus Perez, Miguel d’Agostino, Toni Jimenez and his son Sebastiano Pochettino in his coaching staff next season. Pochettino previously worked for Espanyol, Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur and Paris Saint-Germain. He was fired from the latter club in the summer of 2022.
