Tottenham Suffer Through Another Pochettino Lunch Meeting
By Ryan Wrenn
With evidently no concern for the turmoil he creates, Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino has taken another lunch with another luminary from yet another rival club.
This latest disregard for the sanity of Tottenham’s fanbase came as Pochettino enjoyed a respite in his home in Barcelona.
As ESPN reports, the Argentine is close friends with Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu — or at least close enough friends to meet at a restaurant in the center of the city.
Such a lunch wouldn’t be an issue at all were it not for the fact that Barca is just beginning a rather fervent search for a new head coach. Current boss Luis Enrique announced his plans to leave the club at the conclusion of the season earlier this month.
Pochettino’s name was among those at the top of the rumored list of candidates to replace Enrique the instant the Spaniard’s announced his decision. His capable stewardship at Tottenham earned the club their first Champions League berth in six seasons and elevated them to title contenders.
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All of which bears a striking similarity to events that transpired at almost precisely the same moment last season.
Fans will remember when news broke that Pochettino, along with his assistant Jesus Perez, met with Sir Alex Ferguson in the dying months of the 2015/16 season.
Manchester United were then in the process of sounding out possible successors to Louis van Gaal, already dead in the water after less than two seasons in charge. Pochettino’s name, just like now, naturally got floated.
Simultaneously, Daniel Levy was anxiously awaiting Pochettino signature on a new contract. The former Southampton man had only agreed verbally to a new deal up to that point.
Pochettino was able to dismiss that meeting with the legendary United coach as simply a friendly affair. He, like many coaches of his generation, idolizes Ferguson’s work at United and wanted nothing more than to pick his brain.
If any doubt lingered in the minds of fans thereafter, it was muted when Pochettino finally signed a new contract in the final weeks of the season.
With that paperwork signed and Pochettino very publically committing to the club long term, the situation with Bartomeu is less fraught. The club — which claims to have been informed of the lunch meeting — can rest easy that Pochettino just enjoys a nice lunch with good company.
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If any added proof is needed, look no further than Pochettino’s own comments about the situation. Long before Enrique announced his imminent departure, he ruled out a move — in part because he spent so much of his career at Barca rivals Espaynol.
If there’s some downside to this, it’s that the revelation that this is another non-story will deprive Tottenham fans of the something, anything to fret about during the interminable international break.