Chelsea job chance for Pochettino to prove he is one of soccer’s elite coaches

LONDON: Mauricio Pochettino’s time in the wilderness looks set to end. And a career that has felt in danger of stagnating could get the jump start it needs.

After a year out from soccer, the former Tottenham and Paris Saint-Germain manager is widely expected to take over at Chelsea. There, he would get the chance to realize a burning ambition to conquer the English Premier League and, with that, confirm his status as one of the sport’s elite coaches.

At times over the past 12 months, it felt like Pochettino possibly missed out on his chance to secure one of the top jobs in Europe.

It was only last summer he left PSG, having won the French league and answered one of the lingering questions hanging over his career; his ability to win major trophies.

But at the end of last season, Manchester United opted for Erik ten Hag when embarking on a reboot at Old Trafford. A few months later, Chelsea turned to Graham Potter after the departure of Thomas Tuchel, signalling a shift toward a new generation of coaches.

Even Pochettino’s former club, Tottenham, has repeatedly looked elsewhere for answers since his exit in 2019, despite his enduring iconic status among its fans.

Having been consistently linked with United and Real Madrid over the past five years, the 51-year-old from Argentina appeared to be running out of options to take his career to the next level.

It’s not that there was a lack of interest; it’s said that much of the Premier League has considered him at various points. It’s just that there are relatively few teams that could give him the platform to challenge for soccer’s biggest prizes and keep his resume on an upward curve.

Pep Guardiola’s career, for example, has taken him from Barcelona to Bayern Munich