Tottenham’s successful coach Mauricio Pochettino had no luck with the use of the long injured star striker Harry Kane in the Champions League final. Yet his share in the triumph of the surprise finalist is great. Now the Argentinean could leave.
Mauricio Pochettino stood on the lawn of the Wanda Metropolitano and tried to think clearly before the curve of the grieving Tottenham fans. The 47-year-old Argentinian knew what would blossom after the bitter defeat in the biggest game of his coaching career: Discussions about the unfortunate deployment of the long injured superstar Harry Kane. And probing questions about his own future.
“Now is not the time to talk too much,” the Spurs team manager said after the 0:2 (0:1) in the Champions League final against FC Liverpool, his statements would only be interpreted differently again. Pochettino himself had sown doubts about his whereabouts with the North Londoners in recent weeks, but now he emphasised that the time for talks had come.
What Pochettino wants, he let see through: the chance of a title. Still in Madrid, he was already thinking about another Champions League final. “That’s the kind of thing you want to relive. It’s the best game in the world after the World Cup finals,” said the charismatic coach, who has gradually developed Tottenham into a top team during his five-year tenure. Without the very large funds for transfers, because the Spurs recently invested primarily in their new stadium. Nevertheless, after the first king’s class final in the club’s history, there was also criticism.
It was ignited by Kane, who played from the beginning after a long injury break in Madrid. “The Harry Cane gambling goes backwards. But not only the attacker withers in the heat of Madrid,” wrote the telegraph. The star coaches Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho also criticized the 25 year old attacker as TV experts. Kane “hid”, said Mourinho, the captain of the national team did not seem fit to Wenger.
Kane had not played a game since 9 April, the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final against Manchester City, a ligament injury in his left ankle forced the star striker to watch. In his absence, Lucas Moura had scored three goals into the hearts of the Spurs fans in his semi-final triumph over Ajax Amsterdam, and now the Brazilian had to stew on the bench until the 66th minute. Tottenham was hardly able to convert 61 percent of ball possessions into goal danger, a spark of goal danger came from the former Bundesliga star Heung-Min Son alone.
But Pochettino stood by his decision for Kane. “He didn’t hit, but the other players didn’t hit either. I don’t regret setting him up,” he said. He had determined his position very “analytically”.
With the same care he will now think about his future, perhaps Chelsea FC could become an option – although his contract with Tottenham actually runs until 2023.
