Meeting your predecessor is always awkward.See how Chelsea's Pochettino responds

Neel4141

"The football world experiences rapid personnel movement, where one moment a player or coach is with one team, and the next, they can be with another. The most awkward situations often arise when someone faces their arch-rivals from a previous club. Chelsea's head coach found himself in this situation as he, once the manager of Tottenham Hotspur, now leads Chelsea against his former team. Inquisitive journalists wasted no time in probing Pochettino's thoughts on facing his former club's side.

While Tottenham's most significant rivals are traditionally seen as Arsenal, both Chelsea and Tottenham, being London-based clubs, share a less than harmonious relationship within English football culture. When Pochettino announced his move to Chelsea, a portion of Tottenham fans expressed their discontent and protest, given his successful tenure at Spurs, including reaching the pinnacle.

So, when Pochettino led his team to face his former club, journalists asked him how he viewed the situation of returning to his old club as the opposition. Pochettino handled the question delicately, treading the line of respect between his former and current clubs. The Blues' coach firmly stated, ""Yes, I want to win. I want to beat them. When I play with my kids, I want to win the game, of course. Or with my father, my brother, my friends, I try to win the game, to try to kill them.""

Pochettino also mentioned that his memories at Tottenham were very fond, but on the field, he must fulfill his current role with Chelsea. If he wins, he will celebrate because he is now Chelsea's head coach. Finally, when asked about the possibility of returning to manage Tottenham in the future, Pochettino stated that the future is full of possibilities. While managing their biggest rivals, Arsenal, is unlikely, he is open to the possibility of returning to coach Tottenham, and he won't rule out that possibility."

Ritu77

It's not that extreme; it's not a situation where enemies meet and jealousy runs high.

Kamal531

London is a vast city with numerous football teams. Tottenham and Chelsea, in fact, aren't considered arch-rivals; it's Tottenham and Arsenal, both North London clubs, who share a fierce rivalry. There isn't much personnel movement between these two teams. A prime example was when Emmanuel Adebayor transferred from Arsenal to Tottenham, and his goal celebration made Arsenal fans resent him deeply. However, there haven't been similar stories between Chelsea and Tottenham. Moreover, Pochettino didn't move directly from Tottenham to Chelsea; there was a gap of several years before he joined Chelsea. This season, Chelsea's performance is considerably worse than Tottenham's. So, I believe there's not much heat in this regard. This upcoming match is just an ordinary league game. Based on the current strength and form of both teams, Chelsea is unlikely to defeat Tottenham even in an away game. Therefore, Tottenham's fans should be generous when facing their former coach, as their current situation is better than his. Showing a bit more tolerance and enthusiasm might be a better choice. The match hasn't started yet, but I predict Tottenham can secure all 3 points in this game, as Chelsea's current form is underwhelming.

Iravan774

It feels like Pochettino isn't a good fit for top-tier clubs, but every time he gets sacked, a big club comes to his rescue. Meanwhile, the results have been poor, and the cycle of getting sacked and hired continues. With the current performance, his next sacking might not be too far away.

Isha000

In this match, Tottenham Hotspur's defensive core was either plagued by injuries or red cards, leading to a breakdown in their defensive system. Meanwhile, Chelsea performed exceptionally well in this game and can be described as being on top of their game. Beating the league leaders away from home, Pochettino finally breathed a sigh of relief. However, it remains to be seen whether Chelsea can maintain this level of performance, as their results have been quite inconsistent.

Jafar224

In fact, changing teams can be a good thing; getting to know each team inside out can be helpful for the game.