Posted December 19, 2021 at 2:30 p.m. by HG
While PSG are working hard on the Zinedine Zidane track, Leonardo wanted to publicly show his support for Mauricio Pochettino.
Will there be a big upheaval in the coming weeks on the bench of Paris Saint-Germain ? Arrived last January, Mauricio Pochettino is no longer in a state of grace in the French capital. The Argentinian coach is indeed strongly criticized by observers of the Parisian club, the latter reproaching him in particular for the face displayed by his team. As this depends more on the individual exploits of its stars than on a real collective strength, many are unsatisfied and believe that PSG should offer much better content in their matches given the material they have. In addition, the management of young people by the Argentine is strongly singled out insofar as he does not give them enough opportunity within his team, in particular to Xavi Simons and Edouard Michut . Finally, his two failed departures – to Tottenham and Real Madrid at the start of the summer and then to Manchester United in November – only scratched his popularity even further with PSG supporters.
Leonardo publicly supports Pochettino, but…
This even led Mauricio Pochettino to be whistled by part of the public of the Parc des Princes during the last home games when the announcement of his name by the speaker Michel Montana . Thus, many believe that the PSG would be well inspired to part with his trainer this winter, as was the case with Thomas Tuchel , as Paris seems to be crashing into a wall at the dawn of the second part of the season where everything will be decided . However, Leonardo does not seem to be of this opinion. Indeed, during an interview with Europe 1 and the Journal du Dimanche, the sporting director of PSG – also strongly criticized by observers – wanted to show his support for the former coach of Tottenham by putting the Parisians' sluggish start to the season into perspective. According to him, it takes some time to adapt after the big recruits who arrived this summer, the Italian-Brazilian arguing that “it does not happen like that, even with the players we have”. Leonardo went even further by ensuring that “all the things that we thought of him [on his arrival], they still exist”, while showing confidence before the second part of the season: “Lots of possibilities to make a season truly unforgettable (…) When the decisive matches arrive, our players have something more, continues the Brazilian leader. I am convinced that it will come. ”
It remains to be seen the scope and the real purpose of this speech. Indeed, what Leonardo does not say, it is that things are moving more and more behind the scenes in Paris. As we revealed to you this week, the prospect of seeing Zinedine Zidane take over from Mauricio Pochettino on the bench of PSG n ' no longer belongs to fiction at all. His historical advisor Alain Migliaccio has been pushing for the arrival of the Frenchman for months, and this is starting to pay off insofar as the coming of the Ballon d'Or 1998 to Paris is no longer impossible at all. The idea of a departure of Mauricio Pochettino is no longer taboo at all, especially since the Parisian staff based in Doha does not exclude a change of manager this winter, and it is the track leading to Zinedine Zidane that has clearly been erected as a priority. It remains to be seen how the discussions between the different parties will unfold, but it is clear that Leonardo 's speech seems more like communication than a description of reality.