How the Champions League re-draw has kept Pochettino’s Man Utd dream alive
Robin Bairner
- 13 Dec 2021 12:35 CST
- 3 min read
With the future Manchester United manager still unknown, Paris Saint-Germain head coach Mauricio Pochettino remains a viable option.
Ralf Rangnick has the job at Old Trafford on a temporary basis, and while he has not ruled out taking the role permanently, the odds appear that an external candidate will see him move into a consultancy role at the end of the season.
Pochettino is one of the names in the frame, with Man Utd having long been associated with the Argentine, who enjoyed profound success at Tottenham and Southampton.
That has not, however, followed to PSG.
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Pochettino may well lead the Parisians to Ligue 1 glory this season, but there is no doubting that his credibility has taken a battering. A succession of mediocre displays have seen his rating plummet, with Paris often left scrambling for victories.
Indeed, they finished second in their Champions League group, setting up a difficult last-16 tie with Real Madrid.
For a couple of hours as confusion reigned over the original draw, which subsequently had to be redone due to UEFA making a botch of the job, it seemed that Pochettino could be facing his prospective employers.
That he will not must be of relief to the Argentine.
Among the Man Utd support, he retains a fine reputation, but that would doubtless take a hammering if they saw the ramshackle way in which PSG are currently set up. This will be disguised thanks to a tougher draw against Real Madrid, which is a tie the Parisians are not necessarily expected to win.
Pochettino is not solely to blame, of course. He has been presented with a group of players incapable of being deployed in his favoured pressing style, yet bythe same token he has failed to adapt.
PSG are now a side that rely on the wizardry of Lionel Messi and, more frequently, Kylian Mbappe to get results. The out-of-form Neymar will be included in that group if he can find something even approximating his best level.
Still, though, the lack of tactical plan is alarming and would surely have been laid bare to fans of the Old Trafford club if the original draw had stood.
PSG may have been losers from the redraw but Pochettino’s prospects of taking over at Manchester United certainly have not been hurt by it.
