Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino insists he is not jealous of Southampton’s impressive start to the season as he braces for an emotional reunion with his former club today.
When Pochettino quit St Mary’s to take charge of Tottenham during the close-season, it seemed the Argentine had made a wise decision as a host of star players were then sold during a traumatic period for the south-coast team.
Given Tottenham’s financial strength and storied history in comparison to Southampton, it could still prove to be the right move in the long-term.
However, it is his Saints successor Ronald Koeman who has enjoyed the better start to the Premier League campaign, with the Dutch coach and his team heading into the weekend riding high in second place in the table, while spluttering Tottenham are five points behind in eighth spot.
Former Barcelona star Koeman has ignored the chaos that threatened to engulf St Mary’s when key players Luke Shaw, Rickie Lambert, Adam Lallana, Dejan Lovren and Calum Chambers moved on and Southampton are the top flight’s surprise package with six successive wins in all competitions.
In contrast, Pochettino’s team have been a little too inconsistent for their new manager’s liking, with one win in their past seven matches in all competitions bringing a few awkward questions for the Argentine, who will be well aware that Spurs chairman Daniel Levy has a well-earned reputation for quickly dispensing with coaches he judges to be underachieving.
Against that background, Pochettino could be forgiven for feeling a little raw when asked how he felt about Southampton’s storming start and the prospect of facing his old team for the first time.
However, in a bid to avoid providing any extra motivation for Southampton’s players, Pochettino — who led the club to their best ever Premier League finish last term — said: “This is football. When they start with a new project and new players and staff, why not?
“In football, the most important thing is belief and Southampton like a club have a great force, power and they believe and this is important. I am happy,” he said. “We have a lot of friends a lot of people I love in Southampton. I’m happy for their start in the league for the players, the people from the club. I have a very good memories.”
Pochettino, who had never coached in England before joining Southampton, says he feels emotional when he thinks back to his successful reign at St Mary’s.
However, he acknowledges his former club’s fans may not be so forgiving of his decision to leave.
“I don’t know if the fans love me. I love Southampton. I love a lot of people,” Pochettino said.
“That year-and-a-half in my life was an amazing period and I left, but this is another thing. I have amazing memories from Southampton,” he said. “I’m happy Southampton have a great season and it’s a game that we need to win the three points. We need to fight with Southampton on Sunday, but it’s emotional. Football is emotional and Sunday is emotional for us too.”
Tottenham are looking to bounce back from the frustration of conceding a last-gasp equalizer to Besiktas in a 1-1 Europa League draw on Thursday.
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
Arne Slot has denied that Darwin Nunez was dropped from Liverpool’s win against West Ham because of a training-ground row with a member of his coaching staff. The Liverpool head coach on Sunday last week said that Nunez was absent from the 2-1 victory at Anfield, having felt unwell during training the day before, although the striker sat behind the substitutes throughout the game. Speculation has been rife that the Uruguay international, whom Slot criticized for his work rate against Wolves and Aston Villa in February, was left out for disciplinary reasons. Asked on Friday to clarify the situation, Slot said: “He
RSS