One of the biggest challenges in modern football, for fans, is knowing what to believe. The globalised nature of football today means that it is easy for fans to read into all sorts of madness and rumours spread across the web. Translated, or mistranslated in the case of some, quotes are common in the game today. Many fans in their own country will deride the local newspaper clippings about transfer gossip as nonsense – yet when a foreign equivalent appears, it is taken as gospel.
That is why some might find the news coming from French football publications about Antonio Conte a touch grating. Reports suggest that Mauricio Pochettino, the current Paris Saint-Germain coach, could be sacked. Despite winning the league by fifteen points, exits from the cup and a shambolic European display against Real Madrid has left the Argentine hanging by a thread.
According to the French press, Conte has gotten in touch with PSG to offer his services for a small fee of around €25m per year. This would also include a massive overhaul of the club spending, changes to who runs the transfer policy, and a whole raft of other changes.
Now, besides the fact that seeing Conte trying to fit Neymar, Lionel Messi, and potentially Kylian Mbappe into his 3-5-2/3-4-3 formation built on up-tempo football would be hilarious, it seems an odd fit. Conte has never been mentioned as one of the Parisian giants long-term coaching options, so arriving there would seem like a very strange move for all involved.
That being said, the reports also suggested that Pochettino could himself fill that massive void that would be left at Spurs. Would fans be happy with that? Is returning to Pochettino really better than something new with Conte?
Interesting times ahead in the Tottenham dugout?
Given the transformative nature that Conte has arrived at the club with, it would be a nightmare to watch him leave already. Conte has been an exceptional hire, and has had as big an impact on the club as Pochettino did when he first arrived. Given Conte has the ruthless personality and the reputation as a winner, though, he is a better long-term shout than Pochettino.
The Argentine would return ‘home’ as somewhat damaged goods. PSG was always supposed to be his club, having played there and loved his time as a player. However, the PSG he coaches may as well be a different club than the underdog he played for. Throw in an unconvincing tactical style and a hodge-podge of stars who seem to know nothing of how to combine as a unit, and it is hard to see how he comes back from Paris a better coach.
Though he would finally return with a medal in his trophy cabinet, for Pochettino it would be a massive gamble. No matter the romance of a return to his beloved club, no Spurs fan could truly say that, today, they would rather the former coach over the current one. Interesting times lie ahead, but fans will hope these newspaper reports in France are nothing more than excited tattle from the Parisian side of things.
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