Mauricio Pochettino, now head coach of the U.S. Men's National Team, reflects on two transfer deals Tottenham Hotspur missed that could have significantly improved the team's performance.
Key points
Mauricio Pochettino reflects on Tottenham Hotspur transfer regrets
He believes missed transfers could have elevated the team
Pochettino managed Spurs for five-and-a-half years
He led the team to a UEFA Champions League final
Currently head coach of the U.S. Men's National Team
Mentioned in this story
Tottenham HotspurMauricio PochettinoU.S. Men's National Team
U.S. Men's National Team boss Mauricio Pochettino looks on during a game
Mauricio Pochettino is currently the head coach of the U.S. Men's National Team -Credit:Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
(Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
Mauricio Pochettino has recalled two transfer deals that Tottenham Hotspur failed to complete that he believes would have elevated them to the next tier.
The Argentine led Spurs for five-and-a-half years with two Premier League title pushes, four top-four placements, and one UEFA Champions League final showing before being fired in 2019 by then chairman Daniel Levy six months after that evening in Madrid. Pochettino, currently the head coach of the U.S. Men's National Team and gearing up for a home World Cup, has been reflecting on his spell in North London and how close they came to winning trophies.
Spurs notoriously went through two transfer windows without acquiring a single player during that Champions League final season in 2018/19, but Pochettino highlighted a failed double signing more than two years prior as being equally significant to the club falling short of reaching the next stage.
Tottenham Hotspur boss Mauricio Pochettino applauds fans after a game
Q&A
What transfer deals did Mauricio Pochettino regret at Tottenham Hotspur?
Mauricio Pochettino has not specified the exact transfer deals he regrets, but he believes they would have elevated Tottenham to a higher competitive level.
How long did Mauricio Pochettino manage Tottenham Hotspur?
Mauricio Pochettino managed Tottenham Hotspur for five-and-a-half years, leading the team to notable successes including a UEFA Champions League final.
Why was Mauricio Pochettino fired from Tottenham Hotspur?
Mauricio Pochettino was fired by Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy in 2019, six months after the team's UEFA Champions League final appearance.
What is Mauricio Pochettino's current role in soccer?
Mauricio Pochettino is currently the head coach of the U.S. Men's National Team as they prepare for a home World Cup.
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Pochettino was in charge of Tottenham Hotspur for five and a half years -Credit:Justin Setterfield/Getty Images
"I can tell you that we tried, I think it was in 2016 when we finished the season, we tried to sign two players. After they moved to another club they won the Premier League and beat us in the Champions League final," he said on the 'Stick To Football' podcast, via football.london.
"We wanted to sign [Sadio] Mane and [Georginio] Wijnaldum and for different reasons we couldn't achieve that, but sometimes you need this luck and this timing. I remember that we were interested in them but they decided to move to Liverpool and after they both beat us in 2019 [in the Champions League final.
"I saw when Jurgen [Klopp] came to play his first game in England against us at the old White Hart Lane. Then when they beat us in the final [in Madrid] it was a completely new team, a new squad, when we had kept the same structure."
"It's a time to arrive in the moment. Coaches are very good coaches. All are well prepared, it's timing, it's about the project. The timing is so important, the circumstances.
"Yes [it was frustrating], but we are all trying to find [the right players]. Exactly [you can't get everyone you want]. That is not to blame the club it's only that we were there to try to improve the squad in this moment but for different reasons we couldn't achieve that, to bring [them in].
"Maybe there are a thousand different players who could have improved us during this period and to make us better and achieve this and make this step that we missed, but I think it's not a problem, it's part of the business."
Pochettino also revealed that seeing Spurs in their present situation, staring down relegation and working with their fourth head coach in 10 months, leaves him disheartened, and he reflected on what could have been during his time in N17.
"It's really sad, I really love Tottenham, it's always going to be a part of my life, an important part of my life as a coach, a personal life too," said the 54-year-old. "It's really sad because I know how the people are suffering there, inside the club and also the fans. It's difficult to accept, but the moment when we left, what I told to the media and what I told internally was my feeling and my vision. You need to talk during the day that you are there.
"When you left or when you are sad or when you decide to move again, I think it's not time to talk. If you talk, things for me are not right.
"But I think when I was there, I tried to explain what was my vision. We were in a situation that was amazing because we finished the training ground, we finished the stadium, we moved to Wembley to play, to Milton Keynes to play many games. At the same time, we were very competitive.
Liverpool's Georginio Wijnaldum celebrates a goal with Sadio Mane
Pochettino recently said that while at Spurs, he tried to sign both Georginio Wijnaldum (left) and Sadio Mane (right) before they headed to Liverpool -Credit:Alex Livesey/Getty Images
"But this idea of how it can affect the environment and the people outside and the people that make the decision inside... It's one title, it's one to win a FA Cup, it's to win a Carabao Cup.
"It's a shame. We were winning every season because with all the circumstances that we were fighting, we spent 18 months with no one signing. That was a record in the Premier League."
He added: "Tottenham can say 'we had money to spend' but not the type of money to improve, to be close to win or to challenge. We challenged, we challenged to win. But we missed this last step.
"Sometimes it's money and sometimes it's decisions. It's not only about money. We were always talking. Sometimes players that are good don't belong in certain clubs and that is a moment when you can add and add but if you don't remove then it's impossible to improve that player or increase their level. That for me is the key to the whole project in the club.
"Making decisions to not only be right in the players that you add but also when is the moment when the players don't belong any more. It's not good or bad players, it's to remove. Because they were very useful for that period but then it is the next period. That is it, to not have the same line (balance) in these decisions."
