The Parisian returns to the underside of the next appointment of Mauricio Pochettino at the head of PSG.
Several times, Leonardo has sworn that he has not contacted any coach. He did not lie completely, knowing that the case of the succession of Thomas Tuchel was obviously piloted since… Doha. As reported The Parisian, Mauricio Pochettino was received by the Emir of Qatar in the fall.
It was during this interview, conducted in the greatest secrecy, that the 48-year-old Argentinian technician took control and left his two competitors behind for the post of PSG coach, Max Allegri, presented as the favorite. at the start, and Thiago Motta, who started from much further away. The latter, a former PSG player obviously, has only limited experience as a coach, he who was coach of the U19 club of the capital before a short term at the head of Genoa. Allegri is something else: the 53-year-old Italian technician has a full CV, just as much as his track record. He has notably worked at AC Milan and Juventus. Free since 2019, he has won Serie A six times – including five with Juve – and four Italian Cups. According to the daily, it did not require less than € 12 million annually to reach the Parc des Princes.
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But it is therefore ultimately the former Argentine international defender (22 caps, 2 goals) who was able to find the words to seduce his future bosses, unfolding his battle plan and his vision of coaching and the game in the Qatari capital. “Pochettino brilliantly succeeded in his job interview in Doha”, summarize our colleagues, noting in passing that the announced dismissal of Thomas Tuchel, as surprising as it is from the outside, “does not respond to a whim” and is “long planned”. The German coach, however, saw nothing coming.
Tuchel-PSG, the negotiations drag on
And as indicated Bild, he strongly and in vain tried to plead his case with Leonardo, when the latter informed him of his end of mission on December 24, after Strasbourg (4-0). Tuchel wanted to go to the end of the season and his contract. Moreover, why the news has not yet been formalized, while the arrival of Pochettino is no longer in doubt? “Negotiations on the termination of the contract drag on,” says one in the German newspaper, noting that in France, “the dismissal of coaches is more complicated than in Germany”.
Remember that Tuchel received € 7.5 million per year. In any case, Paris would like to have completed these files by the end of the year. It would not be silly, knowing that the resumption of training is scheduled for January 3, with the first match in 2021 three days later on the side of Saint-Etienne …