BAYERN Munich’s renewed interest in Mauricio Pochettino might come as a surprise to the “but what has he won?”-brigade but the Argentinian’s stock has remained just as high in Bavaria as it was when the German champions first approached him twelve months ago.
Back then, a number of factors precluded the move from becoming a real possibility. Firstly, Bayern’s preference at the time was for a German-speaker. After Carlo Ancelotti’s less-than-happy time at Säbener Strasse, they were specifically wary of bringing in a foreign manager who would insist on taking an entire team of coaches and staff with him. Bayern’s bosses like to be in control and don’t want managers carving out their own club within a club.
The reply from Pochettino’s camp was also non-committal, which led the Germans to believe that 47-year-old was happy to stay at Tottenham Hotspur. And without a firm commitment from the manager, there was no point even broaching the subject with Spurs, considering Daniel Levy’s well-earned reputation as one of the toughest negotiators in the business.
According to @GuillemBalague, Bayern have enquired about Mauricio Pochettino for next season. pic.twitter.com/xhDbDUK6Bd
— Bayern & Germany (@iMiaSanMia) April 11, 2019
After Bayern president Uli Hoeness failed to convince Jupp Heynckes to continue for one more season and leading candidate Thomas Tuchel bailed out to sign for Paris Saint-Germain, Niko Kovac suddenly became the most viable option. Hoeness has signalled his intention to stick with the 47-year-old, who could still win a domestic double. But Executive Chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge is not fully sold.
He would prefer an international top manager to supervise Bayern’s transition from the 2013 treble-winning team to the side that can compete for the Champions League once more. Rummenigge not in a position to offer Pochettino the job right now. But if the former Argentina midfielder should prove amenable, it would make it much easier for Rummenigge to convince Hoeness that a managerial change would indeed help the team get closer to the European elite.
Another point that strengthens Hoeneß position: In a quite similar situation after the end of the 2011/12 season, when Bayern missed out on all 3 trophies, Rummenigge had voted for sacking Jupp Heynckes while Hoeneß spoke against it. One year later, Heynckes won the treble [SB] pic.twitter.com/CAeQCUpbLR
— Bayern & Germany (@iMiaSanMia) April 10, 2019
The concerns about a foreign take-over have not gone away, to be sure. But there’s an even bigger concern that Kovac’s relative inexperience and inability to give Bayern an identity will make for another lost season in the Champions League. At Spurs, Pochettino has shown that he can both improve individuals and form a collective that will consistently overachieve relative to its financial power. Bayern, who have top players throughout the squad but few absolute world-beaters really need a coach who can make the sum bigger than its parts.
The next few weeks in Germany – and any encouragement they might receive from his side – will decide how strongly Bayern will pursue Pochettino. The man from Murphy, Santa Fe, might be a bit more tempted now that the Real Madrid and Manchester United jobs are no longer available and that Spurs have moved into the new White Hart Lane. Incidentally, the fact that Pochettino has not won a major trophy still won’t come into it. In 2008, Bayern approached a young coach who had no silverware but a relegation on his CV. His name was Jürgen Klopp – and they would still love to have him now.
