Pochettino the Coup of the Year


Emilio Affuso, Parma’s chief scout, thinks that Tottenham have made the coup of the year' by appointing Mauricio Pochettino as new Head Coach.

Pochettino the Coup of the Year

Affuso is not someone who just watches from afar on television, he attends games and goes to White Hart Lane, as shown on his Istagram account.

At Parma the 43 year-old former Sampdoria left-back reports to the Sports Director Antonello Preiti so he is not someone who is out of touch with the game. He also scouts for Piacenza Calcio 1919 (formerly Piacenza before bankrupcy led to them being disbanded in 2012) who plays in Serie D.

Affuso knows European football and methods, living in Norwich now he watches the Premier League each week. He is a good man therefore for the Italian press to turn to when they want views on English football.

Interviewed by Tutto Mercato Web on the Pochettino appointment and Wenger's new contract as well as the future of Italian football he clearly felt Tottenham had signed the right man.

“Baldini has pulled off the coup of the year. 

"I’ve lived in England for a few months (Affuso lives in Norwich) and I follow British football closely. Mauricio Pochettino coupled with Franco Baldini is worth the same as Louis Van Gaal or Manuel Pellegrini. I'm not saying that Mourinho has lost some appeal though, he is much loved by his fans.

"He [Pochettino] is the technician who, last season, impressed more than anyone.


"Southampton played modern football effectively. Tottenham finally have a real manager after the last sad experience."

"The work of Baldini, research of important and talented players, will finally be finalised. If Pochettino were to take a Southampton jewel like Lallana, Lovren, Rodriguez or Shaw, the top five will tremble."

Pochettino being Argentinian knows South American football very well and it is a hotbed of talent. You can pick up bargains and see them turn into superstars, Radamel Falcao was bought by Porto from River Plate for just over £3 million and his transfer to Monaco was for nearly £40 million.

Tottenham may start to pluck some cheap South American talent with his knowledge and contacts, I certainly hope so. South America to Porto is a well worn route, South America to Tottenham is a different matter though because of third party ownership rules over here.

In Portugal you can have third party ownership and in England you can't. Third parties buy a stake in a player in South America and then profit from every deal, often the family are involved, it makes doing a deal very complicated and difficult as you have to buy out the third parties who naturally don't want to lose potential future income.

Q - Even Arsenal?

"They continue with Wenger with the FA Cup won, in the work of successful loser. Pellegrini has done well with Manchester City, he was a real phenomenon, in a few weeks he made the defence concrete."

Talk to anyone within the game and they will tell you that Italian football has been in decline for a number of years now and Tutto Mercato Web asked Affuso what could be done to turn that around.

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Q - Many Italians are increasingly in England, do not you think that Italians can change the football with our disciplines?

"Here the ball has very specific rules of behaviour, which can never change. Nobody complains if you play games 80 to 100 miles per hour, no one complains about the professionalism of the players. 

"In Italy we need to change this, you need a product that gives excitement and spectacle. We also then need new stadiums, like here in England."

I don't know the Italian mentality but their football sends me to sleep, once you have watched a bit of it it becomes boring in much the same way as watching Barcelona or Spain endlessly pass the ball and do nothing with it for ages.

We experienced that under Andre Villas-Boas and it's not why the Premier League is the most watched league in the world, it's not why it generates more TV revenue than any other country.

Mistakes happen, it's part of our football, it's what creates end to end excitement, instead of two teams frightened to lose sparring with each other until a moment of magic or a mistake.

That style of football makes the football more important than the entertainment but in the British Isles the football style is the opposite way around. Entertainment comes first so the world watches to be entertained.