Chelsea confirmed the appointment of Mauricio Pochettino as head coach on Monday after the former Tottenham Hotspur and Paris Saint-Germain manager agreed to a two-year contract extension.
On July 1, Argentine Pochettino, 51, will take over from temporary manager Frank Lampard. Last season, Chelsea finished 12th in the Premier League. “Mauricio is an exceptional coach with a proven track record.” “We’re all excited to have him on board,” Chelsea’s owners said in a statement.
Pochettino, who prefers a high-pressing and attacking style of play, earned a reputation for developing young players while at Southampton, where he finished eighth in his first full season before joining Spurs in 2014.
Chelsea’s woes will be turned around by the 51-year-old. Despite their new U.S. owners’ large investment on players, the London club finished this season without any trophies and lurched towards their worst season since 1993-94, when they finished 14th under Glenn Hoddle.
Pochettino is Chelsea’s third permanent manager since the club was sold in 2022 to a consortium led by LA Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly and financed by private equity firm Clearlake Capital.
Co-controlling owners Boehly and Behdad Eghbali stated at the time of Lampard’s employment that the ex-Chelsea midfielder was brought in on an interim basis so the club could undergo a “thorough and exhaustive process” to find a permanent manager.
Chelsea lost eight of their eleven games under Lampard, finishing 12th in the table and without European football next season after their Champions League quarter-final defeat.