A copy of the book written to remember Mauricio Pochettino’s time in North London was burned by a furious Tottenham supporter in response to the news of his appointment as Chelsea’s head coach. On Monday afternoon, Chelsea officially announced that the former Spurs manager will be in charge of their extensive revamping.
That put an end to months of rumours surrounding the vacant position at Stamford Bridge, much to the relief of the Blues’ fans, but enraging the Spurs’ supporters. One Spurs fan had enough and burned his copy of Guillem Balague’s best-seller “Brave New World,” which was published in 2017 and analyses Mauricio Pochettino’s astonishing transformation of the team.
War of words between Tottenham and Chelsea fans over Mauricio Pochettino appointment
While Graham Potter’s replacement was being sought by the West London club, Mauricio Pochettino and owner Todd Boehly were embroiled in lengthy negotiations. The former Tottenham manager, who had been out of work has now returned to the city to take over at Stamford Bridge after leaving Paris Saint-Germain last summer.
However, after joining their neighbours, Mauricio Pochettino now looks to have turned into the No. 1 opponent, despite being a major fan favourite at rivals Spurs and many fans wanting him to return to them. One fan also expressed their ire by posting a video of burning a copy of Pochettino’s book which describes his incredible tenure at Spurs.
The fan set the book on a grill and recorded it burning while adding a caption that read: “How’s this for a barbecue you f***ing turncoat?”
https://twitter.com/tehTrunk/status/1663156475328446464?s=20
However, Chelsea supporters too were quick to defend their new boss and mocked him, with one saying: “That BBQ has all the heat of a Tottenham trophy-hunt. It’ll clearly fizzle out before it’s completed the job.”
Another said: “The book lasted longer than any Spurs title challenge on that BBQ.”
Another said: “Wow. That showed him.”
Despite not having a title to his name with the club, Pochettino has been one of Spurs’ most successful managers in recent memory. With at least 38 Premier League games under his management, he has the highest point average (1.89 points per game) of any Tottenham manager in league history. Spurs were also led by the former Southampton manager to the 2019 Champions League final, where they lost to Liverpool, capping out a five-year stay at White Hart Lane.
He took over at PSG in January 2021, winning the Coupe de France and Ligue 1 before being fired two months later due to a bad start to the following season. The 51-year-old has signed a two-year contract with the Blues and will take over as the team’s sixth permanent manager in the past five years on July 1.
Chelsea may still reap the benefits of their historic £600 million expenditure from last season if he can perform the same type of magic he achieved with Tottenham, when he was constrained by budgetary limitations. And Tottenham supporters would have to suffer from watching their former manager succeed at their vengeful rivals while their own destiny remained uncertain.