Chapter 1030: Nobody

"Is there no definite news about our new season's coaching selection?"

In the Beijing Guo'en forum, a friend posted a post full of worries, which immediately attracted hundreds of replies and caught the attention of fans in the forum.

"Yeah, still no news."

"I went outside to take a look and found that many foreign media were also paying attention, but there was no definite news. I guess the club is still in the process of selecting."

"It's not easy to choose a head coach, especially for the Chinese Super League. We don't like those with small reputations, and we probably won't want to choose those with big reputations. So, this kind of thing is very tangled."

"Well, actually, I really think it would be quite good if we could keep Manzano."

"Yes, I think so too. Manzano played well last season and has experience coaching in the Chinese Super League. The team's strength has obviously improved. I believe his coaching level will definitely improve."

"Manzano... it's a pity that he went to Longhai Shenhua, but this is not the fault of the new team. After all, this decision was made at the end of the season. Now the new team has to urgently invite a head coach, which is a bit hasty."

"This summer, the team made a lot of signings, which improved the team's strength, but also made management more difficult. If it weren't for a big-name coach, I'm afraid he wouldn't be able to control all these European stars."

"Isn't there Bielsa? In terms of big names, who can compare to Bielsa in today's football world?"

"I would just let Bielsa be the head coach."

"You think so, and the management team probably thinks so too, but Bielsa has already said that after leaving the Saints, he will do research and come out to coach when he is in the mood. Now he has never thought about coaching Guoan at all."

"Besides, he came to Guoen to help rectify the youth training system for Master Huan's sake. His focus is on the youth training system, and he generally won't easily interfere in the affairs of the first team."

At this time, a senior forum user posted a comment below, expressing his views on the incident.

"You're right. I really think that Guoan's current management structure is more rigorous and more reasonable, but I don't know why. Now I hope he won't be so reasonable and let Bielsa directly manage the team. That would be great."

"Based on my recent analysis, combined with the public interviews given by Fang and Bielsa and others, I think the team is indeed playing a big game now. Why do I say that?"

"First of all, I think the team's current goal is to unify the styles of the first team and the youth training camp, and Bielsa also said that the tactics of the first team will go a step further on the basis of the past and incorporate more advanced concepts, such as high pressure."

"From this point of view, I think that the coaches rumored by the media, such as Benítez, Mazzarri, Prandelli, etc., are indeed famous coaches, but they are not suitable for the development direction of the team."

"However, we should also see that in European football, there are many teams pursuing this type of coach, so Guardiola is so popular. In this case, it is naturally very difficult for Guo'en to choose a coach, but once the right one is chosen, it will basically not be easily replaced. After all, it is not easy to find a good coach of this type."

"I searched using the scout tool of Football Manager and found that this type of head coach is basically already taken. It is not easy to invite him to coach in the Chinese Super League."

"So, how it will work and who will be chosen, we really have no idea."

"I believe that with Master Huan's connections and reputation in European football, there should be better options."

This long analysis by this senior forum member immediately won unanimous praise and affirmation from fellow forum members.

But when it comes to which head coach will be introduced, no one in the forum that attracts nearly one million fans can give an answer, because they can't get any information from within the club.

The biggest piece of news is that a relative of a forum user works for the Beijing Guo'en team, and it is said that the selection of the head coach is personally handled by Master Huan. This is the news that is closest to the truth that everyone in the forum can get.

All the forum friends are very anxious because there is not much time left before the league starts and the team training is approaching, but the head coach has not been hired yet, which is really worrying.

Also, although the club brought in two superstars, Terry and Kaka, they still couldn't make up for the lack of offensive power on the Guoan team, especially the two superstar signings promised by the club, which have not yet been negotiated.

Therefore, the atmosphere in the forum is generally pessimistic, and people are afraid that the team will fail again.

However, there are also a group of die-hard fans of Master Huan who believe that given Master Huan's usual style, he would not go back on his word. The team's recruitment and coaching selection need to be done step by step and cannot be accomplished overnight, so they need to be patient.

It was at this time that someone suddenly posted a message in the forum.

"Oh my god, Guoen officially announced that the new coach they signed is actually an unknown person?"

Countless netizens clicked on the post and found that the post not only contained fresh screenshots of Beijing Guoan’s official website, but also stated that Beijing Guoan had officially signed Argentine coach Mauricio Pochettino.

For a while, the forum went crazy!

“Who is Pochettino?”

"Who is this guy? I've never heard of him before."

"It sounds familiar. Have you coached in La Liga before?"

"Now that you mention it, I do remember it. It seems so, but I can't remember where."

"I specifically searched on Baidu. Pochettino is 43 years old and a disciple of Bielsa. The peak of his coaching career was when he coached Espanyol. He performed well for a while, but was soon dismissed due to poor results. After that, he moved to two or three La Liga teams, and his performance was not ideal. He is currently unemployed at home."

"Oh my god, no way? A coach like this? Is he kidding me?"

"Isn't it? After all the selection, they chose a nobody?"

"Oh my God, you can't play tricks on me like this, right?"

"What happened to Master Huan? Why did he choose such an unknown person?"

"In my opinion, keeping Manzano, or simply choosing Benítez, Mazzarri and others, are better than him!"

However, some people also came out to protest in the forum.

"Since the head coach was personally selected by Young Master Huan, I believe there will be no problem. Young Master Huan must have made this decision after careful consideration."

"Yes, Baidu also said that the disciples of Bielsa should be carefully selected."

"Who was the last Bielsa disciple? Martino, who led Monaco to promotion and entered the Champions League in the promotion season. Now he coaches the Argentina national team!"

"That makes sense. Anything Bielsa produces must be top quality!"

"Wrong, the one upstairs should be produced by Young Master Huan, it must be a top-notch product!"

…………

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In just less than a day, the unfamiliar name Pochettino swept across China at lightning speed and became a hot term on the Internet and in newspapers and magazines.

It is almost unbelievable that Mauricio Pochettino, a previously unknown young coach, suddenly became the head coach of the Beijing Guoan team.

Whenever a Chinese Super League team invites a foreign coach, they basically choose a famous coach, especially in recent years. If they have not coached in Europe's first-tier leagues and have achieved certain results, they would be embarrassed to come to the Chinese Super League.

But Pochettino is not only young, his resume is also very mediocre. Even the teams he coached basically ended in failure. The longest time was when he coached Espanyol, but the result was also anticlimactic and he was dismissed in disgrace.

Is such a head coach worthy of the star-studded Beijing Guoan?

Compared with other Chinese Super League teams, which have world-class coaches such as Lippi, Scolari, and Eriksson, isn't Pochettino too shabby?

But what’s interesting is that while the fans were having fun, the mainstream media were rather cautious in their attitude.

Among them, the football blogger who is very popular among domestic football fans has specially published a long article introducing Pochettino.

"After learning that Beijing Guoan had signed Pochettino, Laoqiu immediately contacted several colleagues in the Spanish football world. When they heard that Pochettino had chosen a Chinese Super League team, they were all shocked and exclaimed that it was impossible. But when they heard that it was Young Master Huan's team, they were immediately relieved."

"According to what my Spanish colleagues have told me, although Pochettino's coaching performance in La Liga is not very ideal, his reputation is extraordinary. When everyone mentions him, they will say that he is a talented coach, but unfortunately, he has bad luck."

"As everyone knows, Pochettino's coaching philosophy is very similar to Bielsa's. His first stop in his coaching career was Espanyol. But what many people don't know is that Pochettino took over the team in the 2008-2009 season when his predecessor had three wins, three draws and seven losses, and transitional coach Mani had two draws and three losses. At that time, Espanyol was deep in the relegation zone."

"In his first match as the club's veteran, Pochettino lost 4-0 to Malaga away from home, which became the biggest loss for Espanyol that season and put Pochettino under tremendous pressure."

"After that, the team drew 1-1 for three consecutive rounds, and then lost to Sevilla. Espanyol suffered a miserable 14-game losing streak. To make matters worse, Espanyol faced the arrogant Barcelona at this time."

"Yes, it is the Dream Team III led by Guardiola that won the Grand Slam."

"Barcelona was invincible at the time. Except for the away game against Numancia in the first round of the league, Guardiola's team won 20 games and drew 3 games in the remaining 23 games, remaining unbeaten!"

"Two rivals in the same city, one is a top club with many stars, invincible and undefeated, while the other is a mediocre team hovering in the relegation zone. And at Camp Nou, everyone believes that Pochettino's team will suffer a crushing defeat."

"But the result was surprising, Pochettino's team brought back a 2-1 victory from away."

"Not only in the league, but also in the Copa del Rey, in the two-round quarter-finals between Espanyol and Barcelona, ​​Pochettino's team first drew 0-0 with Barcelona at home, and then lost 2-3 at Camp Nou, which was a pity."

"Pochettino's team was trailing 3-0 but they put Barcelona in a very bad situation and scored two goals in a row. If it wasn't for the red card given to the defender, it would still be unknown whether Pochettino's team could have pulled off an upset away from home."

"And if the Spaniards really get upset, how can Barcelona's Dream Three Dynasty and Grand Slam be achieved?"

"Obviously, these games greatly stimulated Pochettino. Although Espanyol's performance still did not improve after that, this smart Argentine coach has been groping for it. In the last ten rounds of the league, Espanyol finally had an explosion."

"With eight wins, one draw and one loss in ten games, Pochettino's team not only managed to avoid relegation, but also jumped to the middle of the standings. Pochettino also won attention and recognition with his outstanding performance during this period."

"In the following two seasons, due to the overall strength of the Spaniard, Pochettino's coaching performance was not outstanding, but he ensured that the team ranked in the middle. However, it was in the two games against Barcelona that the tactical quality of the Argentine coach was truly reflected."

"We lost 0-1 at Camp Nou and 0-0 at home. This is Pochettino's record against the invincible Barcelona, ​​and he even won the recognition of head coach Guardiola."

"To the extent that Guardiola himself admitted that the match against Espanyol was the toughest. Pochettino is a very good coach, and later he also said that he hoped Barcelona could play the beautiful, smooth and energetic football style of Espanyol."

"From Guardiola's comments and Bielsa's affirmation, it is not difficult to find that Pochettino is not as mediocre as his coaching results show. On the contrary, he looks more like a young coach who is not appreciated for his talent."

Dongqiudi not only published such an article, but also translated news reports from many Spanish newspapers and consulted some people in the Spanish football circle.

It was only at this time that everyone quietly discovered that although Pochettino was not well-known, he was highly regarded in the Spanish football circle. There were even many famous coaches who felt sorry for his experience in recent years and believed that he was a very capable coach.

Beijing Guoan officials also made an explanation, saying that the team's signing of Pochettino was a well-considered decision, which can be seen from Pochettino's three-year coaching contract.

"We said that once we have chosen a head coach, we will not easily waver in our confidence in him, and Pochettino is the choice we have made now!"

With Fang Wei's resounding statement, although the controversy about Pochettino is still great, it has become a foregone conclusion.

It was at this press conference in which he openly supported Pochettino that Fang Wei once again announced new progress in the team's transfers.

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