By Shaun Stephens
Tottenham crashed out of the Champions League on Wednesday night at the hands of the Juventus old guard but, in doing, so they gave more than a good account of themselves.
Two lapses of concentration cost them, and Mauricio Pochettino learned the hard way that, at the very top level, fine margins stand between glory and heartbreak.
Liverpool and Manchester City have booked their places through to the quarter finals with impressive victories over Porto and Basel respectively. Chelsea face a tough task against the red-hot Barcelona, but Antonio Conte is sure to have a few tricks up his sleeve for the second leg. Jose Mourinho, meanwhile, welcomes Sevilla to Old Trafford with high hopes of reaching the quarter finals.
There is no doubt that the performance of English clubs in Europe this season has improved drastically, and this is down to one huge factor, the quality of managers.
Last season out of the English clubs, only Leicester City advanced to the quarter finals of the Champions League. This season, there could be as many as four teams in the last eight.
The Premier League’s top clubs have benefitted from the rich talent of managers that have been imported onto their shores. This is to the anger of some pundits including Paul Merson, who believes that English managers should be given the chance.
Sam Allardyce has hardly covered himself in glory since his appointment as Everton manager and the Toffees made it clear that they wanted Marco Silva. Unfortunately for Paul I don’t see the tide changing regarding managerial appointments.
Manchester City are a club who once had Mark Hughes in the dugout but that feels like a long time ago now. Hughes was more of a stepping stone until a bigger name could be lured in (Mancini). Pep Guardiola’s City team went through a revolution and now they are the runaway leaders of the league. They’re also the bookies favorites to win the Champions League and this upturn in form can all be attributed to Guardiola. City acted ruthlessly to acquire his services and the improvement of his side has proved that it was the right decision. They exited last season’s Champions League at the round of 16 but now look like they could go all the way.
They are not the only club who has benefitted from giving a talented manager a platform to showcase his skills. The job Mauricio Pochettino has done at Tottenham is nothing short of outstanding.
The Argentine was a coup for Spurs after his successful spells at Espanyol and Southampton. Pochettino took over from Tim Sherwood in the 2014/15 season and he managed a fifth-place finish in his first season. The following season, his Tottenham side pushed Leicester all the way and Spurs qualified for the Champions League for the first time since 2010/11.
These achievements by Pochettino should not be sniffed at and he has done this all while playing free-flowing attacking football. PSG and Real Madrid are rumored to be monitoring Pochettino’s situation, but it is important for Spurs that he remains in charge. His attributes as a coach go beyond just his style of play and his willingness to promote young players has not gone unnoticed with the English national team benefitting from this. Spurs have a big Summer ahead as they move into their new stadium and look to keep hold of their top players. If they manage to do so they will come back stronger in Europe next season and use the heartbreak of last nights defeat as motivation to kick on.
Onto Liverpool we go and the ever-charismatic Jurgen Klopp.
Everyone knew about Klopp before he arrived at Liverpool. It was no secret that he was one of the most talented managers in Europe and his success at Dortmund was well documented. Klopp replaced a British manager in Brendan Rodgers and Liverpool have changed their style of play. It has been an example of patience paying of for Liverpool and they are starting to see big improvements this season. On their day they can beat anyone and if you talk to Liverpool fans they think they are a top class goalkeeper of something special. Time will tell but there is no doubt about it that the appointment of a top European coach has benefitted the scouse side.
Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte may not see eye to eye, but both are tactical masterminds who make sure their side is always in a fighting chance in any game. The football both men’s team produce might not be as easy on the eye as the previous three, but they know the winning formula. They are both serial winners. Conte will prepare his team to be resilient and hope to catch Barcelona on the counter attack in the second leg. Mourinho’s United side have the task of overcoming Sevilla at home after a dull first leg. I think they will do so and should they progress Mourinho will ensure that they give any team in Europe problems.
The pedigree of managers in the English Premier League is at an all time high. Men like Eddie Howe are obviously doing a great job but the decisions of the top clubs to appoint the top foreign managers is the right one and results in Europe are starting to reflect this.
Now more than ever it looks like for the first time since Chelsea’s Champions League victory, a premier league team could win the trophy.
