Paris Saint-Germain are top of Ligue 1 and 11 points clear of second-placed OGC Nice
while also maintaining second place in UEFA Champions League Group A, four points clear
of Club Brugge in third with just two games left.
But, despite that promising stance, PSG's head coach, Mauricio Pochettino, has found
himself under increasing scrutiny in Paris.
The Argentine tactician is almost one year into his Parc des Princes’ return after
replacing Thomas Tuchel last midseason.
This summer he was gifted, Lionel Messi.
Arguably the best player in the world reunited with Neymar and on top of that, they have
Kylian Mbappe.
Messi, Neymar, Mbappe - in the same team?
You would expect them to win a treble.
These are three of the best players in the game -- if not the three best attackers -- but
they are struggling to convince so far this season as they headline a ludicrously star-studded
squad.
The fact is that it is not as easy as putting players on the field and saying 'play.'
Is it even possible for the three of them to get along?
Do they have similar characteristics?
Is it possible that there are too many big names crammed into one strike force, all trying
to outdo one another?
There are many factors to consider.
Finding balance has been Pochettino's greatest challenge in Paris.
Many were shocked to see Messi, Neymar and Mbappe fail to register a shot on target in
PSG's 2-0 loss to Rennes last month.
Mauricio Pochettino looked fed up at the Etihad Stadium.
His hands were in his pockets and he was frowning deeply throughout much of Paris Saint-Germain’s
2-1 defeat to Manchester City on Wednesday night.
Pochettino needs cooperation and hard work to establish his Bielsa-inspired football
of hard pressing and vertical lines.
PSG are the exact opposite of that.
The three strikers walked around the pitch aimlessly.
It looked like they were at a beach in Brazil eating ice candies.
The front three were clearly uninterested in helping their teammates and that has undermined
Pochettino at every step.
Only Di Maria is really prepared to help defensively and is finding it increasingly tough to do
so at 33 years of age.
Pochettino discussed the conundrum last week and said, “Any of these three players can
be the king of any club in the world.
But you have three kings on the same club: three kings with different needs, who need
different things.
Mbappe needs space to run and a high tempo in the transition.
Neymar needs to have the ball, feel the ball and sometimes he needs to drive the ball.
And Messi needs maybe another tempo in the game.
It's not easy to put all that together."
This is not Pochettino’s team.
They have none of the trademarks of his tactical philosophy, none of the characteristics – neither
technical nor psychological – to suggest the players are listening to his instructions.
One of the reasons for this might be that Pochettino did nothing new with PSG once he
arrived.
Instead of exploring new imaginative ideas with a fresh collection of players in Paris,
he reverted to strategies that had served him well at Spurs.
The classic example can be of Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho, one has constantly refined
his tactics and has been at the top of his game while the other has been stagnant and
is on the downswing.
However, on the upside, we still have light bulbs.
Anyways, let's face it, PSG’s owners have an obsession with winning Europe's biggest
prize.
It's the only major trophy they are yet to lift since the Qatar Investment Authority
started planning their domination in 2012.
After a summer spree like no other, the club's owners will expect - and demand - Pochettino
to go further than his predecessors and achieve in Europe, and so does the rest of the footballing
world.
When the club started bringing in the likes of Georginio Wijnaldum, Sergio Ramos and finally
Lionel Messi, the buzzes started echoing around social media.
“If he doesn't win the Champions League with that team, he's finished.”
But this isn't a serious or even an exciting team.
It is undoubtedly not a project for someone as gifted and demanding as Pochettino, who
understandably wants to join Manchester United as soon as possible.
At the very least, he would be able to make big decisions and shape the club with his
own vision at Old Trafford.
According to GOAL, PSG are willing to let Pochettino leave at the end of the season,
which makes sense for all sides given that Zinedine Zidane is lurking in the shadows.
The need of the hour at the club is a strong personality to reinstall discipline.
Zinedine Zidane’s legendary status as a footballer as well as his proven track record
as a manager makes him the perfect man for the job.
Under Zidane, players at Real Madrid gelled together quite well and egos were managed
with experience.
There is no better manager to handle these talents than Zinedine Zidane, who famously
led Real Madrid to three Champions League titles in a row.
Los Blancos were forced into difficult positions many times over those three campaigns.
But Zidane found a way to get the most out of his players and motivated them to fight
for victory year after year.
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