Real Madrid: Ranking the four main candidates to replace Zidane after Allegri goes to Juve

3. Mauricio Pochettino

To me, Mauricio Pochettino is a good manager but an overrated one. He had some great moments at Tottenham, and a reunion could be on the cards if Spurs agree to freshen things up this time and not undermine the manager through Daniel Levy’s bizarre transfer dealings.

At Real Madrid, I have serious questions about Pochettino after watching him at PSG this season. The Parisians were demonstrably worse when they went from Thomas Tuchel to Pochettino, and I think Real Madrid players would have a tough time buying into a manager who demands a lot from them physically but has little credibility compared to the coaches they are used to working with. Pochettino could be a 2018-2019 repeat or a 2020-2021 second-half replica of what happened at PSG.

It was alarming watching how PSG lost their heads and played so passively to start the second half against Manchester City. Pochettino was embarrassed by a revenge-minded Pep Guardiola, and he was even embarrassed by lower-table Ligue 1 sides because he could not solve a “back three”. Niko Kovac had a better time in Ligue 1 than Poch.

I think Poch is a great manager for a club like Spurs or Dortmund. But for a club like Real Madrid, I think he could lose the dressing room and fail to mesh his ideals with the style of football Los Blancos want. For a Revolution, though, maybe things could work with new blood, but I see Pochettino as too big of a step down from Zidane.