When I write
or blog on social media, I usually write about things that mean something in life.
Religion, politics, education. Rarely football. I am a huge football fan but I
class it as a leisure activity that I enjoy, not essential to what I stand for
or aim to achieve.
Yet, as the
news breaks of Mauricio Pochettino’s sacking, I can’t help myself put pen to
paper to reflect on one of the most incredible, exciting – and yes meaningful –
football journeys I’ve experienced.
Because Pochettino is not just a manager, he is a role model – and created a team of role models, for how football was to be played and life to be lived. Here’s why:
1)
Pochettino doesn’t believe that football is more important than life itself. Football
is there to be enjoyed, but it’s never a ‘real drama’. Without taking away any
passion – on the contrary he is one of the most passionate people in football –
he helped people understand that real dramas occur in real life.
2) He taught
us what being loyal means. Pochettino had every opportunity to leave Tottenham
but never did. If a player or staff member believed in his mentality and worked
hard for the team, he repaid that loyalty. In today’s world, loyalty is seen as
a bonus relative to the need for success. For Pochettino, loyalty takes
precedence.
3) He is humble.
Never taking credit for himself, always showering players with praise. It was
always about the club, not himself. And he also conveyed this to his players,
who consistently in interviews emphasised that message.
4) Modern
western society, with football at its epitome, constantly reminds us of what we
don’t have and ‘should’ desire. Money buys happiness, money is the solution to
problems. And yet with Pochettino money isn’t the essence. He believes that with
hard work, passion, determination and raw talent, there is no end to your
potential. Tottenham nearly won the Champions League having not bought a single
player that season – it is typical of Pochettino’s belief that the intangible
human values are more important than money.
5) Politics
and society have become infested with the need to blame. Someone must be at
fault for our problems – and it’s never us. Unlike most managers, Pochettino rarely
blamed referees, opposition players or his own players. He was introspective, believing
that if something went wrong, he needed to work harder and take more responsibility.
Pochettino’s world is less angry and more reflective – and the world would be in
a better place if everyone had this attitude.
6) Pochettino
is, in one word, a ‘mensch’. He respected every player, manager and club from
Barcelona to Colchester. He did not gloat or capitalise on the failures of
others, nor did he covet other teams’ players. He was ambitious, but not at the
expense of others. In today’s world so often the people at the top are ruthless,
selfish and single-minded. Pochettino taught us that it’s possible to be a
leader, achieve greatness and yet not make an enemy on the way, treating friend
and foe with the utmost respect.
7) He created
a team who worked for one another, spoke kindly and respectfully in interviews
and became role models for young people. In the image of their manager, we have
seen Harry Kane become a deserved England captain, Dele Alli become a
professional and not the prima donna party boy he threatened to have been – and
the team built around personalities such as Heung-Min Son, who showed after the
Gomes incident what a genuine character he is.
I’m sure
there will be people who point out to me his failings, and when he didn’t live
up to the above praise. And it’s true – because he’s human. But in today’s
world it’s considered normal to expect perfection from others while not
striving for it themselves. In Judaism, no one person in its illustrious
history, even Abraham or Moses, is considered to have been perfect because no one
can be. And for those fans who live and breathe football, they can do no worse
than looking to Mauricio Pochettino as a role model in life.
