Mauricio Pochettino: How managers to lead Chelsea and Tottenham have performed

He lasted twice as long at Spurs but narrowly missed out on Champions League qualification in his first season and was dismissed with the club lying seventh shortly before Christmas in his second, having failed to make the most of the then-world record fee received for Gareth Bale’s move to Real Madrid and lost 6-0 to Manchester City and 5-0 to Liverpool in his last five league games in charge.

Jose Mourinho

Chelsea 2004-07, 2013-15: P321, W204 (63.6 per cent), D69, L48

Tottenham 2019-21: P86, W44 (51.2 per cent), D19, L23

Announcing himself as a “Special One”, Mourinho lived up to that billing in his first spell at Stamford Bridge with back-to-back league titles, an FA Cup and two League Cups. His unbeaten home record in the league lasted 77 games in all and into his second spell, when he won the Premier League and League Cup for a third time each.

After another League Cup and a Europa League with Manchester United, Spurs banked on Mourinho as Pochettino’s replacement to end a trophy drought amounting to a solitary League Cup since 1991. With Spurs finishing sixth and then seventh in the league, though, Mourinho was sacked just days before his chance to bring silverware in the 2021 League Cup final – which Manchester City won 1-0 against a team led by caretaker manager Ryan Mason.

Antonio Conte

Chelsea 2016-18: P106, W69 (65.1 per cent), D17, L20

Tottenham 2021-23: P77, W41 (53.2 per cent), D12, L24*

Conte brought a Premier League title and an FA Cup to Chelsea, but was sacked after they finished only fifth in the league in his second season.

His volatile style never meshed easily with Tottenham and his exit in March, railing at “selfish players” and Tottenham’s “story” of failing to win trophies, has left them still searching for a permanent successor, Mason again at the helm after Conte’s assistant Cristian Stellini was remarkably sacked as interim manager.

(*includes 3-0 loss to Rennes by forfeit in Europa Conference League, December 2021)

Mauricio Pochettino

Tottenham 2014-19: P293, W159 (54.3 per cent), D62, L72

Chelsea: appointed 2023

Unlike the other names on this list, Pochettino moves to Chelsea having first managed Tottenham rather than the other way round.

Chelsea Football Club is pleased to announce Mauricio Pochettino as the club’s new head coach!

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) May 29, 2023

He took Spurs to the 2019 Champions League final, where they lost to Liverpool, and his return was widely craved by sections of their fanbase – any notable success at Chelsea will therefore be all the more painful for their London rivals.