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Former Italy striker Antonio Cassano believes Paris-Saint Germain (PSG) manager Mauricio Pochettino will not have a long future at the French club.
Pochettino took over the reins at PSG in January 2021, more than a year after he was sacked by Tottenham Hotspur. The Argentine tactician has put together some good results in his time at the helm of PSG, but many believe he has underachieved with the star-studded French outfit.
Antonio Cassano recently added himself to the Argentine's list of critics. Speaking to BoboTV (via Marca), Cassano predicted a premature end to Pochettino's stint at PSG. The former Italy forward claimed he had heard "bad things" about the former Spurs manager with respect to his tactical awareness.
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"Pochettino will have a short life at PSG. I have heard bad things about him. He is a great guy, but as a coach he has not done a minute of tactics and the team asks him for it. He asks the players for advice on how to play. I can't believe it."
Cassano feels PSG may soon choose to get rid of Pochettino and replace him with a manager more capable of handling the star names within the Parisians' squad. The Italian believes former Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane could be a potential option. Cassano said:
"He (Pochettino) has never coached champions and now he has trouble managing great [players]. From what I understand, if he continues like this, he will have little time there. Beware of Zizou (Zidane)."
It is worth nothing that Zidane currently does not hold any managerial position. The French legend departed Real Madrid after a second spell at the club at the end of the 2020-21 club season.
Mauricio Pochettino's time with PSG
Mauricio Pochettino's time with PSG has largely been defined by his inability to win the 2020-21 Ligue 1 title with the club. PSG finished a point behind eventual winners Lille.
The club were reasonably successful in last season's Champions League, making it to the semi-finals of the competition. PSG finished atop their group having been drawn with the likes of RB Leipzig and Manchester United. Pochettino's side then went on to beat Barcelona 5-2 on aggregate in the Round of 16 before beating Bayern Munich on away goals (3-3 on aggregate) in the quarterfinals.
They, however, fell short in the semi-finals against Manchester City, who beat the French giants 4-1 across the two legs. Their inability to go the distance in the league and in Europe meant PSG could only secure the French Cup and the French Super Cup during the 2020-21 campaign. Pochettino has resultantly received plenty of criticism during his time at the club.
This season, the club have started extremely well. PSG lead Ligue 1 by six points after nine matches and are also top of their Champions League group.
Overall, Pochettino has overseen 46 matches while in charge of the Parisians. In these games, he has collected 33 victories, four draws and nine defeats.
