Paris (AFP)

A change of era in two stages in Paris: PSG formalized Saturday the appointment of Mauricio Pochettino as coach, five days after the confirmation of the dismissal of Thomas Tuchel.

The Argentinian is supposed to breathe new life into the QSI project to finally achieve European consecration.

After two and a half years of roller coasters with Tuchel, who alternated the very high (final of the Champions League 2020) and the very low (pitiful elimination in the eighth in 2019), the champion club of France has entrusted its destiny to a technician builder, known for his standards and his past as a player in the capital ... more than for his record as a coach, desperately virgin.

"I come back to the club today with a lot of ambition and humility, while also looking forward to working with some of the most talented players in the world. This team has fantastic potential," said Pochettino who committed until June 2022, with an option for one more year.

"The return of Mauricio Pochettino fits perfectly with our ambitions and will mark another chapter for the club which, I am sure, will not fail to delight our supporters. With this appointment of Mauricio Pochettino, Paris Saint-Germain is committed to continue its strong development in the years to come, ”welcomed the president of the capital club, Nasser Al-Khelaïfi.

The departure of Tuchel, who had taken by surprise the followers of the club as the person concerned, intervened six months of the end of his contract, but his end of mandate was punctuated with misunderstandings with his direction concerning the transfer window or the "political" aspect of its role.

Pochettino (48) arrives in Paris crowned with his experience at Tottenham (2014-2019), a club he rebuilt over time until reaching the Champions League final in 2019, lost against Liverpool in Madrid ( 2-0).

- Run more -

It is this last step that PSG, itself beaten in the final of the prestigious C1 last August by Bayern (1-0), hopes to take with Pochettino, presented in the press as the direct choice of President Nasser Al- Khelaïfi rather than that of the powerful sports director Leonardo.

He is the sixth coach to occupy the bench since the club was acquired in 2011 by the Qatari fund QSI.

"We will work to win the Champions League because that is our goal," warned Al-Khelaïfi on August 23 after the lost final.

"We believe in it more than before".

The pressure is now on the shoulders of Pochettino, who will have very little time to apprehend his new role before the resumption of training on January 3, then a trip to Saint-Étienne on January 6.

Are in sight a first title to be fetched on January 13 in the Champions Trophy against Marseille, then the eagerly awaited eighth-final of the Champions League against FC Barcelona by Lionel Messi (February 16-March 10).

All with a winter transfer window open on January 2 which could allow "Poche" to obtain some reinforcements.

In Paris, the Argentinean already knows that he will have to manage the egos of planetary superstars like Neymar or Kylian Mbappé and encourage them to run more to stick to his ideas of good play and intense pressing.

"You might think that some coaches find it difficult, that you have to be courageous to take charge of such a workforce? I think quite the opposite," he said in 2018, referring to the workforce where stars abound.

- Adoubé in Paris -

For this disciple of Marcelo Bielsa, passed by Espanyol Barcelona (2009-2012) and Southampton (2013-2014), revitalizing the style of PSG will be a great challenge: under Tuchel, between the many absences due to injury and the hazardous repositioning of some players, the bottom of the game had disintegrated in recent months, mainly based on the flashes of "Ney" and Mbappé.

This is what has earned the PSG to come out only at the end of its hen in C1.

And this is what is worth in Paris to be only third at the break behind the Lyon-Lille duo in Ligue 1.

In addition to mastering French, his past as a PSG player can serve Pochettino in his relationship with the club's "ultras", where Tuchel has always seemed too distant.

The Argentine was also dubbed by the icon Luis Fernandez, former coach of PSG, who had brought him to the club as a defender (2001-2003).

"The best Christmas present! Thank you PSG ...", wrote the iconic technician on Instagram, while referring Pochettino to his roadmap: "I wish you all possible success with in particular the highest step in Europe ".

It is in the light of these expectations that "Poche" will be judged.

With an obligation of immediate return.

© 2021 AFP