Image Source: Be Soccer
Mauricio Pochettino has been sacked as manager of PSG (Paris Saint-Germain), and Christophe Galtier has been named his replacement.
Pochettino left after 18 months, during which time he won his first managerial titles, including the Ligue 1 championship last year and the 2020 Trophée des Champions and 2020 Coupe de France, respectively.
However, the former Tottenham manager was unsuccessful in the Champions League, losing to Real Madrid last season and, more damagingly, to Manchester City in the semi-finals in 2021. The team’s title-winning play was heavily criticized for being uninspiring and unconvincing.
After only one season, Galtier departed his position at Nice to accept the position. He takes over a team that has Kylian Mbappé, Lionel Messi, and Neymar. Mbappé shocked everyone in May when he declined to sign a new deal with Madrid.
Since the departure of Laurent Blanc in 2016, the 55-year-old became PSG’s first French manager.
After three and a half years at Lille, where he saved the team from relegation, finished second in his first full season, fourth the following year, and then won the title before stepping down, Galtier guided Nice to fifth place. In ten years, Lille had not won in Ligue 1.
Galtier, a former defender for teams like Marseille and Lille, formerly served as Saint-Étienne’s manager from 2009 to 2017. He won the Coupe de la Ligue in 2013, giving the team its first trophy since 1981. Nasser al-Khelaifi, president of PSG, stated in Le Parisien two weeks before to the appointment that “Today we must be pragmatic; we don’t want dazzling, bling-bling any longer; it’s the end of the glitter.”
Khelaifi stated on Tuesday that “No one is above the club” in order to describe his expectations. A player has no place here if he refuses to abide by the established regulations.
He refuted claims that PSG tried to hire Zinedine Zidane. However, he confessed, “We never spoke with Zidane.” “We never spoke with him, but I admire the player and the coach. Our first choice was always Christophe Galtier.
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