[ad_1]
The highly-rated manager dubbed ‘Mini-Mourinho’ could soon succeed ‘The Special One’ Jose in the Tottenham dugout.
RB Leipzig boss Julian Nagelsmann will reportedly be Spurs’ No.1 target if they decide to sack their under-pressure head coach Mourinho.
The Portuguese’s side are languishing in ninth place having lost five of their last six Premier League matches.
Despite having critics over his style of play, Mourinho was brought in to Tottenham to do one thing: end the club’s 13-year trophy drought.
His appointment in November 2019 came at the expense of Mauricio Pochettino, whose attractive brand of football failed to bring silverware to north London during his five-year spell.
Ironically, Tottenham could turn to another highly-rated coach, who has gained more plaudits for his style of play than his ability to win trophies.
Nagelsmann, who has been nicknamed ‘Mini-Mourinho’ by former Germany goalkeeper Tim Wiese, is yet to lift silverware in managerial spells with Hoffenheim or RB Leipzig… but it is fair to cut him some slack given he is only 33 years old!
Mourinho will have the chance of ending Tottenham’s lengthy trophy drought when they face Man City in the Carabao Cup final in April.
However, it will be a big ask to beat a City team that are currently on an 18-match winning run.
Former Tottenham striker Darren Bent believes Mourinho’s time as Spurs boss will come to an end if he does not win a trophy this season.
“I think Jose Mourinho is under a lot of pressure, because quite clearly Spurs fans are not happy with what they’re seeing,” said Bent on talkSPORT.
“At one stage they were not happy with the football they were seeing, but they were tolerating it because Spurs were at the top of the table, things were going well and it seemed to be working.
“Now all of a sudden it seems to have turned and I think he’s under massive pressure.
“If he goes this season without winning a trophy… if Tottenham finish ninth or tenth and don’t win a trophy, then what was the point in bringing him in the first place?
“I know he’s in one final already against Manchester City, but with the way City are playing you’d expect them to win that.
“Pochettino was finishing in the top four, got Tottenham to a Champions League final and they sacked him because they felt he wasn’t the right guy to get them over the line to win a trophy.
“But if you bring in a serial winner – that’s what Jose Mourinho is – and if they don’t qualify for the Champions League, don’t win the Europa League or any other trophies, I don’t think they can possibly keep him!”
Jose’s possible successor Nagelsmann has, during his time in charge of Hoffenheim and Leipzig, been linked him with football’s top jobs.
Last October, Man City legend Shaun Goater tipped Nagelsmann to one day replace Pep Guardiola at the Etihad.
He said: “I really like Nagelsmann; he’s a young manager who is brave, offensive in his game and that’s Pep’s style.
“The brand of football that City play is possession based with creativity, full-backs going forward, full-backs also being inverted and you don’t see wide players or wingers, you see both. Working with those front three, that’s a brand of football that Pep has created.
“Nagelsmann is a sort of manager that is brave when I’ve seen his teams and I like that about him.
“He sort of says, ‘right, we’re coming to win this game’, and he does tactical moves that stretch the opposition and make them think differently, rather than playing a cagey game.
“I really like some of the things I’ve seen his teams do.
“With Pochettino, we’ve seen how he operated at Tottenham and he was just starting to really build some good things as a good manager but he didn’t quite win anything there, but again, played a great brand of football. So, both of them would be exciting managers.”
It is no coincidence that Nagelsmann’s teams mirror Guardiola’s with their high press and relentless style of play.
Both RB Leipzig and Man City also have the best defensive records in their respective leagues this season, having conceded 18 and 15 goals respectively.
In the past Nagelsmann has revealed how Guardiola, his role model, and Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel inspired him.
“My role model is Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona,” admitted the 33-year-old.
“I always observed his work, especially the way his team would burst forwards within seconds of winning the ball.
“He made a name for himself that is worthy of Johan Cruyff. Only very few teams have managed to dominate possession by playing so high up the pitch.
“Guardiola inspired me a lot, as did Thomas Tuchel, who was my coach at Augsburg [in the reserves from 2007 to 2008]. He’s a perfectionist, it was very intensive and challenging with him.”
Meanwhile Jurgen Klopp, whose Liverpool side hold a 2-0 lead over RB Leipzig heading into their Champions League last-16 second leg tie, has backed Nagelsmann to stay in football for at least another 30 years.
Jamie O’Hara believes Tottenham are in for another trophyless season. Claims Jose Mourinho doesn’t know his best team and brands defence an ‘absolute shambles’
“We played against Julian Nagelsmann, the coach, when he was at Hoffenheim, which was a tough one,” said Klopp.
“Now he has a better team, a really exciting team. He lost Timo Werner and is still in the top three of the Bundesliga, that says really everything about them.
“He is definitely someone I have a lot of respect for.
“In comparison, Thomas [Tuchel] is, I don’t know the age, but Hansi [Flick] I think is a little bit older than me. [Nagelsmann] will be in world football for the next 20 or 30 years. He is now in his early 30s, that says everything.”
[ad_2]
Source link
Comments are closed.