Mauricio Pochettino only lasted a year at Chelsea and, following his exit, Moises Caicedo has made comments about the strategy employed by the Argentine manager
Moises Caicedo claimed Mauricio Pochettino’s Chelsea approach involved minimal tactics with the midfielder having to “run, run, run”.
The Ecuador midfield moved to Stamford Bridge for more than £100million 12 months ago, quitting Brighton to join the Blues as they embarked on the Pochettino era. After just one season though the former Tottenham boss has been shown the door after a mixed campaign.
Chelsea begun showing shoots of promise, but also endured some poor results with Pochettino regularly questioned. Caicedo admits it was a culture shift, leaving Brighton where tactics were a huge part of their week, to joining Chelsea who placed a huge emphasis on work rate.
He told Radio La Red: “At Brighton, it was all tactical, just with the ball; tactical, tactical, tactical. And at Chelsea, it was run, run, run and it was very difficult for me. With Chelsea, I always ran a bit more and with Brighton we almost always had the ball, with Chelsea it was a different football and we had to run more.”
Pochettino’s teams, especially his Tottenham outfit, were known for the amount of ground they covered during a game. His teams have implemented a high and aggressive press which required each player to clock up huge miles, but that approach hasn’t gone down well with everyone.
The Ecuadorian also struggled for form following his lucrative move but opened up on how he turned his season around: “Since February my agent hired a person who reviews my matches and what I have to improve, how to position myself and mentally. It’s helped take pressure off me because I was thinking more about ‘they paid a lot of money for me I have to perform well’.
“I wasn’t focused, not showing my level, after my agent hired that person, I started to improve and gain more confidence.”
Caicedo was one of a number of big money acquisitions made by Chelsea last summer. He was the most lucrative but was joined by the like of Christopher Nkunku, Romeo Lavia and Cole Palmer. The latter being the only man to deliver consistently in west London.
The ex-Brighton star did finish his season on a high, scoring from the halfway line against Bournemouth. That was his one and only goal despite playing more than 40 times for the Blues, who will now begin the new season under another manager with Enzo Maresca at the helm.
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