Mauricio Pochettino and Jurgen Klopp Epitomise the Modern Football Manager

Football managers working supposedly antiquated styles are often accused of being dinosaurs. Their supporting conduct and methods mark them out in some eyes as holdovers from a bygone era.

In truth, even the more radical in the profession are hardly beacons of real progression. Change in this sport generally comes at a far slower rate than in most other areas of society and popular culture (in June GQ’s Freddie Campion labelled Pep Guardiola as “a f–king style god,” but the new Manchester City boss’ tailor-made suits are hardly worthy of a David Bowie-like V&A exhibit).

But in football’s Mesozoic Era, it is fair to say Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp and Tottenham Hotspur’s Mauricio Pochettino have at least left their Triassic peers behind to make it into the Jurassic period. We will hold off on going so far as to categorise their modernity as being Cretaceous-worthy yet.

Klopp’s and Pochettino’s sides meet at White Hart Lane on Saturday afternoon.

Liverpool began the season with an exhilarating 4-3 win over Arsenal before suffering a surprise but deserved 2-0 defeat at Burnley. A 5-0 thrashing of Burton Albion midweek in the EFL Cup has lifted spirits ahead of their second trip to north London in a fortnight.

Tottenham faced Merseyside opposition on the opening weekend, drawing 1-1 with Everton at Goodison Park. Kicking off their final campaign at this version of the Lane last time out, they beat Crystal Palace, 1-0, with new signing Victor Wanyama scoring a late winner.

Both clubs have felt the relatively quick impact of these foreign appointments, as each is looking to do things a bit differently than his predecessor. They took different paths to the Premier League and their current employers—Pochettino from La Liga via Southampton, Klopp from his native Germany—but have adjusted relatively well.

In Pochettino’s first season Spurs reached the League Cup final, and although they lost to Chelsea, they still ended up qualifying for Europe. Last time out, they pushed on to record their best-place finish since 1989-90 and earn a return to the Champions League for the first time in five years.

Klopp took over at Anfield last October—coincidentally facing Pochettino in his first game, a 0-0 draw—and while coming nowhere near a title challenge like Spurs did impressively reach the League Cup and Europa League finals. Defeat to superior Manchester City and Sevilla outfits was no disgrace in the first year of what the German hopes will be a project that resembles the success of what he achieved at Borussia Dortmund.

Where Klopp and Pochettino epitomise the modern manager is in their inclination to define and describe the stubborn yet bold methods and logic informing similar high-octane styles that have made their teams so competitive.

What is fascinating in comparing how they practice all this individually is how similar results are achieved rather differently.

The wait is almost over… #Kloppmania#LFChttps://t.co/9OVLdeB6BD

— Bleacher Report UK (@br_uk) October 16, 2015

While not disrespecting its subject, Pochettino may find himself tiring of the Scouse phenomenon of “Kloppmania” (see above) by now.

In the three pre-match press conferences the Argentinian has had discussing Liverpool since Klopp’s arrival in England, he has spoken in reasonable detail on what separates two of football’s most famous proponents of—to simplify—a pressing game.

“They are fast, they are quick…and they love to play on counter-attack,” the Spurs boss said this week. “Different to us, we like to manage the ball and play in possession and play in the opposite …

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