Head to Head
At least a few consider Klopp’s and Pochettino’s system of play to be similar but Pochettino has denied that. “It is a different style of pressing”, he said. “If you analyse Dortmund, it’s not similar to how we played at Southampton. You can’t compare Klopp’s style with my style.”
Jurgen Klopp calls his style of play ‘heavymetal’ football and the term ‘gegenpressing’ often gets mentioned when his tactics are analysed. Gegenpressing is something that Klopp’s team do when they lose possession so as to prevent the counter attack and force the opponents to play the ball backwards. This may sound simple but it is not, because of the physical impact this system has on a player and doing the pressing as an organised team is far from easy.
Pressing is not random but planned to perfection. Everyone in Klopp’s team would know when to press and when not to. Another dimension of Klopp’s tactical approach are the deadly counter attacks which simply blow teams away. Counter attacking football is never easy as it is hard to master the art of turning defence into attack in the blink of an eye.
Pochettino’s pressing game is not as adventurous as that of Klopp’s and is based on zonal pressing. Pochettino’s side often maintains a high defensive line and a compact shape. He is a disciple of the 4-2-3-1 formation and plays a proper central defensive midfielder, a player who would break up play and buys some time for the defence or even assume the role of a third centre-half. Also, the Argentinian would want his centre-forward to drift wide to receive the ball.
When it comes to transfers and developing young players, both the managers are almost on the same page. Klopp has had a genuine influence on the careers of world-class players such as Robert Lewandowski, Marco Reus, Mario Gotze etc. On the other hand, Pochettino has shown immense faith in the likes of Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Eric Dier and the former Espanyol manager is reaping its benefits.
Jurgen Klopp’s interviews and press conferences are one of a kind and his name is always in the headlines. The way he is animated in the touchline signifies his passion and how involved is he in the game. Pochettino is not popular like Klopp among journalists as the former doesn’t say anything worthy of the headlines and he skips all the controversial topics.
Klopp and Pochettino have faced each other only thrice and all the three games were draws, in fact, Klopp’s first game in charge of Liverpool was against Spurs and both sides couldn't break the deadlock that day.
Bottomline
It is way too obvious that they are two of the best managers in Europe with philosophies of their own. It’ll be interesting to see how long will they remain in charge of their current clubs, not that they are doing anything wrong right now but because of the sad truth that the life of a manager is never easy and unpredictable.
The ultimate question is whether Klopp and Pochettino can take their respective sides to the heights of glory or not. The answer is something only time will tell.
