Roberto Martinez allegedly wanted the Tottenham Hotspur job.
According to the Daily Star, Belgium boss Roberto Martinez was interested in the Tottenham Hotspur job before Daniel Levy went with Jose Mourinho.
Spurs chose to sack Pochettino on Tuesday night after a disappointing start to the season, and brought in Mourinho as his replacement less than 12 hours later.
Mourinho took charge of Saturday’s 3-2 win over West Ham United to get off to an ideal start, but it seems that other managers had been eyeing up the job.
It’s claimed that Belgium boss Martinez wanted the job, and Tottenham were made aware of his interest earlier this month ahead of potentially parting ways with Pochettino.
Daniel Levy is understood to admire Martinez, but no talks were held because Levy’s top choice – Mourinho – was available, and went with him instead.
Martinez’s managerial career is somewhat mixed, from impressing with Swansea City to punching above his weight with Wigan Athletic and winning the FA Cup in 2013.
His spell with Everton started well but faded badly before his exit in 2016, and he has somewhat rebuilt his reputation with Belgium having reached the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup.
A manager who pushes attractive football but hasn’t always been able to create strong defences, Martinez may have been popular with Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen from international duty, though fans would have been understandably split after that Everton spell.
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