Mauricio Pochettino has made Tottenham Hotspur a Premier League force but had some help laying the foundations.
Yesterday marked the 13th anniversary of Martin Jol taking over as Tottenham Hotspur manager.
The Dutchman originally came to White Hart Lane as assistant to Jacques Santini but within 13 games of the 2004-05 season had replaced the Frenchman as first-team boss.
Jol led Spurs to ninth in his first year in charge before back-to-back finishes of fifth – then Tottenham’s highest ever Premier League finish returned the club to European competition.
A decade later, Maurico Pochettino has just overseen victory over Real Madrid in the Champions League and has pushed Tottenham to title challenges in each of the last two seasons.
The Argentine is lauded for the work he has done in transforming the culture of the club, but grateful Spurs supporters on Twitter have celebrated Jol for being the catalyst for this improvement.
Jol was sacked by Totteham in 2007. His successor Juande Ramos derailed the progress made by the popular manager before Harry Redknapp and now Pochettino picked up where he left off.
The 61-year-old is now out of work after spells with Hamburg, Ajax, Fulham and Egyptian club Al-Ahly.
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