Moussa Sissoko is Mauricio Pochettino’s greatest accomplishment

Mauricio Pochettino has transformed the careers of numerous players, but his work with Moussa Sissoko at Tottenham is his greatest feat. 

There was a time when Tottenham fans would have celebrated the occasion of Moussa Sissoko being shipped off to an anonymous club on the other side of the world. That time was last summer. The Frenchman’s amazing transformation from whipping boy to integral member of the Spurs squad is nothing short of miraculous.

The player himself certainly deserves a ton of credit. It’s clear that he’s worked extremely hard over the past several months to improve his play. A ton of credit must also go to his manager though. Mauricio Pochettino has helped numerous players realize their professional dreams, but Sissoko might be his best work.

One need only look at Spurs win over Inter Milan on Wednesday as proof of Sissoko’s transformation. The athletic midfielder kept Tottenham’s Champions League hopes alive by making a powerful run into the opponent’s final third. Sissoko then played a lovely touch base to Dele Alli, who in turn laid it off to Christian Eriksen. The end result was a classy finish by Tottenham’s Danish maestro en route to a crucial 1-0 victory.

The obvious point here is that none of this would have happened without Sissoko’s bravery and athleticism. He is the only member of Pochettino’s squad who was capable of carrying the ball through traffic with such power. Sissoko will never be the most skillful player in the Premier League, but when he’s pointed in the right direction he can use his physical gifts to overwhelm opponents.

Getting him headed in the right direction is the real genius of Pochettino’s work with him. His recent ascendancy hasn’t just helped Sissoko get into Tottenham’s starting XI. It’s also allowed him to rejoin the France squad. Time will tell whether or not he’s able to hold on to his place in Didier Deschamps’ team, but he wasn’t anywhere near his national team when the season began.

Now the intriguing thing will be to see just how far Sissoko can take things. His performance against Inter makes it very possible that Pochettino will ask him to reprise his role in the midfield at Barcelona. Tottenham fans would have laughed you out of the pub at suggesting that sort of role for Sissoko before the season began. Now Pochettino has made that outlandish dream a stark reality.

Fans are understandably starting to show Sissoko “love” but he needs to make sure he returns the favour for his manager. Pochettino has turned Sissoko into the best possible player he can be. As it turns out, that is a crucial player for Tottenham’s massive aspirations for the current campaign.