In the summer of 2021, Paulo Fonseca was expected to become Tottenham Hotspur’s next manager after Jose Mourinho was relieved of his duties, but this did not materialize.
Now Fonseca has returned to the issue and explained what happened.
Mourinho was sacked towards the end of the 2020/2021 season, just days before the Carabao Cup final, with Ryan Mason taking over as interim manager until the end of that season.
What happened in the summer of that year was an embarrassing merry-go-round which saw several managers linked to the Tottenham vacancy withdraw from the race or be rejected by the club.
Ultimately, Spurs chose Nuno Espirito Santo and this turned out to not be a successful appointment.
The Portuguese coach was sacked in November and replaced by Antonio Conte.
Of course, Conte is now gone and Tottenham fans are very happy with his replacement, Ange Postecoglou. But things could have gone very differently if Paulo Fonseca had accepted this position in 2021.
Speaking to O Jogo (via Sport Witness) about the opportunity he was given and why it didn’t work out, Fonseca explained that changes at Spurs’ helm hampered the deal and he decided to take a break from football instead.
He said: “When I left Roma it was no secret that everything had been agreed with Tottenham but nothing came of it.
There were invitations, but I decided this was a year I should accept.
Apparently, the appointment of Fabio Paratici “completely changed the outcome of the negotiations”.
However, Fonseca clearly regrets missing the opportunity to succeed in England.
He added: “It has always fascinated me and I would like to have that experience.
“But I say it without obsession because I play in a top league. Continuing in France gives me a feeling of fulfillment, but England being England, every coach would like to have that experience.
“I regretted this result, everything was going well, but the arrival of a certain person changed everything.
I was a bit frustrated that I didn’t get the chance to coach this big club and get promoted to the Premier League. But I don’t look at the past much, I look at the present and the future. I am very happy where I am.
Who knows where Fonseca and Spurs would have been if he had taken the job back then, but thankfully after a difficult few years at Tottenham, things seem to be going better than ever.
We hope that Ange Postecoglou’s reign will continue for many more years.
