As is so often the case with managerial changes made in the aftermath of failure, Scotland appear to have turned on their heels and gone in a completely new direction with the appointment of Sebastien Pocognoli.
After the young Belgian was tonight confirmed as the national side’s next head coach, it’s clear the Scottish FA will be getting a man who could hardly be more different to his predecessor.
While Steve Clarke was experienced and pragmatic, but also dour and, well, Scottish, Pocognoli is a thrusting 39-year-old adventurer who will become only the second overseas coach in the country’s history, the first since Berti Vogts over two decades back.
Pocognoli and Clarke do have in common a passion for protecting and caring for their players, but this appointment is something entirely new for Scottish football’s governing body, who are recognising the nationwide appetite for change after this summer’s World Cup group-stage exit.
Yes, Clarke made history by taking Scotland to the finals of three major tournaments, but the Tartan Army ran out patience with his caution on the big stage and with his loyalty to players who were nearing, if not past, their sell-by date at that level.
And so, the SFA have sought to address those concerns with an imaginative appointment — Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is also reported to have been interviewed — whose profile, front-foot philosophy and touchline emotion will shake things up at Hampden Park.
New Scotland boss Sebastien Pocognoli will be an emotional presence on the touchline
Pocognoli’s passion has prompted comparisons with Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone
Steve Clarke’s caution on the big stage grew increasingly frustrating for the Tartan Army
Of course, it helps to tap into a fashion at times like these. Pocognoli’s biggest coaching success was at Union Saint-Gilloise, who benefited from Tony Bloom and his Jamestown Analytics empire long before Hearts. Don’t be surprised if ‘data-based’ gets a mention when Ian Maxwell and Mike Mulraney get round to explaining their rationale this week.
The season before last, Pocognoli made history by leading USG to their first league title since 1935. He also inspired them to a Belgian Cup triumph during a campaign that earned him the country’s manager of the year award. The club’s first-ever Champions League experience included victories away to PSV Eindhoven and Galatasaray.
All that earned Pocognoli a move to Monaco in October, but he lasted only seven months in the job. That was despite a 10-game unbeaten sequence and a run to the knockout playoff round of the Champions League, where they were pipped 5-4 on aggregate by Paris Saint-Germain.
He is an exciting proposition. While his coaching career is still in its infancy, he has already earned himself a reputation as a forthright, demonstrative coach, fiercely protective of his team and adept at psyching them up with stirring messages and disrespectful quotes from opponents.
Born in the Belgian city of Seraing, he is of Italian descent. Often dressed entirely in black, he is sometimes compared with the Atletico Madrid manager, Diego Simeone, although Pocognoli insists that the parallel extends no further than their personalities.
In an interview earlier this year, he said: ‘I am not calm. There is a lot of fire burning inside me — the Latin blood in my veins undoubtedly has something to do with that. My grandfathers were Italian.
‘I know about the comparison with myself and Diego Simeone. Simeone is a good coach, but he is not my great role model. Atletico Madrid’s playing style doesn’t appeal to me much either. At most, we share our Latin temperament.’
While Simeone is renowned for his teams’ counter-attacking strengths, Pocognoli takes a possession-based approach that features aggressive pressing and counter-pressing. After putting in place a structure that gives him peace of mind — 3-4-1-2 is his preferred formation — he wants players to express themselves. ‘I am very self-confident,’ he says. ‘I don’t doubt easily.’
On his arrival at Monaco from USG, Pocognoli was asked to elaborate on his principles. ‘There are two aspects: the collective and the individual,’ he replied. ‘My role is to establish a structure where the defenders are dependent on the work of the attackers. This is what my team did very well last year. This resulted in one of the best defences in Europe.’
As a player, Pocognoli performed well enough at left-back to earn 13 Belgium caps, although he never made it to a World Cup finals. He was involved when the country’s golden generation emerged, but he was also party to the regional factionalism that held it back. After a 4-2 home defeat by Bosnia-Herzegovina in 2009, he had a notorious dressing-room altercation with Timmy Simons and Stijn Stijnen, who accused him of not taking the result seriously.
Pocognoli started his playing career with Genk before joining AZ Alkmaar, where he won the Dutch title. After a move to Standard Liege and then Hannover 96, he had a three-year spell in England, notable mostly for his struggles at West Bromwich Albion. Out of favour with manager Tony Pulis, he went on to loan to Brighton before returning to his homeland.
The last days of his playing career were spent with USG, where he became coach of their Under-21s. That was followed by a spell in charge of Genk’s Under-18s and an age-group job with the Belgian national side before the big break came his way.
Even USG could not have imagined that, in his debut season as a manager in his own right, he would become the youngest in Belgium’s history to win a league title. Emboldened by that early success, he is hungry for more, inspired perhaps by some of the big names he has learned from.
Former Belgium team-mate Vincent Kompany is one of his role models. As is Louis van Gaal, the ‘most complete’ manager he has worked with. Pocognoli appreciated the Dutchman’s honesty when he played for him at AZ Alkmaar. ‘He taught me the most, tactically and technically. He had a very direct way of communicating, which shocked me a little at first.’
How Pocognoli, nicknamed ‘Poco’, adapts to international football should be fascinating. Will his limited access to players allow him to instil in them his distinctive way of playing? How will he fare without the recruitment that was crucial to his success in Belgium?
When he was a boy, Pocognoli wasn’t so keen on football and had ambitions to be an archaeologist. ‘I’ve always been interested in travel, culture, and adventure,’ he says. ‘Humanity inspires me. That’s what I love about my job: mixing cultures, learning from others.’
His next managerial experience will be an education all right. Let’s hope the cross-cultural experiment benefits Scotland as much as it does him.
