Paulo Fonseca appointed as new Tottenham manager

Carlo Garganese

• 10 Jun 2021 10:46 BST
• 3 min read

Tottenham have ended their long pursuit for a replacement for Jose Mourinho by appointing Paulo Fonseca as their new manager.

The former Roma boss has signed a three-year contract in north London.

Who is Paulo Fonseca?

Fonseca arrives at Tottenham after spending the last two years at Serie A side Roma.

The 48-year-old endured a mixed spell in the Italian capital. He finished fifth and seventh, respectively, in Serie A but did lead Roma to the semi-finals of the Europa League.

The Giallorossi were eliminated by Manchester United 8-5 on aggregate in the semis last month.

He was praised for his attacking, modern brand of football but criticised for his miserable record in big games and against the sides fighting for Europe.

Prior to that Fonseca enjoyed great success in Ukraine, winning three straight league and cup doubles with Shakhtar Donetsk.

He earlier managed the likes of Porto and Braga.

Spurs failed to appoint Conte and Pochettino

Tottenham decided to hire Fonseca after being unable to secure their favoured two choices for the job in Antonio Conte and Mauricio Pochettino.

Conte had been in advanced talks with owner Daniel Levy but the negotiations collapsed as the Italian was unsatisfied with the ambitions and resources of the club.

As for Pochettino, Levy had hoped to bring him back to the club but it now appears that he will remain at Paris Saint-Germain.

Fonseca was recommended to Levy by Tottenham’s new sporting director Fabio Paratici.

Paratici arrived at Spurs this summer after 11 years with Juventus.

The Italian believes that Fonseca’s desire to develop young players – as he did at Roma with the likes of Ebrima Darboe – makes him the right man for the Tottenham role.

The prospect of losing Harry Kane and working under a tight budget is something that doesn’t daunt Fonseca, while first-choice Conte deemed it unacceptable.