Mauricio Pochettino will be hoping for some more Champions League heroics this evening as he leads Paris Saint-Germain into their semi-final clash against Man City.
Two years ago the Argentine was in the final four for the first time as a manager as his Tottenham side went head-to-head with Dutch giants Ajax for a place in the final.
Spurs did in the end prevail courtesy of Lucas Moura's stoppage-time winner as the team battled back from a 3-0 aggregate deficit with 45 minutes remaining in the tie.
PSG are the outsiders in their semi-final encounter as Man City are the favourites to lift the famous trophy for the very first time, although you can never write off Pochettino and his coaching staff masterminding some more Champions League semi-final magic.
While the French side are targeting a place in the final for the second year on the trot, Tottenham face an uphill battle to secure a place in Europe's premier competition in 2021/22 after a nightmare start to the year.
Five points currently separate Spurs from Chelsea in fourth with five games remaining and the club may unfortunately have to settle for another year of Europa League football due to the current gap between themselves and the top four.
Now on the lookout for a new manager following Daniel Levy's decision to part with Jose Mourinho at the beginning of last week, big changes need to take place at Tottenham this summer if they are to get back to where they were at their peak under Pochettino.
Not bringing in a single player during the 2018/19 season as Spurs reached the Champions League final against the odds, Pochettino did warn his chairman of a "painful" rebuild that needed to take place at the club a few days after their Champions League semi-final first leg defeat against Ajax.
"When you talk about Tottenham, everyone says you have an amazing house but you need to put in the furniture," explained the 49-year-old.
“If you want to have a lovely house maybe you need better furniture. And it depends on your budget if you are going to spend money. We need to be respectful with teams like Manchester City or Liverpool who spend a lot of money. We are brave, we are clever, we are creative.
“Now it’s about creating another chapter and to have the clear idea of how we are going to build that new project. We need to rebuild. It’s going to be painful.”
With Spurs having next to no money available for transfers in the summer of 2018 with Tottenham Hotspur Stadium taking shape, Pochettino did manage to add to his squad a year later with Tanguy Ndombele joining for a club-record fee from Lyon, Giovani Lo Celso signing on loan and Ryan Sessegnon also coming in from Fulham.
Bruno Fernandes and Paulo Dybala were also heavily tipped to join Tottenham that summer and help take the team to the next level, yet deals couldn't be agreed on with Sporting CP and Juventus respectively.
A couple of months down the line and Pochettino's time at the club came to an end as Levy parted with him after a nightmare start to the season.
Replaced by Mourinho in the hotseat as the Spurs chairman opted to appoint a manager with a proven track record of winning top honours in the club's quest to win silverware, last Monday also saw the 58-year-old lose his job after a disastrous set of results saw them tumble from their position near the top at the start of the year.
Now on the search for another manager, Tottenham's recent form has highlighted that the "painful" rebuild needs to take place more than ever this summer if they are to not only reach their previous heights under Pochettino but also surpass them.
However, the limited revenue coming into the club over the past 12 months due to the coronavirus pandemic means that the club's supporters may have to wait a while before what Pochettino stressed needed to happen at Tottenham actually comes true.
As Spurs look for a strong end to the season under interim head coach Ryan Mason so that they don't miss out on European football next campaign, Pochettino is three games away from getting his hands on the Champions League trophy with PSG.
Victory out in Istanbul would finally see the French club win the trophy they have craved for the best part of a decade, as well as seeing the Argentine get his hands on top honours after failing to do so in N17.
“The target in the last 10 years has been to win the Champions League and the club is working really hard to try to be there and win,” said Pochettino ahead of their first leg tie against Man City, as reported by The Guardian.
“It is that last step, which is always the most difficult.
"If you remember at Tottenham, it was always about the last step being the most difficult thing. But Paris Saint-Germain is there and now it is about winning.
"I love to feel this. I love to feel that you need to win every single game.”
Tottenham just couldn't make that last step under Pochettino or Mourinho and now the challenge is going to be passed on to a new man to take the club forward.
Whoever that may be, that rebuild Pochettino alluded to still needs to take place.
