EX-TOTTENHAM star Danny Rose has confessed he was shocked to see his former boss Mauricio Pochettino take the job at rivals Chelsea.
The Argentine was appointed the Blue’s manager earlier this summer after 18 months at Paris Saint-German.
The 33-year-old played under the Argentine boss for more than five seasons at Spurs.
An opening for Tottenham’s managerial role became available this summer after Antonio Conte departed.
However, Pochettino opted to sign a two-year deal with Chelsea and Spurs appointed Ange Postecoglou instead.
Former left-back Rose felt Pochettino would make a return to the North London club where he was in charge for just over five years.
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Rose told TalkSPORT: “Never would I have thought that Mauricio would be the manager of Chelsea.
“I was hoping and expecting him to go back to Spurs but obviously it didn’t materialise.”
During Poch’s time at Spurs, he led the squad through iconic moments one being them reaching the Champions League final in 2019.
Another encounter the 51-year-old experienced was with Chelsea in May 2016 known as the infamous ‘Battle of the Bridge.’
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The game saw 12 players booked at Stamford Bridge in a feisty clash that Rose was involved in and crushed Spurs’ hope of winning the Premier League title that season.
Rose added that the rivalry between the two sides only became clear after the event.
He continued: ” I didn’t know Chelsea hated Spurs so much. I never knew there was so much hatred.
“It felt like a school football match, everyone trying to get yellow cards.
“That season Chelsea were poor, they were mid-table.
“I remember hearing that week leading up to the game that it was the best they’d ever trained.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
