Who is Karina Grippaldi; the wife of Mauricio Pochettino as rumours grow of a return to the Premier League?

Football, as they say, is a funny old game. No sooner had Frank Lampard taken charge of a struggling Chelsea squad for the remainder of the season when talk of who will take over the full time position started - and while Spurs fans are apparently focusing their attentions on former Bayern Munich wunderkind Julian Nagelsmann, a former Spurs manager is being tipped to take over the West London club.

Mauricio Pochettino looks to be the leading candidate to take over the managerial position at a Chelsea side who, after being acquired by US business Richard Boely and spending over $350 million USD on transfers have not made quite the mark they were expected to; especially when you reread how much they spent on strengthening the squad.

It’s been a case of revolving doors at Stamford Bridge too; Thomas Tuchel, now manager of Bayern Munich (to the glee of those Spurs fans wanting Nagelsmann) was sacked and replaced by English manager Graham Potter who left Brighton and Hove Albion to manage the former Champions League winners. That however turned into a nightmare for Potter, who left and has since been replaced by Frank Lampard - who hasn’t managed the “manager bump” team gain from bringing in a new manager.

Which has led Mauricio Pochettino to become the leading contender to take over the club when the season finishes - or potentially sooner. Poch has not been involved in football since leaving Paris Saint Germain in July 2022, but his family members have still maintained their own respective careers in football - while his wife and the location of their last home in North London means that a return to the Premier League could certainly be on the cards.

Who is Karina Grippaldi? 

Mauricio Pochettino’s wife is Karina Grippaldi, who first met the manager while playing for Newell’s Old Boys in Argentina in 1991. The pair married in 1994 and unlike other footballer’s wives at times, decided to keep a relatively low profile - a theme that the Pochettino’s seem to have embraced before Mauricio’s big move to Spurs in 2014. 

Such is the superstition around Pochettino and the game of football that at one stage during his tenure at Spurs, he effectively banned Karina from watching the games at White Hart Lane and later at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Not that it was too far to return home, and given that Karina is currently a homemaker having given up her job as a chemist, she was probably better off avoiding the traffic that follows a 3pm kick off in the capital.

Where did Mauricio Pochettino and his family live?

It’s not uncommon for football managers to commute to the football clubs they manage; Jose Mourinho made this a common practice while manager both at Real Madrid and Manchester United. For the Pochettino’s, perhaps if Mauricio does move to Chelsea, they might make Barnet their home once again. 

For a period of time while Pochettino was manager for Spurs, the family were said to have lived in the leafy North London borough and though their location at the moment has not been revealed publicly, given that his youngest son Maurizio was a player for Watford until his move late last year, the 35 minute drive to and from Vicarage Road means that remaining in Barnet would have been ideal for the family.

Who is Maurizio and Sebastiano Pochettino?

Poch’s two sons, Maurizio and Sebastiano, have both got footballing blood flowing through their bodies, but have chosen two very different areas of the game. Maurizio is currently plying his trade for Gimnastic in Spain, having played for Watford from 2021 to 2022 after a short period playing for Spurs the season before. 

Sebastiano however became a first team fitness coach for both Tottenham Hotspur and Paris St. Germain. His LinkedIn (yes - he has a LinkedIn) shows that he currently isn’t working in any role, however that he is based in Barnet - lending more weight to the idea that the family haven’t moved since Pochettino last managed a club. Could we see Sebastiano part of the coaching staff at Chelsea, should his father become their new manager?