We all know the old saying, “When life gives you lemons, use them to eradicate the negative energy affecting your overly expensive sports team.”
It may actually have been about making lemonade, but new Chelsea head coach Mauricio Pochettino believes lemons serve a much bigger purpose.
He keeps a large box of them in his office at the Premier League club’s training ground in Cobham, south of London, after starting it several years ago on the advice of a friend. It is an expression of his broader spiritual belief in the “Energia Universal,” a higher form of energy that people can connect to and even utilize when they open their minds.
Lemons have been endowed with a variety of symbolic and spiritual meanings and uses over the centuries in cultures around the world.
They are considered a holy fruit in the Hindu faith. Elsewhere they were used to ward off evil spirits. You can also cut them in half and put them in the fridge to avoid unwanted smells. They are believed to have healing and cleansing properties and are even said to trigger positive energy, inspiration, personal growth, prosperity, happiness and love. It is currently unclear whether they can heal muscle or serious ligament injuries.
Pochettino believes they can absorb negative energy like a sponge from their surroundings and even from the people who visit his office.
He was also known to have a tray of lemons on his desk as Tottenham Hotspur manager and replaced them every 10 days or sometimes sooner as they were apparently contaminated with all the bad vibes they had picked up.
Pochettino talks to Conor Gallagher and Levi Colwill about his thoughts (Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)
So far there has been little sign of this team having a positive impact in his short spell at Chelsea.
The club have won just one of Pochettino’s first six Premier League games and sit 14th in the 20-team Premier League, although advanced data suggests performances have been significantly better than results. There is also an injury crisis at Cobham with nine senior players sidelined.
GO DEEPER
Crisis at Pochettino’s Chelsea? They actually play quite well
But when asked during a press conference last week whether this deeply disappointing start to the season – despite owners Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital spending more than 1 billion pounds ($1.2 billion) in transfer fees on new players last year – Pochettino remained optimistic given the power of lemons.
“You started working at Tottenham after two years,” he said. “Give the lemons time. We all believe in that. If you want to have good energy, you must put all the things you believe in into action.
“I believe in the lemons, but at Tottenham they started working after a year and a half, two years. They take a long time, they’re not magic, but I still believe in them more than ever.
“Today in my office I have yellow, green… different varieties, from Spain, from Italy. I’m not going to lie, there is a big box of lemons. I always thought that the yellow lemons worked much better than the green ones, but now I believe in any color – any color can help. If I could get a blue lemon (to match Chelsea’s jersey) it would be even better.”
In keeping with the philosophical tone of the press conference, journalists in attendance asked whether a green lemon was simply a lime. However, Pochettino dismissed this idea. “A lime is not a lemon,” he insisted. “It’s a brother, maybe with a different mother or father.”
A compelling rejoinder, but perhaps the bigger question Pochettino needs to ponder is whether Chelsea’s owners and fans can endure the bitter taste left by his team’s problems long enough for his lemons to have their desired effect.
(Top photos: Getty Images)