"We have a lot of great things to accomplish, and it starts tomorrow in Saint-Étienne".
On the eve of his first match as coach of Paris Saint-Germain, Mauricio Pochettino did not hide his ambitions.
Appointed on January 2, after the ouster of Thomas Tuchel, his mission is to put a reigning French champion team back on track, but which only points to third place in the Ligue 1 standings and which has shown difficulties in the Champions League.
During a press conference on Monday January 5, despite the "huge challenge" to be met, the new PSG coach was relaxed and happy to find a club he knows well: "I am very happy to to be here. It's a great moment for me, the club has changed in 20 years, but the passion is the same, the love of the supporters is the same, I am very happy to be able to work here ".
🎙 Mauricio Pochettino: “The quality of this squad is incredible.
Everyone knows.
@KMbappe can play multiple positions.
What is important is to see how to exploit his potential well during the matches.
»Https://t.co/Bq0nCYKBuq#PSGlive
- Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_inside) January 5, 2021
Mauricio Pochettino has, in fact, already worn the colors of the capital club, from 2001 to 2003, as a defender under the orders of Luis Fernandez.
"This club, he loves it. The supporters love him and he loves them too," his former coach also assured AFP.
"He was the perfect teammate"
This Argentinian, born 48 years ago, in Murphy, a small rural town in the province of Sante Fe, was spotted at the age of 13 by Jorge Griffa, director of the academy of the Argentine professional club Newell's Old Boys de Rosario, and his right-hand man Marcelo Bielsa.
He left his native region and began his professional career at the age of 17.
With the Newell's Old Boys, he won two national championships and rubbed shoulders with Argentine star Diego Maradona who was trying to relaunch his career there.
⚽ In L'Equipe du jour we learn that Bielsa and Griffa pushed hard to sign Pochettino to Newell's when he was 13 years old.
And that Maradona insisted he be his roommate when he was only 21.
It locates a guy 👍 pic.twitter.com/kyz6FoVIOx
- Nizzague (@Nizzague) January 3, 2021
The performance of young Mauricio Pochettino catches the eye of European recruiters.
He flew in 1994 to Catalonia and Espanyol Barcelona.
He cut his teeth there for over six years and became a local star.
He won a Spanish Cup and honored his first selections for the Argentine national team.
In 2001, Luis Fernandez brought him to PSG.
For two seasons, the defender is essential in the Parisian workforce.
"When he arrived in Paris, we quickly had the opportunity to see him as a leader. He was the perfect teammate, he had an attitude, an irreproachable behavior, he was always diligent, serious, he always sought to to be among the best, ”summed up his former LCI coach, who made him his captain during the 2002-2003 season.
Despite everything, when Vahid Halilhodzic arrived, the Argentinian was not retained.
After a quick visit to the Girondins de Bordeaux, he returned to the colors of Espanyol Barcelona, where he ended his playing career in 2006 at the age of 34.
Former club captain, Mauricio Pochettino is back in Paris as a coach 🤵 pic.twitter.com/J4NwWFHJPE
- Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_inside) January 2, 2021
Attached to this Catalan club, he joined the coaching staff, first of all taking care of the women's section.
Three years later, he was appointed head coach of the men's first team.
While the club is in the bottom of the standings, it raises the bar and even allows it to finish in 10th place in La Liga in 2009. Mauricio Pochettino is renewed for three seasons and continues the good performances before finally being dismissed in November 2012.
"He makes you suffer like a dog"
A few weeks later, the one nicknamed "Sheriff" or "Big Brother" because of his perfectionism, signs a new contract in England, where he takes the reins of Southampton, in great difficulty.
Once again, the Argentinean stands out by saving this team from relegation.
The Italo-Argentinian Pablo Osvaldo, who played under his orders in Spain and England, remembers a demanding technician, as reported by So Foot: "He makes you suffer like a dog. At the moment, you hate him like you've never hated anyone, but on Sunday you thank him, because it works ”.
This winning recipe allows him to be named coach of Tottenham in 2014, still in the Premier League.
In his first season, he won a Coupe de la Ligue final.
He continued the following season with a first podium for Spurs since 1990. In 2017, the team was even vice-champion of England.
The consecration came the following year, when he reached the final of the Champions League against Liverpool.
Under his orders, he shines the English Harry Kane or the French Hugo Lloris who also praised his former coach with the Team:
"
He has this unifying, reassuring side.
There are things, moreover, that I also find in Didier Deschamps: they have this strength to create a group and to take you with them ".
Champions League goal
But the English adventure ends in November 2019 after a complicated start to the season.
Without a contract since, he was finally called to the rescue by PSG, where he will have to learn to deal with the team's superstars, including Neymar and Kylian Mbappé.
A war of ego that does not seem to scare him.
"You might think that some coaches find it difficult, that you have to be courageous to take charge of such a workforce? I think the opposite," he said in 2018 at a press conference.
His first big test will take place on February 16 in the knockout stages of the Champions League against Barcelona.
Mauricio Pochettino is well aware that he was recruited to finally win this European title.
On the eve of his baptism of fire, he has already announced the color: "I know what working in Paris means. There is the pressure of victory, but of victory through good play. I like the pressure, I am a competitor and I want to win ".
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