Mauricio Roberto Pochettino Trossero (Spanish pronunciation: [mawˈɾisjo potʃeˈtino]; born 2 March 1972) is an Argentine professional football managerand former player.
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Pochettino as manager of Tottenham Hotspur in 2016
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Mauricio Roberto Pochettino Trossero[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 2 March 1972[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Murphy, Argentina | ||
| Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Centre-back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| CR Unión y Cultura | |||
| 1986–1989 | Newell’s Old Boys | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1989–1994 | Newell’s Old Boys | 153 | (8) |
| 1994–2001 | Espanyol | 216 | (11) |
| 2001–2003 | Paris Saint-Germain | 70 | (4) |
| 2003–2004 | Bordeaux | 11 | (1) |
| 2004 | → Espanyol (loan) | 21 | (1) |
| 2004–2006 | Espanyol | 38 | (1) |
| Total | 509 | (26) | |
| International career | |||
| 1991 | Argentina U20 | 3 | (0) |
| 1992 | Argentina U23 | 4 | (0) |
| 1999–2002 | Argentina | 20 | (2) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2009–2012 | Espanyol | ||
| 2013–2014 | Southampton | ||
| 2014–2019 | Tottenham Hotspur | ||
| 2021–2022 | Paris Saint-Germain
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Pochettino played as a central defender and began his career in 1989 with Primera División club Newell’s Old Boys, winning a league title and finishing as runner-up in the 1992 Copa Libertadores. In 1994, he transferred to newly promoted La Liga club Espanyol, helping establish their top-flight status and won the 2000 Copa del Rey, their first trophy in 60 years. In 2001, he joined Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain, and had a stint with Bordeaux, before returning to Espanyol in 2004, winning another Copa del Rey in 2006.[3] Pochettino was capped 20 times for the Argentina national teamand played at the 1999 Copa América and 2002 FIFA World Cup.
After retiring as a player, Pochettino began his managerial career at Espanyol in 2009. He left the club in 2012 after poor results and financial disputes. In 2013, he was appointed at Premier League club Southampton, leading them to an eighth-place finish that season – equalling their highest ever Premier League finish. He signed for Tottenham Hotspur in 2014 and finished as league runner-up in the 2016–17 season, as well as leading the club to their maiden Champions League final. He was dismissed after a string of poor results,[4] and in 2021, joined Paris Saint-Germain, where he won the Ligue 1 title and Coupe de France. He left one year later.
Pochettino was born in Murphy, Santa Fe to Amalia and Héctor Pochettino, a farm labourer.[5] His family is of Italian descent from Piedmont.[6] Between the age of eight and ten, he played both football and volleyball, and also learned judo.[7] He supported Racing Club de Avellaneda as a child.[8] The first football match he watched on television was the 1978 FIFA World Cup which he watched with his father Héctor at the local sports club in Murphy, Centro Recreativo Unión y Cultura.[9]
He started playing as a centre-back at an early age for Unión y Cultura, a position he preferred, but he also played as a striker and midfielder.[5][10] When he was 13, he trained two days a week with Rosario Central in Rosario, Santa Fe, a 160-mile bus-ride away from Murphy.[11] He played in Murphy in the first division of the regional Venadense league together with his older brother, Javier.[5] He studied agriculture in a school 20 miles from home.[10]
PlayerEdit
Newell’s Old Boys
Espanyol
Paris Saint-Germain
- UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2001[31]
- Coupe de France runner-up: 2002–03[32][33]
ManagerEdit
Tottenham Hotspur
- Football League Cup runner-up: 2014–15[141]
- UEFA Champions League runner-up: 2018–19[142]
Paris Saint-Germain
Individual
- Premier League Manager of the Month: October 2013, September 2015, February 2016, April 2017[144]
- London Football Awards Manager of the Year: 2018–19[1
Tottenham HotspurEdit
On 27 May 2014, Pochettino was appointed head coach of Tottenham Hotspur on a five-year contract, becoming their tenth manager over a 12-year span.[78] The following 28 January, the team reached the final of the League Cup following a 3–2 aggregate win over Sheffield United, only to be beaten 2–0 by Chelsea in the decisive game at Wembley Stadium.[79] In the domestic league, Pochettino’s first seasonwas generally successful, ending in a fifth-place finish and the conversion of several young academy players into regular first-team players; he put one of those graduates, Harry Kane, as starting striker at the expense of Spanish international Roberto Soldado, a gamble which paid off[80] as Kane and his teammates Dele Alli and Eric Dier were touted as the potential basis for the England squad at UEFA Euro 2016.[81]
Tottenham were in contention to win the league in 2015–16, but on 2 May 2016 they drew 2–2 against Chelsea, which confirmed Leicester City as champions. The game at Stamford Bridge saw the former receive a league record nine yellow cards, and Pochettino entered the pitch in the first half to separate his left back Danny Rose from a confrontation with Chelsea winger Willian.[82] Spurs also lost in their last match of the season, ceding the league runners-up spot to rivals Arsenal[83] – it was still good enough for their highest league finish since 1990.[84]
On 12 May 2016, Pochettino agreed to an extension of his contract, committing him to the club until 2021,[85] and it was also confirmed that his title had changed from that of “head coach” to “manager”, although he confirmed that the role itself was no different.[86] The campaign began with a series of 12 unbeaten league matches that ended with an away defeat at Chelsea in late November.[87] However, inconsistencies saw Tottenham being eliminated from Champions League and League Cupcontention,[88] as well as that falling some way behind the leaders Chelsea who had a run of 13 wins (ended by a loss to Tottenham in January 2017).[89]
Pochettino’s side eventually finished in second place with 86 points, their highest-ever tally since the English League began under the new denomination[90] their highest ranking in 54 years since 1962–63 under Bill Nicholson[91] and the first season-long unbeaten home run in 52 years since 1964–65.[92][93]
On 24 May 2018, Pochettino signed a new five-year contract to keep him at Tottenham until 2023.[94] In December 2018, Pochettino won his 100th Premier League match as manager of the club after a late victory against Burnley; he became the first Tottenham manager to reach this milestone and the third fastest Premier League manager to achieve the feat with a single club.[95] On 8 May 2019, Pochettino led Tottenham to their first ever Champions League final after defeating Ajax on away goals (3–3 aggregate),[4] with his side coming back from a 2–0 deficit (3–0 aggregate) at half-time in Amsterdam and Lucas Moura scoring a second-half hat-trick.[96] The final in Madrid ended in a 2–0 defeat to Liverpool.[97]
“Before I die I want to manage Tottenham again and try to win one trophy because I want to feel what it means to win one trophy with Tottenham.”
— Pochettino, on his unfinished job at Spurs.[98]
Five months after the Champions League final, on 19 November 2019, Pochettino was sacked by Tottenham Hotspur with the side 14th in the Premier League standings. Chairman Daniel Levy cited the “extremely disappointing” domestic results as the reason behind the dismissal.[99][100] Pochettino was succeeded by José Mourinho.[101]
Paris Saint-GermainEdit
On 2 January 2021, Pochettino was appointed as the head coach of Paris Saint-Germain on an 18-month contract, where he had spent two years during his playing career,[102][103] replacing Thomas Tuchel. His first match in charge was four days later, a 1–1 league draw at Saint-Étienne.[104] On 9 January, Pochettino won his first game with a 3–0 home defeat of Brest.[105] Four days later, he won the first honour of his managerial career as Paris Saint-Germain defeated rivals Marseille 2–1 in the French Super Cup.[106] On 16 February 2021, Pochettino took charge of his first Champions League match with the Parisians, guiding them to a 4–1 win over Barcelona at the Camp Nou in the first leg of the round of 16 tie.
This marked Pochettino’s first European victory as Paris Saint-Germain coach.[107]In the quarter-finals, PSG won against the defending champions Bayern Munich on away goals, due to a 3–2 victory at the Allianz Arena.[108] However, PSG lost in both legs of the semi-finals against Manchester City.[109] Pochettino’s team finished the season with a win in the Coupe de France finalagainst Monaco[110] and as runners-up in the Ligue 1, a point behind Lille.[111] In July 2021, he extended his contract until 2023.[112] In the 2021–22 season, Pochettino won his first Ligue 1 title.[113] On 5 July 2022, it was announced that Paris Saint-Germain had parted ways with Pochettino.[114]
