Twenty years ago Mauricio Pochettino arrived at Paris Saint-Germain for the first time after signing for the French club after standing out as a central defender at Espanyol. Now, he returns to the Parisian team as coach, with the knockout round of the UEFA Champions League against Barcelona as the next challenge.
The 48-year-old coach led Tottenham to the UEFA Champions League final in 2019, and talks on UEFA.com about his first stint at the French capital club, his take on Ronald Koeman’s Barcelona and how the The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way you see the world.
On his time as a player at Paris between 2001 and 2003
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There were other players with different names like Jay-Jay Okocha, Anelka and then with the arrival of Ronaldinho, just when the club signed me. My name was not glamorous on the day of Paris Saint-Germain, but it is true because of how we Argentines are, because of the way we compete, because of our character, we immediately made a good relationship with the whole Paris family. And with my colleagues too.
I was an aggressive player, who competed well. Not very graceful technically, but very strong mentally. We had a great team, with a lot of talent. But also the club lived a moment of uncertainty, of a certain instability. It was a shame not being able to build a solid project over time to squeeze out talent and achieve important things.
On the duel of Paris against Barcelona
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(By reaching the 2020 UEFA Champions League final) Paris Saint-Germain had the opportunity last year to achieve something the club has been dreaming of for 50 years, and now we have another chance. It has to be done step by step for things to go well, and we need to keep in mind that it is going to be tough. First we need to face Barcelona.
I have seen the entire evolution of Barcelona, first from my home in London, when Ronald Koeman took office. It is clear that the club is entering a process of change, in a new chapter. As soon as Ronald arrived he started working to find the best performance for his team. Now, after seven months, Ronald has put his ideas into practice and the team knows what the coach expects of them.
But I see a solid team, with clear ideas and great players. It is a team that knows how to compete very well, that is always built to win. The mentality is always to win like in all the big clubs, like in Paris Saint-Germain, which is another team that wants to compete and win.
Of course we have ideas and structures on how to attack and how to stop Barcelona. But we always trust the players to do their job in the best possible way and get a positive result.
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On overcoming COVID-19
During the week that I was locked in my room, I spent a lot of time thinking, obviously, because you have a lot of time to reflect. I am an optimistic person. I always think about the future, but I also try to enjoy the present. Perhaps everything consists of working in the present for the future with the same responsibility as always. But maybe we have to enjoy things a little more, perhaps more intensely.
Despite not having a good time, my experience with COVID has made me a better person, it has made me think more about others, about the people around me, and about how to be more responsible while enjoying what I do, always with responsibility. and thinking about the future, because we also need to leave a better world for our children and grandchildren. We need to be responsible for our neighbors, our children, our grandchildren. We hope there is a better world.
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