The date is etched in Mauricio Pochettino’s memory: November 19, 2019, two years to the day last Friday since he left Tottenham.
Now, Pochettino is not one of those cagey managers who hides his true feelings beneath a hard facade of emotional repression. He is shrewd in many respects but his heart might as well be emblazoned on his sleeve, like a minor shirt sponsor.
‘Of course now, it’s the 17th [November]’ he says, looking rueful on a Zoom call from Paris Saint-Germain’s training ground on Wednesday. ‘In two days it is the anniversary, the two years since we left Tottenham. It’s in my mind. It’s really painful.’
Mauricio Pochettino has given Sportsmail an insight into his new life with Paris Saint-Germain
It is like listening to a spurned lover who knows the precise time and date of a break-up from their partner.
‘To be honest, in the beginning it was really painful to watch the [Tottenham] games. Because when you feel a club like home, it’s not easy to split from this feeling. Of course, we feel lucky that we were part of the family of Tottenham.
Five-and-a-half years. It was an amazing journey. We could not deliver a trophy for the fans, for the club — a trophy that the players deserve, the club deserves, our president, Daniel (Levy), and of course the fans. All of us worked so hard to try to deliver this and we didn’t achieve [it].
‘But the journey was amazing and we create something special in between us, all together. Of course, [it’s] always in our heart. But now, when I watch a [Tottenham] game, it’s always with a smile and trying to support them because when you love a club, you always wish the best for the people you know.’
Pochettino has arguably the best squad in the world but an immense pressure on his shoulders
SO much for the past. Last summer it briefly seemed as though there might still be a future for these star-crossed lovers, Daniel and Mauricio, as Spurs hunted a new manager. Paris, though, remained the city of true love.
‘Being honest, [there were] many, many rumours, many things,’ says Pochettino. ‘I am a person who doesn’t like to take advantage of these things. That is why I didn’t do nothing, I didn’t talk.
'The people — the media not the club — criticised me here in France: “Why doesn’t Mauricio give his word about staying in Paris?” I say I don’t need to talk about things that. I don’t need to clarify things. And then you prove you are here and of course I am in Paris Saint-Germain, trying to respect the club that signed me.’
It is a lengthy explanation which seems to say it was never a realistic possibility. His contract with PSG was agreed until 2023 in the summer.
‘We didn’t extend the contract,’ says Pochettino. ‘When I signed in January, it was one-year-and-a-half plus [an option] one year. And the club used this clause to make the option done. And now it’s this season plus one.’
This week he will be back in England to play Manchester City in the Champions League and face his old adversary, Pep Guardiola. They first met as players at Barca and Espanyol respectively in 1994 and their storylines have been entwined ever since. Pochettino was also back in London last weekend, but only for a family visit. ‘I saw the sun for one second! Unbelievable. Dark! But good, good people and good time,’ he says.
The shock availability of Lionel Messi this summer saw PSG construct the most formidable forward line in European football
His wife Karina still lives at the north London family home with son Maurizio, who plays for Watford Under 23s. In Paris, approaching the one-year anniversary of his appointment, he remains ensconced in a luxury hotel.There is no hiding that it has been a hard year.
‘It was difficult because Karina was in London with my son. It was difficult to find the right house. It is now 10 months-and-a-half living in the hotel. But I’m in a good place. I find very nice people in the hotel. It’s like a family. It’s unbelievable how all the staff treat me.’
He has his coaching assistants, Jesus Perez, Miguel D’Agostino and Toni Jimenez, and his son, Sebastiano, with him in Paris. Emotional support is imperative and he has perhaps both the best of jobs and the worst of jobs.
If you are lucky enough to manage the best player in the world, you will also spend a good part of your time and energy dealing with the global obsession with him.
So when Pochettino subbed Messi at half-time against Lille recently (PSG were 1-0 down at the time and won 2-1), the post-match analysis was not overly concerned about the tactical nuance of a well-coached comeback.
‘That is the challenge,’ he says, laughing. ‘I agree with you, when you have in your hands this type of player, it is not easy. For us [he means his coaching team], we feel the same way as when the name is different.
Messi and Pochettino did not see eye-to-eye when the superstar was subbed against Lille
‘When you need to take some decision to affect the player, I don’t care when he is a big
