sport news DANNY MURPHY: Watch out, Pep Guardiola! Mauricio Pochettino's Chelsea play ... trends now
I was struck by Mauricio Pochettino's warmth when we first met at a Spurs game in 2018. He gave up a bit of time talking to my son before inviting him into the dressing room to have pictures taken with Harry Kane and others.
It showed how relaxed he was an hour before kick-off.
Fast forward four years and we were staying in the same complex at the World Cup, able to chat about football - usually by the swimming pool!
Again, I was impressed with his knowledge and honesty, qualities I think are going to serve Chelsea well.
My overriding impression was his passion for the game. He would be asked about working with Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe at Paris Saint-Germain but was knowledgeable about players of all nationalities and levels.
Chelsea will be adventurous against Manchester City and play better against bigger sides
Mauricio Pochettino favours front-foot football and his passion is for an attacking style
One conversation which is particularly relevant to Sunday's Chelsea-Manchester City game was Poch's glowing praise for Josko Gvardiol after watching him play in defence for Croatia.
'Quick, strong, super footballer' were phrases that spring to mind. He'll be hoping Gvardiol has an off day at Stamford Bridge!
Pochettino's achievements at Spurs were significant with a young, energetic team and he is even better equipped as a manager now, having dealt with huge egos at PSG, something he admitted had been a test.
It was also clear to me that Poch will always be a coach who wants to play on the front foot. His real passion is for attacking football.
His Chelsea will have a go even if it is taking some time to create a foundation before implementing his style.
I saw them win at Tottenham on Monday night and the way Nicolas Jackson, Raheem Sterling and Conor Gallagher pressed at 1-1 was pure Poch and a sign of things to come.
Even against City, I think they will try to be adventurous. Confidence is so important to young players and scoring four at Spurs will have given them huge belief.
Poch likes players who do the work. Even his first team at Spurs had great athletes in Victor Wanyama and Mousa Dembele, who allowed the creative players to shine.
