Mauricio Pochettino has sent a big hint about his time at Paris Saint-Germain, suggesting that he did not know how good he had it at Tottenham Hotspur.
Mauricio Pochettino was a fan favourite at Spurs
It can be argued that no Spurs manager since Keith Burkinshaw in the 1980s developed as good a rapport with the Tottenham supporters as Mauricio Pochettino did.
It would be an understatement to say that the Argentine was loved at N17, with chants of “Mauricio Pochettino, he’s magic you know” being sung loudly and proudly at every home and away game.
The former Spurs boss never managed to get over the line and win a trophy during his time at the club despite coming very close on a few occasions.
Something broke after the Champions League final defeat in 2019, with Pochettino eventually losing his job just a few months later.
Pochettino’s admission about his time at PSG
After leaving Tottenham, Pochettino had relatively unsuccessful spells with both PSG and Chelsea, before taking over as the USA’s head coach back in the summer.
He has now spoken about the challenges he faced in France, admitting that the atmosphere at PSG was very different to what he had been used to before that.
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The 52-year-old told La Nacion (as relayed by Sport Witness): “Well… I don’t know, human beings always long for what they don’t have or what they don’t know, and we always think that the other is better. You have to try it, that’s why you have to get out of your comfort zone.
“I believe that we must analyse the moments of the players, not their names, but their circumstances and contexts. PSG was an incredible experience… difficult, hard, where you really discover who you are, you really temper your sporting character.
“Behind an experience like this everything becomes a little more relative, you start to understand things that, perhaps, you didn’t understand before when you were at Southampton, at Espanyol or at Tottenham.”
Daniel Levy’s big decision last year
It was clear during the summer of 2023 that Spurs could have re-appointed Pochettino if they wanted as the Argentine would have jumped at the chance to return to the club.
However, Daniel Levy chose to go a different route, first targeting Arne Slot and then turning to Ange Postecoglou after a move for the Dutchman proved complicated.
Only time will tell if the Spurs chairman made the right decision or if it is another one that he will regret for a long time.