Mauricio Pochettino was recently named the manager of Paris Saint Germain and the Argentine tactician sees the appointment as a gift from a father Christmas.
When this season commenced, nobody expected that PSG that won the 2019-2020 French Ligue 1 title and got to the final of the UEFA Champions League would sack Thomas Tuchel, the coach that helped PSG to make the history of playing in the 2019-2020 Champions League final.
The twist of Tuchel’s sack was that the sack letter came a night after he led PSG to defeat Strasbourg 4-0 in a Ligue 1 game. He was kicked out of the club despite ensuring that PSG qualified for the second round of this season’s UEFA Champions League.
Immediately after Thomas Tuchel was sacked, the news went viral that Mauricio Pochettino is the favorite to get the appointment. And as expected, the Argentine tactician who has been jobless for over a year was named the coach of the French Ligue 1 giants.
Before he returned to PSG where he played for two seasons, Mauricio Pochettino made his name at Tottenham Hotspur where he led the club to the 2018-2019 UEFA Champions League final which he lost to Jurgen Klopp’s led Liverpool.
He was sacked few games into the 2019-2020 season due to a poor run of games and he was replaced by Jose Mourinho. Since then, he has been without a coaching job until that of PSG came.
During his first press conference as the manager of PSG, Pochettino stressed that the French club is one of the biggest clubs in the world and that any big player is welcomed.
He stated this in reaction to viral reports claiming that FC Barcelona icon, Lionel Messi is linked to PSG and might switch to the French club if the 33-year-old Argentine superstar does not extend his contract with Barcelona.
“To be honest, we are not talking about that,” said Pochettino. “They are rumors, and the reality is that we have just arrived…
“We are going to have time to talk in the future, but any big player in the world is always welcome at Paris St-Germain.
“A club like PSG, with structures in place, is always keeping an eye on a wide range of players. I think we’ll make the best decisions for the club and the team.
“We are trying to adapt to a new club with meetings, training, preparing for the game against Saint-Etienne – which is the main objective.”
Mauricio Pochettino on the first match as head coach tomorrow against Saint-Étienne and the reunion with Claude Puel. #PSGlive pic.twitter.com/WrKiQNmGRn
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) January 5, 2021
French Ligue 1 has been very successful especially on the domestic front. Where the club has been lacking is dominating Europe as much as they have been dominating Ligue 1. Hence, the major challenge before Mauricio Pochettino is to try to find a way to dominate Europe by winning the UEFA Champions League title for the first time in the club’s history.
“Father Christmas was good to me to give me this opportunity,” Pochettino noted.
“We are very much aware of the size of the challenge here. There is big pressure because this is one of the biggest clubs in the world.”
Want to see the resumption of training at the 𝙾𝚘𝚛𝚎𝚍𝚘𝚘 𝙲𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚛𝚎?
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) January 3, 2021
Here you go, the first session led by Mauricio Pochettino 🤵 pic.twitter.com/WHw3I0nX6a
