The manager of Paris Saint Germain, Mauricio Pochettino has taken time to differentiate between French Ligue 1 and the Premier League.
The 49-year-old Argentine football tactician who has coached in both leagues believes that the French Ligue 1 is more physical than the Premier League.
Recall that Mauricio Pochettino coached Tottenham Hotspur between 2014 and 2019 before he was asked to go due to a poor run of games during the 2019-2020 season.
Immediately after PSG sacked Thomas Tuchel, Pochettino was appointed to replace the German tactician who is now the manager of Chelsea.
Since he was appointed the coach of PSG in 2021, Pochettino has been able to lead the club to finish second in French Ligue 1 and win the 2020-2021 Coupe de France. He and his team are currently leading the league table with 34 points in 13 games.
In an interview with Ligue 1 official website, Pochettino described the French league as a complicated league, adding that each team in the league has a set of talented players.
Over the years, there have been a strong debate over which league in Europe is the best. UEFA, the football governing body had recently rated the Premier League the best while the French Ligue 1 is rated the 5th best in Europe.
Premier League is believed to be a league that is characterized by the fast-paced and high-intensity style of football. Currently, the English league has some of the best coaches in Europe but coach Mauricio Pochettino said French Ligue 1 has great coaches.
The Argentine tactician said: “My impression is that it is a very complicated league. The quality is there. I think it’s the most physical league in the world.
“I think the talent is amazing, and there are great coaches too.
“Every single game you can see all the teams have quality can win the games, never give up.
“I think it’s a very, very good league, and we are so happy to be here.
“I’m not saying that it’s a better league than the Premier League, but I think that in the way that the games are here – I think they are more physical than in the Premier League.”
French Ligue 1 is really physical
In agreement with Mauricio Pochettino’s comments about French Ligue 1, the league has proven to be very physical on players that came to the league from other top European leagues.
The biggest examples are Neymar and Lionel Messi. Since Neymar joined PSG in 2017, he has consistently suffered different degrees of injuries.
As for Messi, he has found it difficult to cope in the league since he left FC Barcelona for PSG in August 2021. He has not scored nor provided any assist in Ligue 1 since his arrival.
The 34-year-old Argentine footballer has also complained about the physicality of the league which goes a long way to give credibility to the comments of Pochettino.
Messi went into the November international break with an injury but he is expected to be fit enough to play for Argentina in their World Cup qualification match against Uruguay on November 13.
No way Messi has put his hand in his bum (2) than he has goals in Ligue 1 this season (0) 😭 ☠ pic.twitter.com/UCulVEq2yt
— BEAST (@UTDBEAST_) November 9, 2021
