Mauricio Pochettino

Mauricio Roberto Pochettino Trossero (born 2 March 1972) is an Argentine professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of Premier League club Chelsea. Pochettino played as a centre back and began his career in 1989 with Primera División club Newell's Old Boys, winning a league title and finishing as runner-up in the 1992 Copa Libertadores. In 1994, he transferred to newly promoted La Liga club Espanyol, helping establish their top-flight status and winning the 2000 Copa del Rey, their first trophy in 60 years. In 2001, he joined Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain, and then had a stint with Bordeaux before returning to Espanyol in 2004, winning another Copa del Rey in 2006. Pochettino was capped 20 times for the Argentina national team and played at the 1999 Copa América and 2002 FIFA World Cup. After retiring as a player, Pochettino began his managerial career at Espanyol in 2009. He left the club in 2012 after poor results and financial disputes. In 2013, he was appointed at Premier League club Southampton, leading them to an eighth-place finish that season – equalling their highest ever Premier League finish. He signed for Tottenham Hotspur in 2014 and finished as league runner-up in the 2016–17 season, as well as leading the club to their maiden Champions League final. He was dismissed in 2019 after a string of poor results, and in 2021, joined Paris Saint-Germain, where he won the Ligue 1 title and Coupe de France. He left one year later. In May 2023, he was appointed head coach of Chelsea. Early life Pochettino was born in Murphy, Santa Fe to Amalia and Héctor Pochettino, a farm labourer. His family is of Italian descent from Piedmont. Between the age of eight and ten, he played both football and volleyball, and also learned judo. He supported Racing Club de Avellaneda as a child. The first football match he watched on television was the 1978 FIFA World Cup which he watched with his father Héctor at the local sports club in Murphy, Centro Recreativo Unión y Cultura. He started playing as a centre back at an early age for Unión y Cultura, a position he preferred, but he also played as a striker and midfielder. When he was 13, he trained two days a week with Rosario Central in Rosario, Santa Fe, a 160-mile bus-ride away from Murphy. He played in Murphy in the first division of the regional Venadense league together with his older brother, Javier. He studied agriculture in a school 20 miles from home.