Mauricio Pochettino made the heyday of Paris Saint-Germain during his first stint as a player and captain between 2001 and 2003. Having become a respected coach of the circuit, especially after his successful experience at Tottenham, the Argentine technician has found the club from the capital in December 2020. A career as a coach that draws its origins during his first visit to Paris.
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“
It's incredible but I started to think that I could become a coach at Camp des Loges when I was a PSG player.
Not here but across the street, where are the young people now,
”he confided in an interview with
L'Équipe
.
Leader of the championship with ten lengths ahead of Lens and second in Group A in the Champions League behind Manchester City, Paris and especially Mauricio Pochettino are singled out for the lack of background and control in their matches.
Critics accentuated by the expectations related to the transfer window explains the Argentine coach.
“The expectations born this summer mean that before you even start a match, you have to win and win 5-0. And if after ten minutes of play you don't already lead 3-0, pfff ... what a disappointment! I think this is a mistake. The obligation does not exist in football, the opponents also have qualities and know how to complicate things for you. "
For the former technician from Tottenham, the main objective at Paris Saint-Germain is to win titles, failing to set up a real personal project.
“
PSG want to win.
Win the Champions League, the Championship, the Cup, all matches.
[...] We arrived here to adapt and to win, with the structure and the characteristics of the players who are there.
It is very different.
We are there to develop the ideas of PSG, not to develop our defined ideas, which would require building with the elements we believe necessary for these ideas.
"
The key success factor for the PSG staff is to manage the host of stars present within his group.
“We are talking about the first thing to settle in a group: to coexist in a harmonious way. If you don't solve that, it's very difficult to find this harmony on the pitch. ”
A bloated workforce, which requires time to draw the fullest of its capabilities.
“Generally speaking, when you look at the talents, the names in this club, it has never existed in history, or maybe once. From there, nobody has the experience, we are the first to live it. No one has the secret of the way to manage, the training method or the philosophy of play for such a squad. "
Asked about the supposed lack of defensive withdrawal of his offensive players, Mauricio Pochettino seeks to find the winning formula to ensure the balance of his team.
“
We have to find a balance.
When the club makes this type of decision (to buy this type of player), it measures the risk.
We are the staff.
Our role is to try to make it work.
And if we fail, you know the rest (smile).
"
The Argentinian also returned to the possibility of bringing out his flagship players during a match.
“
It's not an ego story.
We're talking about the best players in the world.
If they don't have a problem, why do you want to take them out?
Even if they don't play the way one expects, with their talent, they can be decisive at any point in a meeting.
"
Saturday, the protected Mauricio Pochettino receive FC Nantes as part of the thirteenth day of Ligue 1, before the capital trip to Manchester City in the Champions League next Wednesday.