Pochettino, Zidane take contrasting roads to the top
LONDON: When Tottenham clash with Real Madrid in the Champions League at Wembley on Wednesday, the glamour tie will provide the backdrop for a fascinating touchline duel between Mauricio Pochettino and Zinedine Zidane.
Tottenham boss Pochettino and Madrid coach Zidane are both highly regarded managers who have assembled teams capable of winning Europe’s elite club prize, but the pair could not have taken more contrasting journeys to the top of their profession.
Pochettino, 45, has enjoyed a remarkable transformation from journeyman Argentine defender to coveted coach while Zidane, who is the same age, is the French World Cup winner whose brilliance in his glittering playing career has been followed by more success in the dugout.
With Tottenham and Real level on points as they battle it out at the top of Group H, AFP Sport takes a look at the experiences that defi ne Pochettino and Zidane:
The son of a Santa Fe farm worker, Pochettino was brought up with a tenacious work ethic that fuelled his rise from those humble roots.
“As a boy, all I thought about was football, football, football. It was everything,” Pochettino said.
Fighting to claw out a career as an uncompromising defender was no hardship for Pochettino, who made his professional debut with Newell’s Old Boys in 1988 and won the Argentine Primera Division in 1991.
Pochettino’s rugged reputation earned him a move to Espanyol in 1994 but he toiled in relative anonymity in Spain, winning only the Copa del Rey in 2000.
Zidane savoured some of his finest moments on the international stage but Pochettino won only 20 caps and his most memorable contribution was to concede the penalty that led to England’s 1- 0 win over Argentina at the 2002 World Cup.
While Pochettino had a rural childhood, Zidane was raised on the mean streets of Marseille’s La Castellane district, where he forged his potent combination of balletic grace on the ball with a street fighter’s mentality.
After learning his trade at Cannes and Bordeaux, the midfield maestro established himself as a superstar while working under Juventus boss Marcello Lippi.
“Lippi was like a light switch for me. Before that football was about enjoying myself. After I arrived in Turin, the desire to win things took over and never left me,” Zidane said. — AFP