NO MAUR FEAR
Mighty Pep never scared me insists Spurs boss
MAURICIO POCHETTINO says he has never been scared of facing Pep Guardiola.
Pochettino’s Tottenham host Guardiola’s unbeaten Manchester City tomorrow in a mouthwatering top-of-the-table clash.
The pair locked horns many times as players and bosses in Spain.
But Pochettino insists he has never been overawed, even when he was a managerial rookie at Espanyol.
The Argentine drew with Guardiola’s mighty Barcelona in his first game in the dugout in January 2009, with his first win coming against them shortly afterwards at the Nou Camp.
Character
He said: “If you are brave in your life, you cannot behave in a different way on the pitch.
“It is about how you feel, how you are, your character. I don’t understand how to play in a different way – always be brave.”
Pochettino recalled the moment he told his wide-eyed players they would no longer be packing the defence against their mighty rivals.
He said: “The players looked at me with big eyes and I said to them, ‘We need to play high pressing’.
“They said, ‘What? That’s not possible against Barcelona’. But I told them we needed to be brave.
“It was good because 0-0 against Barcelona was a fantastic result and after that it was easy to convince the players to play in a different way.”
Espanyol were eight points adrift at the bottom when Pochettino took over, while Barca were on their way to a historic treble as they beat Manchester United to add the Champions League to a domestic double.
That Barca side included Thierry Henry, Samuel Eto’o and Yaya Toure as well as Nou Camp legends Leo Messi, Carles Puyol, Xavi and Andres Iniesta.
Guardiola inherited a wealth of talent when he was promoted from coaching Barca’s B side, while at the time Pochettino was completing his coaching badges across town by helping out with Espanyol’s ladies team.
“I was never manager,” said Pochettino.
“It was a great experience, it helped me to know the female football psychology, the passion to play professional football.
“I am happy how my career has gone. It’s hard to compare with another manager, how I or they arrive to a certain point.
‘‘We all have different possibilities but when you get your chance, you have to show yourself, that you have the value.
“Guardiola had the possibility to manage Barcelona with Messi, but he showed that he was capable of doing that and increasing the level of the team.”