Argentine coach Mauricio Pochettino. Biography

Mauricio Pochettino is an Argentine football coach, former defender of Espanyol, PSG and the Argentine national team. He led Tottenham, with whom he reached the 2019 Champions League final, Southampton, PSG, Chelsea and the US national team. Following the sacking of Michael Carrick, Pochettino will head Manchester United with a contract until 2029. About his life and career — in the material of Izvestia.

Childhood and the first steps in football

Mauricio Roberto Pochettino Trossero was born on March 2, 1972 in the small town of Murphy in the Argentine province of Santa Fe. His parents Hector and Amalia worked in agriculture. Javier's older brother also grew up in the family. The future coach spent his childhood in an area where football was one of the main pastimes for children and teenagers.

Since childhood, Pochettino has played for Union and Culture. He was spotted by Newell's Old Boys scouts from Rosario, among whom was Marcelo Bielsa. According to a well-known story, they arrived at the family's house late at night to see a teenager they had heard a lot of good things about.

At the age of 14, he joined the Newell's Old Boys Academy, where he played as a central defender. Bielsa's ideas about intense football subsequently influenced his coaching philosophy.

Playing career: Argentina, Spain and France

In the late 1980s, Pochettino made his debut for the Newell's Old Boys main team. Under Bielsa's leadership, the club won the Argentine Championship in the 1990/91 season and the Clausura tournament in 1992, and also reached the final of the Copa Libertadores. In the decisive match, the Argentines lost to the Brazilian "Sao Paulo" in a penalty shootout.

In 1994, the defender moved to the Spanish Espanyol. There he quickly became a foundation player and eventually received the captain's armband. In 2000, the club won the Spanish Cup, defeating Atletico Madrid in the final. For Espanyol, this trophy was the first in 60 years.

In 2001, Pochettino moved to the French PSG, where he spent about two years. Then he played for Bordeaux, and in 2004 he returned to Espanyol. He won his second Spanish Cup with the Catalan team in 2006, after which he ended his playing career at the age of 34.

The defender played 20 matches for the national team of Argentina and scored two goals. He participated in the 1999 America's Cup and the 2002 World Championships in Japan and South Korea. At the World Championship, Pochettino played in three group stage matches; the Argentine team failed to qualify for the playoffs.

The beginning of coaching at Espanyol

After the end of his performances, Pochettino remained in the Espanyol system and worked with the youth: in January 2009, the management entrusted him with the main team, which occupied a place in the relegation zone of the Spanish championship.

Pochettino relied on active pressure, high intensity and strict organization of the game without the ball. At first, the results remained unstable, but in the final ten matches of the season, the team scored eight wins and rose to tenth place.

Espanyol finished eighth in the 2010/11 season. The coach actively attracted young people, but in the fall of 2012, after an unsuccessful start to the championship, he left the post. By that time, the clubs of the English Premier League (Premier League) had already become interested in his work.

Southampton and their first successes in England

In January 2013, Pochettino took over Southampton, replacing Nigel Adkins, who had previously led the team to the Premier League. At first, the appointment raised doubts among fans. The Argentine emphasized pressure and quick attacks. Adam Lallana, Luke Shaw and Jay Rodriguez have progressed under him. In the first season, the team retained its place in the Premier League.

In the 2013-14 championship, the team took eighth place, scoring 56 points — the club's best result in the history of the Premier League at that time. The successful work led to interest from Tottenham and in May 2014, Pochettino signed a contract with the Londoners.

Five years at Tottenham and the Champions League final

From 2014 to 2019, Pochettino led Tottenham Hotspur. This period was the most notable in his coaching career, as the Argentine built the team around a young core that included Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen, Son Heung-min.

Already in the first season, Spurs reached the final of the English League Cup, where they lost to Chelsea, and took fifth place in the Premier League. In the 2015/16 season, the team entered the championship race with Leicester, but eventually finished third. A year later, the Londoners became the second, behind only Chelsea, and set a club record for the most points in the Premier League draw — 86. Under Pochettino, Kane became one of Europe's leading strikers, and Tottenham regularly reached the Champions League, but the team never managed to win the trophy.

Tottenham achieved their main international success in the 2018/19 season. In the quarterfinals of the Champions League, the Londoners passed Manchester City, and in the semifinals they made a comeback against Ajax. After a 0-1 home defeat and two goals conceded in Amsterdam, the team won the second leg 3-2 thanks to Lucas Moura's hat-trick and advanced to the finals according to the away goal rule.

Tottenham played in the Champions League final for the first time in history, but lost to Liverpool with a score of 0:2. Already in the autumn, the results deteriorated sharply: after three wins in the first 12 league matches, the management fired Pochettino on November 19 and he was replaced by Jose Mourinho.

Work at PSG

In January 2021, Pochettino returned to PSG as head coach, replacing Thomas Tuchel. Neymar and Kylian Mbappe played for the Parisians, and Lionel Messi joined the team in the summer.

In his first month on the job, Pochettino won the French Super Cup. In the spring, PSG reached the semi-finals of the Champions League, where they lost to Manchester City, and won the French Cup. However, Lille won the national championship that season, beating Parisians by one point.

In the 2021/22 season, PSG won the French championship, but were eliminated from the Champions League in the 1/8 finals by Real Madrid. In July 2022, the club ended its cooperation with Pochettino.

Rebuilding at Chelsea

In the summer of 2023, Pochettino took charge of Chelsea at a time when the London club was undergoing a massive restructuring after a change of owners, actively acquired young players and took only 12th place in the previous season.

In the first months, the team lost points and had difficulties with implementation, but as the season progressed, Pochettino adjusted the game, and Cole Palmer became one of the leaders. In the 2023/24 season, Chelsea reached the final of the English League Cup, where they lost to Liverpool in extra time, and the semi-finals of the FA Cup, and in the championship the team won five final meetings in a row and rose to sixth place, securing participation in European competitions.

Despite the improved results, on May 21, 2024, the club announced the separation of Pochettino by mutual agreement. His only season at Chelsea ended with no trophies, but with the team making significant progress compared to the previous championship.

The U.S. national team and the 2026 World Cup

In September 2024, Pochettino took over the U.S. national team. In 2025, the Americans reached the final of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, and at the 2026 World Cup, the U.S. national team won its group. In the 1/16 finals, the Americans defeated Bosnia and Herzegovina 2-0, winning their first World Championship playoff match since 2002. However, in the 1/8 finals they lost to Belgium — 1:4. At the same time, the national team set a national record for the number of wins at a single World Cup.

On August 3, 2026, the U.S. Soccer Federation extended Pochettino's contract until 2030. Three months later, his name was again at the center of discussion in connection with a possible return to English club football.

Personal life

Pochettino is married to Karina Grippaldi, whom he met in Argentina. The couple married in 1994 and raised two sons, Sebastiano and Maurizio.

The elder works in the field of sports science and physical training, and collaborated with his father on several coaching staffs. The younger played professional football, including in the youth teams of English clubs.

Agreement with Manchester United

Manchester United fired Michael Carrick on November 12, 2026 after a disastrous start to the season. In ten Premier League matches, the team won only one victory, scored eight points and ended up in 18th place. At the same time, a few months earlier, Carrick led the Mancunians to the third line and into the Champions League, after which he received a permanent contract.

On the same day, journalists reported that the MU management had reached an agreement with Pochettino on a two—and–a-half-year contract until the summer of 2029, and the club itself must pay the US Soccer Federation about £7.4-7.5 million for the early termination of the coach's agreement, calculated until 2030.

Pochettino must complete the upcoming matches of the U.S. national team against Haiti in the CONCACAF Nations League, and then begin work in Manchester. His possible debut in his new post will be the Premier League away match with Liverpool on November 22.