Tottenham Hotspur boss once admitted that he owes Marco Bielsa everything and even described the Leeds United manager as a second father (Guardian).
Bielsa discovered a young Pochettino when he was scouting for Argentinian side Newell’s Old Boys, coming to his house in the night and deciding the 13-year-old ‘looked like a footballer’.
Pochettino went on to play under Bielsa during his playing career at Newell’s Old Boys, Espanyol and for Argentina.
The pair have a long history in football and Bielsa’s influence has helped shape Pochettino’s career as both a player and manager – he moved to Rosario at 14 to train with Newell’s, breaking into the first team when Bielsa became manager in 1990, before moving to Europe to play for Espanyol, Paris Saint-Germain and Bordeaux. All 20 of his Argentina caps came under the leadership of Bielsa.
After Tottenham Hotspur’s heroics on Tuesday night which saw Pochettino guide his side into their first ever Champions League final, Bielsa was asked for his opinion.
“We were all full of emotions after the game,” Bielsa told Sky Sports News (09/05/2019 at 2:20 pm). “And I can imagine what he [Pochettino] felt because as a head coach [I understand].
“I think it was a special emotion for him and a deep emotion for him. The game [against Ajax] was a party of football.”
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