Football
Dan Kilpatrick, Tottenham Correspondent 7y

Mauricio Pochettino hopes to coach Newell's Old Boys and Argentina

Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino has told TyC Sports he would one day like to coach Newell's Old Boys, the club where he started his playing career, and the Argentina national team in the future.

Pochettino joined Newell's as a teenager after the club's then-manager Marcelo Bielsa travelled to his hometown and, the story goes, inspected the youngster's legs in the dead of night.

He played for the club for five years before moving to Espanyol in 1994, and the 45-year-old has spent the rest of his playing and coaching career in Europe.

"I would love to return to Argentina one day and to coach Newell's and the national team," Pochettino said. "There's a big gap between coaching there [Argentina] and coaching in Europe. It's very complicated to turn back but at some point, I will do so."

Bielsa is one of the most influential coaches in history and 10 of his 23-man Newell's squad to reach the 1992 Copa Libertadores final, including Pochettino, went on to become coaches.

Three of his most successful students -- Pochettino, Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone and former Barcelona and Argentina coach Tata Martino -- apply many of the same methods as Bielsa.

"I've known him since I was 13 and for me he is one of the best coaches in the world," Pochettino said. "What I most value about him is that he was able to inspire a generation of coaches so that each of us found our path." 

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