Mauricio Pochettino, after a long time hearing his name next to every great bench that wobbled, found a place in Paris. PSG returned him to the ring, after his goodbye to Tottenham last year, and once settled in his new position and with his first title under his arm (the French Super Cup against Olympique de Marseille), he attended AS in an interview in which Real Madrid played a leading role. In Zidane's worst moments in front of the white ship, his name has come to the surface along with Raúl's as the maximum candidates to straighten out the course. AND It is not the first time that Pochettino has appeared in conversations with Madrid as a common thread.
Murphy's man was able to take the white bench in 2018, but his loyalty to Tottenham made him turn his back on the offer. “Loyalty and honesty are qualities that in life have to be ahead of many others”, confessed Enrique Ortego. Nevertheless, made it clear that not having opened the door to the Bernabéu at that time does not mean that he will not consider it in the future: “Things have to come when they have to. And they will come to you naturally, you cannot force them.”
Pochettino, Tony and Camacho, in training with Espanyol in 1998.
AS newspaper
And is that the relationship between Poche and the white team is something that has haunted the Argentine's mind for a long time. “I had the opportunity as a player to have signed for Madrid and it didn't happen for whatever reason”. Although he recognizes that there is a key person in this desire to end up occupying a place in white history, José Antonio Camacho. “When I arrived at Espanyol in 94, with Camacho, he always spoke to me about the culture, the mentality, what it meant to be part of a family like Real Madrid”, I recognized AS.
“It was always a goal to be able to play for Madrid”
And that feeling, that mentality that Camacho revealed to him installed a germ that even today remains within the PSG coach, as he himself points out: “It stuck in my head. Also later with Alfredo di Stéfano. Griffa threw more for Atlético. The more mature I was getting, the more Camacho's influence reached me. He represents the values of Madrid, as the club loves …“.
Three seasons, 1994-95, 1995-96 and 1997-98, and 94 games was the then central under the wing of the Madrid legend. Camacho even beat Griffa, his mentor, who would have preferred that Mauricio's love was in the mattress code instead of merengue. Although, yes, he instilled a way of understanding the sport that goes hand in hand with a phrase: “Let yourself go, football will take you where he wants”. And that's what Pochettino has done since he stopped commanding teams from defense to do it from the bench.
As a coach, Pochettino has crossed paths with Camacho again. Here in a Espanyol-Osasuna from 2010-11.
Carlos Mira (DAILY AS)
Patience. Murphy's flees from haste when making decisions. Thus it is understood that he has waited almost a year to return to training after his time at Tottenham. From 'his' Espanyol to Southampton. Of the Saints Tottenham and now at PSG. Firm but sure steps forward with a dream on the horizon, coaching the team whose values Camacho so strongly represented. “It was always a goal to be able to play for Real Madrid and when you can't fulfill that dream. One says, well, look, one day to be able to train Madrid … “.