Mauricio Pochettino

Mauricio Roberto Pochettino Trossero (Spanish pronunciation: [mauˈɾisjo potʃeˈtino], Italian: [poketˈtino]; born 2 March 1972) is an Argentine professional football manager and former player, who was most recently the manager of Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur. As a centre-back, he spent 17 years as a professional player, ten of which were in La Liga with Espanyol where he scored 13 goals in 275 games and won two Copa del Rey trophies. He also played in France for two clubs, Paris Saint-Germain and Bordeaux, having started his career with Newell's Old Boys. An Argentina international for three years, he represented the country at the 2002 FIFA World Cup and the 1999 Copa América and was capped 20 times. Pochettino began his managerial career at Espanyol in January 2009, remaining in the post for nearly four years. He then managed in the Premier League, first with Southampton where he led them to an eighth-place finish in the 2013–14 season – their highest league position since 2002–03, while also recording their highest points tally since the Premier League began in 1992–93. Following one season at Southampton, he became the new manager of Tottenham, whom he led to top-three finishes in three of his first four seasons. In 2019, Pochettino led Tottenham to the Champions League final for the first time in the club's history. He was relieved of his duties in November the same year.