'I had no doubt that Mauricio would not sign for Barcelona'

BeSoccer 5 years ago 1.9k
Mauricio Pochettino was linked to Barcelona after Valverde's dismissal. AFP

Mauricio Pochettino was linked to the FC Barcelona top job after Ernesto Valverde's departure. However, Luis García, once coached by the former Tottenham and Espanyol manager, said he had no doubts over Pochettino's allegiances.

Luis Garcia recently decided to hang up his boots and turn his football knowledge into tactics by becoming a coach himself. The former Espanyol player is currently coaching DAMM's team, a prestigious youth football club in Barcelona.

But in his younger years, he was once coached by Mauricio Pochettino, who was then at the start of his coaching career at the helm of Espanyol.

In an interview with Periscosonline Radio, the former played said he "had no doubt that Mauricio would not sign for Barcelona." 

"He already said so at the time, he would rather go back to his farm in Argentina than coach a few teams on a list. And in the list of teams sure there was Barça," recalled the former striker.

Finally, Luis Garcia was sympathetic to the Argentinean's loyalty to Espanyol: "There are coaches who have acknowledged having a strong emotional relationship with a club and it's okay to say so. It's hard not to feel the bug of 'Perico' feeling (how Espanyol fans call themselves). And he has it".

Mentioned in the news story

Barcelona
CF Damm U19