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FBL-EUR-C1-ESP-FRA-BARCELONA-PSG-POCHETTINO
Deprived of Neymar, PSG look to Pochettino to take down old foe Barcelona
PARIS, Feb 15, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – Paris Saint-Germain knew what they were
doing when they appointed Mauricio Pochettino as coach a little over six
weeks before renewing their rivalry with Barcelona in the Champions League
last 16.
Tuesday’s game at the Camp Nou will be the ninth between the sides in the
competition in eight years. History is on Barcelona’s side, and in the era of
the super club, going out in the first knockout round of Europe’s elite
competition is potentially disastrous.
PSG’s exit at the hands of Barcelona at this stage in 2017 was certainly
that, with an astonishing 6-1 second-leg demolition wiping out a 4-0 first-
leg advantage.
But the Qatar-owned club responded to that humiliation in stunning
fashion, by buying the architect of their downfall, paying Neymar’s release
clause for a world record fee of 222 million euros ($264m at the time) in a
move that caused consternation in the Catalan capital.
PSG’s hopes of gaining revenge over Barcelona on the pitch this time have
been hit by the injury to Neymar which rules the Brazilian out of the trip to
his old home, and could rule him out of the second leg on March 10 too.
However, the hope is that Pochettino can get the better of his old foes.
When it came to changing coach midway through this season, Pochettino was
a natural choice to replace the sacked Thomas Tuchel in many respects.
He is a former PSG captain, and was a free agent having previously done an
excellent job at Tottenham Hotspur.
– ‘Impossible to work for Barca’ –
Yet his relationship with Barcelona — or lack of it — also works in the
Argentine’s favour.
The 48-year-old spent a large chunk of his playing career in Catalonia,
but did so wearing the blue and white of Barcelona’s city rivals Espanyol. He
was part of two Copa del Rey winning sides at Espanyol, in 2000 and 2006.
Pochettino then began his coaching career when he took over a struggling
Espanyol team in early 2009. He quickly revived their fortunes and oversaw a
2-1 win over Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona in the Catalan derby at the Camp Nou.
That remains one of the finest results of his managerial career, for all
the sterling work he did at Tottenham, including taking them to the 2019
Champions League final. It also remains Espanyol’s only win away to Barca in
the last 39 years.
He left in 2012, but the ties to Espanyol remain strong.
“I would prefer to go and work on my farm in Argentina,” he famously joked
in 2018 when asked if he might ever coach Barcelona.
It was a theme he recently returned to during an interview with French
broadcaster RMC Sport.
“I have a real affection for Espanyol. I spent 12 years there as a player,
five as coach. Seventeen years of my footballing life,” he said.
“I have spent more time there than at any other club, and they gave me the
opportunity to become a coach. That is why, given the big rivalry, it would
be impossible for me to work for Barca.”
– Still finding his feet –
Yet for all that, Pochettino must know elimination at the hands of Lionel
Messi and co. would be a huge setback for him so early into his reign in
Paris.
He has won eight and drawn one of 10 games so far, but none of the teams
he has come up against yet are near the level even of the current Barcelona.
The absence of Neymar is an enormous blow, especially when added to that
of Angel di Maria. Marco Verratti is a doubt, and Pochettino is still trying
to put his stamp on the team.
Kylian Mbappe, with four goals in Pochettino’s 10 games, has not
consistently produced his electrifying best for some time. The new coach has
chopped and changed formations too.
“We want the team to be confident playing in different systems, but it’s
not always easy to get a lot of work done in just 40 days,” he insisted after
Saturday’s win against Nice.
“We have to be ready, and the team will be ready.”
BSS/AFP/MSY/0906 hrs