Tottenham’s Pochettino Shares the Same Values as Pep Guardiola
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino has returned the favor by praising his counterpart, Pep Guardiola, ahead of Sunday’s match-up at White Hart Lane.
In a sign of respect for his fellow manager, Pep Guardiola offered high praise for Mauricio Pochettino and Tottenham’s style of play yesterday, leading up to Sunday’s clash of the last two remaining undefeated teams in the Premier League.
The Spanish boss took notice of Spurs last year when they were challenging for the league title alongside Leicester City, and although they tailed off at the very end, Tottenham’s aggressiveness with or without the ball caught the 45-year-old’s eye.
“I enjoy watching Tottenham since last year, and I think he [Pochettino] is doing an amazing job,” Guardiola said at his press conference. “The way they play, I like a lot. He is aggressive without the ball. Last season they were there to be champions till the last few weeks and they are playing a high level again.”
“When you watch Tottenham you can enjoy it. They are active in their game, not reactive. They want to be protagonists. They don’t wait. They want to create their own game. That’s why I like them. When I saw against CSKA Moscow and against Middlesbrough, I like the way they played.”
Two years ago Mauricio Pochettino was named Tottenham manager and he has been building a project that continues to improve with each passing season.
The Argentine coach has gotten praise from the media, fans and fellow managers alike. Pep Guardiola is the latest person to congratulate Pochettino on what he has done in a short amount of time.
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Though while Guardiola has enjoyed Spurs’ brand of football, Pochettino feels that they both share the same values as coaches on the pitch
“It’s about football, that’s most important,” Pochettino said on Spurs’ official website. “Guardiola has a great philosophy of football, to enjoy football, to play along the grass, like us. I think we share a lot of values on the pitch.”
Because the two are very like-minded, a change of tactics could surprise the Spaniard even if their last meeting as managers happened four years ago in La Liga (Pochettino’s Espanyol versus Guardiola’s Barcelona).
But Mauricio Pochettino dismissed that thought quickly opting to continue playing the way his side have always done, by playing in their own way.
“We approach this match the same,” Pochettino said. “We analyse every opponent, each one is different, but we always try to play in our way, that’s the most important thing. We always need to know about our opponents but at the end, our approach is the same.”
“It’s an important game but it’s only the beginning of the season. It’s true we want to win and that we will need to be at our best because we play against a team that is one of the best in England so far, but there are a lot of games to play.”
With plenty on the line this early in the season, Pochettino is excited to see how Spurs match up against Manchester City who once again boast an impressive squad — despite both teams suffering key injuries at the moment.
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“It’s a very exciting game for everyone,” Mauricio Pochettino added. “They are top of the table, we are second. It’s a fantastic opportunity to enjoy this game.” (Editor’s note: Spurs are now third, Liverpool are in second place as of this writing.)
“We know Pep is an unbelievable manager, one of the best in the world and it’s a great opportunity for us, a good challenge to compete with one of the best teams in England and we’re all excited.”
Last season Tottenham managed to pull off the double in Manuel Pellegrini’s final season as Man City’s manager. Trying to repeat that feat will much more difficult but Spurs have a chance to at least earn a draw as they host the league leaders tomorrow afternoon.