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Mauricio Pochettino believes Most football coaches dream of a "1%" as good as his longtime coach, Pep Guardiola.
L & # 39; former The two rival teams from Espanyol and Barcelona will meet in the second leg match of the quarterfinal match of the Manchester City and Tottenham Champions League on Wednesday. with the Spurs taking a slim 1-0 lead at Etihad Stadium.
With the city's offer for a quadruple unprecedented on the line and Tottenham seeking to break new ground in the leading competition in Europe, the stakes are high but Pochettino was eager to reflect on the progress of the two men to join elite training in Catalonia ten years ago to the top of English football.
Spontaneous reference from Guardiola to Spurs as "Harry Kane team" last season seemed to cause some coolness on the part of Pochettino, but the Argentine tactician was in a relaxed mood in Manchester as he noted the common history enjoyed by the staff on both benches. "It's not more motivational or a bigger challenge [because of Barcelona and Espanyol]", he said at a pre-game press conference.
"The challenge is that Guardiola is one of the best managers in the world. "Of course, I'm a fan of Espanyol, I will support Espanyol. I played more than 10 years and I have been running Espanyol for almost five years. "He spent most of his career in Barcelona as a player and we started our coaching career at the same time.
"It makes special, the situation, because we have a good feeling between us. It's a good feeling that he has in his coaching team. Mikel Arteta or [club doctor] Eduardo Mauri or [fitness coach] Lorenzo Buenaventura are all good friends. "All these people are all good friends.It's the challenge, it's the motivation, but at the same time, it's nice to see them because we met in Barcelona playing a lot."
"Now we are in England, in Manchester and London, playing in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. For me it's a huge dream – for them maybe not too much – but for me it's a huge thing. " Pochettino then praised Guardiola's prolific career at the highest level. while noting that they have largely evolved into very different realities on their way to a well-prepared confrontation.
"I do not remember and sorry if I'm wrong, but I think he's won 24, 25 or 26 trophies during his career" he smiles. "I think he's the most successful manager in the last 10 years, for sure. There is not another like him, of course. "But for me, winning a title with Tottenham is a huge dream." Win 24 or 25 or 26 – I'm not sure – is more than a dream for any manager in the world. What he did in Barcelona, Bayern Munich and now Manchester City is incredible. This shows its quality and quality. "
Pochettino adds: "Of course, for us it is not easy. I think we measure our success, with different coaches winning different things. "I think Espanyol, Southampton and Tottenham are different projects from Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City. We need to set our goals at a different level. "But of course, any trainer can dream of being perhaps 1% as efficient as Guardiola. "
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