Name: Mauricio Pochettino

Full name: Mauricio Roberto Pochettino Trossero

Date of birth: 2 March 1972

Place of birth: Murphy, Santa Fe, Argentina

Nationality: Argentine

Playing position: Central defender / Defensive midfielder

Playing career (selected):

• Newell's Old Boys (Argentina) — youth and senior debut club; played 1989–1994 and returned 2000–2002.
• Espanyol (RCD Espanyol, Spain) — 1994–2000. Pochettino made over 200 appearances for Espanyol across his spells and became well regarded for his leadership and defensive abilities.
• Paris Saint-Germain (France) — 2001–2003; had a loan back to Newell's during part of his later career.
• Bookmark: Pochettino retired as a player in 2006.

International career:

• Argentina national team — earned caps in the mid-to-late 1990s, including appearances in Copa América and qualifiers.

Notable attributes as a player:

• Strong positional sense and anticipation
• Good aerial ability and tackling
• Leadership on the field — often captained teams

Transition to coaching (brief):

• After retiring, Pochettino became a coach and gained prominence managing Espanyol, Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur and later Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain among others.

Legacy: Remembered by Espanyol fans as an important and influential player during the 1990s, later achieving greater international renown as a manager.