Mauricio Pochettino a surprise guest at Griffin Park for Brentford vs Leeds

Mauricio Pochettino and Marcelo Bielsa go a long way back. After all, the ex-Spurs man was Bielsa’s pupil when he was playing at Newell’s Old Boys and the Argentine learned a great deal from him.

In an exclusive interview with Gazzetta dello Sport published back in 2018 (via Sport Witness), the former Tottenham Hotspur boss described Bielsa as a father figure and hailed his influence.

“He’s like my second father. We were also together at Espanyol and in the national team. I owe him everything.”

And Pochettino was recently in attendance for Leeds United’s Tuesday night draw against Brentford at Griffin Park, watching on from the stands as one of his footballing inspirations prowled the touchline.

Mauricio Pochettino at Griffin Park 👀 Watch live now on the Sky Sports Football red button 🔴 pic.twitter.com/ryw6YBvTo8 — Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) February 11, 2020

Chris Hughton was also in attendance and Pochettino, 47, enjoyed a brief conversation with the former Brighton manager before taking his seat.

Bielsa has now tallied just one win in the last seven Championship clashes and the situation is getting perpetually more concerning for the Argentine gaffer.

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Of course, we don’t know the real reason behind Pochettino’s visit but it could be that he was catching up with an old friend or simply enjoying some good football during his break from management.

Besides, even though the results are not really going in Bielsa’s favour right now, a young coach like Pochettino can still learn an awful lot by studying his former boss’ tactics.

In other news, many Leeds fans had their say on Jean-Kevin Augustin’s cameo against Brentford…