Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Roberto Pochettino has emerged as one of the most the most influential mangers in Europe. The 46-year-old Argentine had nine of his players appear in the World Cup semi-finals clash between England and Belgium. Not a bad achievement for a manager often criticized for not winning trophies during his tenure with the Spurs.

Mauricio Roberto “MoPo” Pochettino , as he is affectionately known, comes from a humble upbringing in an agricultural community in Murphy in Santa Fe Province, Argentina. At age 13 MoPo was personally recruited by Newell’s Old Boys Academy Director Don Jorge Griffa, and a pioneering coach Marcelo “El Loco” Bielsa. Don Griffa and “Profe” Bielsa drove to Murphy because they heard about a young prospect from their contacts in the area. They arrived at the Pochettino residence at 2AM hoping to get a look at the young prospect. As the rest of the story goes, Hector Pochettino let them in to see his sleeping son and Bielsa said “those are footballers legs” and the rest is history. MoPo was in the first team at Newell’s at 19 and adapted to European football and life in his early 20s. And now he’s is raising his profile in the English top flight.

MoPo had a fine football career that took him to Espanyol, Paris St. Germain, Bordeaux, and back to Espanyol. However, it is as a manager, with Espanyol, Southampton, and Tottenham where he is building his reputation as a top manager — specifically, his focus on youth development and a consistent push for the Premier League title and Champions League football for the third season in a row is noteworthy for a club not known for being heavy spenders and reliant on youth academy product. Golden Ball winner Harry Kane (CF), Harry Winks (DLP), Josh Onomah (CAM/CF), and Kyle Walker-Peters (RLWB) came through the Spurs Academy. Three years ago, England international Dele Alli was bought from League One outfit MK Dons for £6.6 million. His reputation for being a fierce competitor has caught the attention of top flight clubs in Spain and France.



MoPo demands his players to work hard and maintain strict discipline on and off the pitch. He has no qualms about demoting first team players to youth teams when they fall short of these expectations. Pochettino’s father, Hector, said Mauricio always had good work ethic — even as a child he’d travel from Rosario to the family farm in Murphy to help harvest crops. Growing up and working on the family farm influences MoPo’s approach to football management and how his team plays. Like a farmer who tends to each his crops until they reach maturity Tottenham’s manager from Murphy exemplifies that success can’t be measured by trophies alone.