Tottenham Hotspur coach Mauricio Pochettino has told SFR Sport that Paris Saint-Germain are "my team" after his spell there as a player.

Pochettino played for PSG between 2001 and 2003, becoming captain during that period.

He said he watches Ligue 1 football as often as possible and retains great admiration for his former employers.

"I try to watch all I can. And of course, PSG," he said. "My team is PSG -- I love PSG. I spent nearly three years there.

"I spent some time, six months, with Bordeaux too but I was captain at PSG and that will always be special for me."

Asked who he would like to see win next week's Champions League round of 16 game between PSG and Barcelona, Pochettino said: "Of course, PSG!

"It will be a good game. Maybe I would like to go to Paris to watch the game -- it will be a fantastic game."

Pochettino recalled his disastrous home debut for PSG at Parc des Princes when a Djibril Cisse-inspired Auxerre side inflicted a 4-0 defeat.

"I did not know the striker Cisse," Pochettino explained. "He started to run and I needed mirrors [to see where he was going]!

"What happened? 0-4! It was my first game at Parc des Princes. I remember the supporters. We were waiting in the changing room. We could not leave because the supporters wanted to kill us.

"I was like, 'wow!' In Spain I was very relaxed, easy, you know captain of Espanyol. I said to myself: 'Now this is a nightmare.'"

Many in Paris see Pochettino as the man PSG want to lead their lavish project long-term, but he is contracted to Tottenham until 2021.