How Pochettino beat Pep

Mauricio Pochettino’s managerial career began with Espanyol in 2009, with his first win coming soon after. Remarkably, it was against Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona in the Camp Nou. Ahead of Tottenham’s clash with Manchester City, Adam Bate revisits the story…

“I don’t know how we did it,” said Mauricio Pochettino, recalling the night in February 2009 when he secured the first win of his coaching career. “Espanyol were bottom and Barcelona were top, and all the people were saying Espanyol were dead and had no chance. It was a special victory and an unbelievable memory.”

Unbelievable is a good word for it. Barcelona went into the weekend 10 points clear at the top of La Liga and new coach Pep Guardiola had yet to be beaten in the competition in front of his own fans. This would prove to be his first ever defeat there and Espanyol’s first win in the city’s derby anywhere for 27 years.

Barcelona were in awesome form. Valencia had already shipped four at the Camp Nou. Almeria and Deportivo had both been beaten 5-0 and even Atletico Madrid had been hit for six. By the end of the year, Barca had won not only La Liga but the Copa del Rey, Champions League, European Super Cup, Spanish Super Cup and Club World Cup.

Espanyol, meanwhile, were struggling badly. The city’s other side, known as the Parakeets, had gone 14 league games without a victory – that solitary win over Osasuna itself bringing a six-game winless streak to an end. Bartolome ‘Tintin’ Marquez was sacked for the first run. Successor Mane paid the price for the second.

In January, with the club five points from safety and desperate to stay in the top division ahead of their long-awaited summer move to a new stadium, they turned to former defender Mauricio Pochettino for help. A committed and thoughtful figure, he’d been a student of the celebrated Argentine coach Marcelo Bielsa.

Nevertheless, it was a gamble. This was the 36-year-old’s first job in management. He’d left as a player only three years earlier. Quickly he set about instilling discipline. Player liaison officer Dani Ballart, an Olympic gold medallist in water polo, was soon sacked for his involvement in …

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