Saturday 14 / December / 2024
Paris: Paris Saint Germain's (PSG) newly-appointed manager Mauricio Pochettino said he is excited to take the charge of "one of the biggest clubs in the world" and believes that the club's "fantastic squad" has the capability to lift trophies.
The 48-year-old, Pochettino, has a history at PSG where, as a centre-back and club captain, he made 95 appearances for the Rouge and Bleu between 2001 and 2003, scoring six goals. "I think it's so exciting to be here and start to build this relationship again. And I always followed Paris Saint-Germain after playing here. I always had very good relationship with the fans, with the supporters. Paris is one of the biggest clubs in the world, and in a club like this, the win is not enough. You need to win of course but by playing well. The players here are some of the best here, they are the main actors and they need to love what they do on the pitch, it's really important," the club's official website quoted Pochettino as saying.
Pochettino came through the ranks at Newell's Old Boys in his native Argentina, before moving to Europe to play for Espanyol FC and then PSG. Born in Murphy, Argentina, he won 20 caps and scored 2 goals for his country, and his fighting spirit made him a favorite of the Parc des Princes crowd during his 30 months in Paris.
Reflecting on the current playing squad of PSG, Pochettino said: "In this club, it's always been about excellence, the players have to deserve to wear the jersey. I think that it's a fantastic squad and I think that we can accomplish what this club and the players want because they are competitors and they want to lift trophies."
He also said: "Our main goal is to make sure everyone is heading in the same direction. We want to put a mentality in place, a philosophy, and that everyone takes part. The idea is for everyone to want to win for the club more than anything else. We want to be a strong club with a strong structure."
Sitting third on the Ligue 1 standings, PSG will take on St-Etienne on Thursday.
