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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Sport
Sports Staff

Mauricio Pochettino: I miss football and I’m ready to return to management

Photograph: Sky Sports

Mauricio Pochettino says he is missing life as a football manager and is ready to return to the game.

Pochettino has been out of a job since he was sacked by Tottenham Hotspur last November and replaced by Jose Mourinho.

Speaking as a guest on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football show, the 48-year-old said life in football is "not a stress" and he is looking forward to returning soon.

“I am looking forward to be involved in the game, I love the game,” Pochettino said. “We are inside, working, but it’s not the same as being involved every day. Working with your staff, working with players – always you miss that, that’s the reality.

“I love football, it’s my passion, not my job. It’s not a stress to work in football. It’s not a stress to go to training. It’s not a stress to prepare the team. It’s not a stress to compete.”

Pochettino was on the show ahead of Leeds United vs Leicester City, and also heaped praise on his friend and mentor Marcelo Bielsa, the Leeds manager.

“When I played for Bielsa at Newell's Reserves, he was ahead of everyone,” Pochettino remembered. "Remember there was no internet. But for every game we knew the formation & tactics that our opponents would play because Marcelo bought every newspaper in the country to study the teams". 

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