LONDON - Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino revealed on Friday morning (Jan 11) that he was among the 90,245 fans who packed Barcelona's Nou Camp stadium in 1999 to watch Manchester United's fabled 2-1 Champions League final win over Bayern Munich.
And while he insisted he was a neutral - he was a player at Espanyol then - the 46-year-old Argentinian admitted he was thrilled when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer scored the winning goal deep in injury time.
Pochettino and Solskjaer will be opposite each other on the touchline when Spurs take on United in their Premier League clash at Wembley on Sunday.
"I have good memories (of Solskjaer) because I was there in Camp Nou with Toni Jimenez (former Espanyol teammate) who is now my goalkeeping coach, when he scored after 90 minutes," said the Spurs manager.
"And how I shouted at the goal of Manchester United was unbelievable. We were neutrals watching a fantastic game... so I have good memories of him from 20 years ago, and now we are going to play United at Wembley."
Sunday's clash promises to be an exciting affair between two in-form teams.
Spurs have won nine of their last 11 games in all competitions, with the only defeat being a surprise 3-1 reverse at home to Wolves.
Â
Â
United, meanwhile, under the charge of caretaker manager Solskjaer, have won five in a row after sacking Jose Mourinho.
Pochettino said he was predicting a tough game that would be "very nice to watch", and declined to say what he felt had changed about United since Mourinho left.
"I have huge respect for Mourinho and Solskjaer, and I cannot talk about what happened (at United)," he said.
"I can only judge the team today, and they are in very good form. To win five games, you build your confidence and self-belief, and ego too. We are going to compete in our best way, I am sure, and it will be tough."
Mauricio Pochettino's former team-mate on why he is backing Liverpool over Spurs in Madrid. Mauricio Pochettino will not have the support of a former team-mate in the Champions League final as Tottenham take on Liverpool
Footy Fans - Latest football news - Page 3
Liverpool send classy message to Spurs after Champions League triumph against Pochettino's men A video posted by BT Sport shows footage of Henderson going up to Tottenham striker Harry Kane and Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino as Liverpool's players and fans celebrated inside the stadium.
Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino 'disappointed' with Premier
Pochettino could be a United manager." Tottenham play the second leg of their Champions League semi-final against Ajax on Wednesday as they look to overturn Goal Fantasy Football; Goal
Mauricio Pochettino's former team-mate on why he is backing
Spurs are back in Champions League action at Wembley on Wednesday. Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino says he is "a little disappointed" with the Premier League for making his side play on Sunday
Spurs' Pochettino: I made difficult choice to turn down Real
global.espn.com/football/tottenham-hotspur/story/3846455/spurs-pochettino-i-made-difficult-choice-to-turn-down-real-madrid
Pochettino's side defeated Ajax Amsterdam 3-2 (3-3 on aggregate) in dramatic fashion on Wednesday in their Champions League semifinal second leg, advancing to the June 1 final in Madrid against Liverpool, but the Argentine said he had the chance to move to the Spanish capital permanently.
'Pochettino could be a United manager' - Berbatov - goal.com
Champions League final: Manchester United were linked with Mauricio Pochettino, but he thinks success will matter more at Tottenham than Old Trafford.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's heroes welcomed home by fans in Manchester
desdelabanda.com/2019/01/14/ole-gunnar-solskjaers-heroes-welcomed-home-by-fans-in/
Football: Spurs' Pochettino recalls how he cheered United counterpart Solskjaer's 1999 Champions League final goal However, he was regularly restricted to substitute appearances after Jose Mourinho replaced Van Gaal as manager later that year, and was often asked to play in a left-sided role, with Romelu Lukaku as the central attacker.
Pochettino: Spurs must 'trust the universe' for Champions
Pochettino: Success means more Spurs than Man United | Goal.com
Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino says his team must play with the freedom of their youth to overcome Liverpool in the Champions League final on Saturday night, adding they will need
Tottenham v Liverpool Champions League final will be 'amazing
In any case, he was born in 1977 and is forty-one years of age. He spent seven years at Skills F.C. in the Saint Croix Soccer League - there are two separate leagues in the Virgin Islands for mainly geographic reasons. He now plays for Rovers in the same league, he's a goalkeeper, and that's about all there is to know.
Mauricio Pochettino is anticipating an "amazing" all-English Champions League final after his Tottenham side took inspiration from Liverpool to stage an incredible comeback to beat Ajax. Lucas
'Respect' - Liverpool and Spurs fans react - football.london
No comments:
Post a Comment