Mauricio Pochettino: ‘I would not change Spurs for another job in the world’

By any reckoning, it was an unusual way to celebrate. Mauricio Pochettino reached for a Halloween cookie that had been baked by his wife, Karina, and a dram of the Japanese whisky that had been a present from his assistant, Jesús Pérez. And he tried to process what had happened.

It was late on Wednesday night, Pochettino’s Tottenham had just beaten Real Madrid 3-1 at Wembley in the Champions League – the most eye-catching result of his managerial career – and he was back at home, alone with his thoughts and little treats. Pochettino clicked on a phone message from Pérez, the man he describes as his brother and who can generally be relied upon for perspective and profound comment. It began to sink in.

“Jesús sent me a very kind message,” Pochettino says. “Sometimes, we don’t stop to realise what we are doing, but, in that moment, it touched me. I just messaged him back to say: ‘Thank you. You are a craque. You are top.’ I took a Halloween cookie and a bit of whisky and I put my iPad on the bed. I listened to some Spanish radio about politics in Catalonia. Then, I went to sleep.”

Pochettino feels that a part of him will forever be in Catalonia; he lived in Barcelona during his time as a player and the manager of Espanyol. He has closely followed the situation in the region, as has Pérez, who was born in Barcelona.

But since Thursday morning, Pochettino has been sucked in by football politics. Tottenham’s humbling of a team that was already on the edge of crisis sent the Madrid media into meltdown and you know how it goes from here. The day before the game, Pochettino had predicted that Dele Alli’s best form was coming. The attacking midfielder would be the hero against Real, scoring two goals.

The icy blast of the Madrid rumour mill has now been felt. Zinedine Zidane is in trouble and the club have identified Pochettino as a potential successor to the Real manager. The Argentinian had already aced the first audition two weeks earlier, in the first Champions League Group H meeting between the clubs, when he showed his tactical flexibility and his team left the Bernabéu with a 1-1 draw. The Wembley win was something else and Zidane was magnanimous enough to say Spurs had been superior.

How does it feel to be discussed as a Madrid manager-in-waiting? Pochettino has previously made it plain that, because of his Espanyol history, he could never manage Barcelona. Pride is one of the emotions. “When you win against Real Madrid or have good results in the Champions League or the Premier League, it’s normal that we are in the spotlight if a big club wanted to change something inside,” he says.

“For me, it only produces a big satisfaction. I feel proud about Tottenham and I feel proud about the players. In the end, that situation happens because the players are performing well, scoring goals and we are winning games.”

Pochettino is sufficiently streetwise to know suitors are a good thing; they represent validation and no one in any walk of life is advised to chase them away. “I don’t want to lie,” he says. “Always, I want to be honest and I say: ‘I don’t think about tomorrow. I don’t think about next season.’ Because it doesn’t depend only on me, it depends on many circumstances. And it’s so important to be respectful and prudent, cautious and intelligent.”

It is when Pochettino considers what he has at Tottenham, what he is building, that the music starts to play in the ears of the club’s fans – and those of Daniel Levy, too. The chairman has hit the jackpot with a manager who does not demand massive transfer budgets and is happier to make the difference with his coaching and man management, with nurturing homegrown players.

“The most important club in the world is Tottenham,” Pochettino says. “And it is the best club in the world. I need to feel like this and that emotion is real because I cannot be fake. It’s too difficult to create the trust if you don’t really believe and it’s not real, that emotion. Today, Tottenham is in my head 100%. Today, I do not change Tottenham for another position in the world because I am so involved, so focused.

“The club deserves to have people that think only about the club, the fans, the players and the structures – and they provide us with an unbelievable life. It’s important to recognise that. It’s an amazing club and it’s so important for us to pay back the club for the way that they treat us.”

Pochettino said after the Madrid victory that Spurs had proved they belonged at the elite level and he is adamant that he can achieve his ambitions with them. Why? Because he believes in Levy, in the project and, above all, in the overarching notion of the journey.

It almost ended before it started in earnest and Pochettino will always look back on the league fixture at Aston Villa in November 2014 as the turning point. Tottenham had travelled to the Midlands in 12th place and had they lost Pochettino feared it would have been the end for him and his staff. Instead, Harry Kane came on for Emmanuel Adebayor and he scored with a last-gasp deflected free-kick for a 2-1 come-from-behind win. Kane would replace Adebayor in the starting lineup thereafter.

The trends have since been upwards and when there have been setbacks Pochettino and his squad have found the means to recover. He was bitterly disappointed at the Champions League group stage failure last season. This time out, they have qualified for the last 16 after four games. Pochettino had found a collectively weak mentality when he took charge. Now, the players bristle with conviction.

“Before I arrived to Tottenham, everyone said to me: ‘It’s so difficult to have a very good relationship with Daniel,’” Pochettino says. “But I have discovered a great man. I feel that he trusts in me and I trust him. I don’t care what happens around myself because I know very well that I am so happy here and we have a great relationship.

“It’s not about winning or losing – it’s about trust. And when you achieve that at a club like Tottenham, with massive potential, you have to create something together. You have to create a project. I believe in what we are doing and I believe we can build a fantastic team that can achieve all that we dream.”

Pochettino speaks of the excitement that everyone connected to the club can feel about the new stadium, which is being built adjacent to White Hart Lane and should be ready for the beginning of next season. He has previously said that he has started to think about the first match there, but, for him, it is not so much the reality of the 61,000-seat venue. “It’s more to enjoy the journey [to it] with Daniel,” he says. “I speak every day with him and you feel how he cares about everything. It is impossible not to feel proud and be excited about the future of Tottenham.

“That is the key. It is not only the facilities, it is how Daniel is driving that project. A few weeks ago, myself, Jesús and my staff were at the new stadium with Daniel and the architect, and you can feel that it is not just an empty structure – there is a soul and love; there is care in every single detail. That is what excites me the most.”

Pochettino, whose side face the different challenge of Crystal Palace at home on Sunday and then an away north London derby after the international break, can only speculate on how a manager’s life might be at Madrid, but it seems clear that there would be fundamental differences to his job spec at Spurs. “I cannot speak because I was never at that type of club,” Pochettino says. “I can only guess.

“If you read my book [Brave New World], you will understand that maybe I am not a person in football whose motivation is only himself. I love to work and feel part of the project; to share and create something special. I feel very important at Tottenham, very comfortable and I enjoy the journey a lot. Today, I don’t think about a future elsewhere.”