The arrival of Mauricio Pochettino as the new coach of Paris Saint-Germain is official. The Argentine signed a contract until June 2022 with the option of an additional year.
Pochettino will start his training session with the capital club in preparation for their fixture against AS Saint-Étienne. Much has been said about this new integration into Les Parisiens, and former PSG defender Cristóbal Parralo spoke about his former teammate, who he played alongside for two years between 2001-03.
Parralo, in an interview with Le Parisien, assures that the return of the former Parisian captain to occupy the coach’s bench of the Parisian team will be something positive.
“His arrival at PSG is a good thing. He is a coach who has proven himself, and I am sure it is a great chance for PSG to have him in charge. Because he has already demonstrated his abilities in two major championships like Spain and England,” Parralo said.
“He set up and led a great project at Tottenham and reached the Champions League final. In addition, as a former player of PSG, he knows the club well. I am convinced that he can do a good job.”
The former PSG defender believes that Pochettino is in the flat ability to direct the high-level players that make up the squad.
“Today it’s difficult to coach any big club because of the very high demands,” Parralo said. “Paris has reached the Champions League final and now want to win it. For several years, they have set up a “champion project” to win it. And they have players who stand out like Neymar, Mbappé, Di Maria. I believe that it is normal for the leaders to make big decisions to make profitable the investments which they made with these big players.”
Parralo’s confidence and admiration for his former teammate are great that he even believes that, with him on the bench, the team from the capital city has an excellent opportunity to win the Champions League:
“I’m sure that with him Paris can win the Champions League, yes. He is someone with obvious ideas and a lot of personalities,” Parralo said. “He knows how to manage a locker room. And that’s important in a team that has so many current football stars. He has the character and the authority to unite the egos that there may be in such a locker room.”
The former full-back took the opportunity to thank the fans, which marked him the most during his two years in Paris.
“More than anything, it’s the tremendous support from the supporters. Playing at the Park in this atmosphere. It really surprised me,” Parralo said.
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