As we mentioned earlier on Monday, all things looked like Mané would get his walking papers- and he did. The Basque coach was only able to win one game during his 49-day tenure. The lone win came at the hands of Polideportivo Ejido in the Copa del Rey.
In league play, Espanyol was able to win only three points out of 24 and they sank further in the standings. Even though club president Daniel Sánchez Llibre was not ready to make any drastic decisions regarding the coaching position, he found himself with no other choice but to let Mané go.
Enter Mauricio Pochettino stage left. Although they could have gone for coaches with lots more experience, the former Espanyol was the one they decided to go for. The former Argentine international is no stranger to this type of adversity as he arrived to Espanyol back in 2004 under the same pretenses. In that instance it would be his leadership that would be looked at as part of the reason why they avoided relegation.
For Espanyol, Pochettino is their version of another coach that made it big with very little experience. Yes, according to the Espanyol brass Pochettino could be their version of Josep Guardiola. I mean they come from similar coaching backgrounds.
I mean Guardiola coached the club’s second division side. Pochettino coaches the women’s side. They both won titles with their respective clubs, although Guardiola would have the slight edge over Pochettino in that category as well. Although their destinies do not seem to cross paths as of yet.
