Copy linkFacebookXPinterestEmailShare this article 0Join the conversationFollow usAdd us as a preferred source on GoogleNewsletterFour Four TwoGet FourFourTwo NewsletterThe best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.Become a Member in Seconds Unlock instant access to exclusive member features.Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.You are now subscribedYour newsletter sign-up was successfulWant to add more newsletters?Five times a weekFourFourTwo DailyFantastic football content straight to your inbox! From the latest transfer news, quizzes, videos, features and interviews with the biggest names in the game, plus lots more.Signup +Once a week...And its LIVE!Sign up to our FREE live football newsletter, tracking all of the biggest games available to watch on the device of your choice. Never miss a kick-off!Signup +Join the clubGet full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards.Explore An account already exists for this email address, please log in.Subscribe to our newsletterAs Mauricio Pochettino prepares to lead the United States into a World Cup on home soil, the former Tottenham boss may well want to reflect on the unique career path that has led him to this point.Its one that began in a small town in Argentina more than 40 years ago in the middle of the night, thanks to one of the rival coaches at this summers World Cup.At the centre of this story is the famously obsessive and eccentric Marcelo Bielsa, a man whose influence looms large over Pochettinos career as both a player and a manager. You may like Mauricio Pochettino exclusive: USMNT boss reveals details of high-level Manchester United meeting Marcelo Bielsa could be on verge of sack after England friendly - and before Uruguay head to World Cup Mauricio Pochettino exclusive: 'Tottenham feels like home. Of course Id go back if the conditions were right' Pochettino on being discovered by BielsaThe story of Pochettinos midnight discovery by Bielsa has gone down in football folklore, but are the tales of the future Leeds United boss seeking out the 13-year-old Pochettino in the middle of the night true or a mere apocryphal story?Bielsa was accompanying Jorge Griffa, director of the Newells Old Boys academy, Pochettino explains to FourFourTwo. They created a scouting network across Argentina, which no club had done before.People who worked for them near Murphy told them about a player with the name Pochettino. At midnight, in the middle of winter, after watching hundreds of players, Marcelo said, Lets go back to Rosario. Griffa replied, First, we have to stop in Murphy.Back then, there was no Google Maps. They arrived at 1am, the streets were empty except for stray dogs. They went to a petrol station, were told where I lived and knocked on the door.Get FourFourTwo NewsletterThe best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.My parents were frightened, but my father knew Griffa, and they said they wanted me to go for a trial, then asked to see me. My mother proudly pulled back the blankets, and Bielsa said, What footballers legs.Pochettino would then rise through the ranks under Bielsa at Newells Old Boys, graduating to the first team, where he would make more than 150 appearances before moving to Europe with Espanyol.On my first day training in Rosario, Bielsa told me Id play with a team two years older than me, the former centre-back says of working under the Argentine. After three minutes, he took me off. I was asking myself what Id done wrong. He was sitting on a ball, and told me he wanted me to play in a Latin American tournament in Mar del Plata, then sign for the club. He said, I have nothing more to say, go and take a shower theyll give you a ticket back to your town afterwards. He watched me for three minutes and that was enough.Bielsa means a great deal to me Im emotionally shaped by everything he did for me. More than a teacher, he was someone who pushed you to discover new things.Pochettino hung up his boots in 2006 after a playing career which saw him play in four countries, winning domestic and European titles and earn 20 caps for his country. He began his managerial career with Espanyol in 2009 and admits that this move into coaching was inspired by his former boss.He planted the seed in our minds, he says. Everyone follows their own path, but its no coincidence so many of us with Bielsa at Newells discovered our vocation on the touchline.TOPICSMauricio PochettinoMarcelo BielsaUnited StatesUruguayWorld Cup 2026Joe MewisSocial Links NavigationFor more than a decade, Joe Mewis has worked in football journalism as a reporter and editor. Mewis has had stints at Mirror Football and LeedsLive among others and worked at FourFourTwo throughout Euro 2024, reporting on the tournament. In addition to his journalist work, Mewis is also the author of four football history books that include times on Leeds United and the England national team. Now working as a digital marketing coordinator at Harrogate Town, too, Mewis counts some of his best career moments as being in the iconic Spygate press conference under Marcelo Bielsa and seeing his beloved Leeds lift the Championship trophy during lockdown.With contributions fromDani Gil
