Mauricio Pochettino, the USMNT coach, has a rare Maradona story from his playing days: he shared a room with Diego Maradona at Newell's Old Boys before leaving for Spain in 1994. The recollection adds a direct line between his childhood idol and the defender who later became known for his tactical nous.
Newell's Old Boys and Maradona
Pochettino said, "There was always a big picture on my wall where I sleep. Every day, every night, I saw him," and later described the shock of meeting him in the same dressing room. "One day I meet him and then one day I sleep with him! It's so difficult to express it. It's an emotional feeling for me."
That overlap came after Maradona joined Newell's Old Boys in 1993. Pochettino was already in the club's ranks, part of a six-year stretch that began in the youth academy and produced eight goals in 153 appearances.
Six years before Spain
Newell's Old Boys won the national championship and the Clausura during that spell, and the club also reached the 1992 Copa Libertadores final before losing on penalties to Sao Paolo. Pochettino later joined Espanyol ahead of the 1994-95 season, ending his time in Argentina after the Maradona season had already changed the feel of the squad.
He also said, "I always keep Diego in private in my mind," and, "I love him. I love everything about him. I knew Maradona, the real Maradona." The admiration carried its own edge: Maradona's brilliance sat alongside a 15-month ban after a failed drug test, a reminder that the figure Pochettino idolized was never a simple one.
Pochettino's playing path
Pochettino's career later took him across Barcelona, where he spent eight seasons in two spells, and into France for a three-year term with PSG and Bordeaux. He retired in 2006 at the age of 34, then started coaching soon afterward.
How many matches he played for Argentina is not stated, but the Maradona link gives his early career a sharper frame: the USMNT coach was not just near one of the game's most famous players, he slept under his picture before sharing a room with him at Newell's Old Boys.
