With Mauricio Pochettino set to be announced as Chelsea’s new manager very soon, Frank Leboeuf has spoken glowingly about his experience playing against the Argentine.
Writing in his exclusive Chelsea column for Si & Dan Talks Chelsea, Leboeuf was full of respect for the Argentine when reminiscing about their battles together during their playing careers in France.
“I absolutely wish Pochettino the best. I played against him when he was captain of PSG and I was captain of Marseille – so there was a big rivalry. He had his long hair! He’s somebody I always consider to be one of the best centre-backs that I played against. He was a strong guy, tough, a warrior, and had a good mentality.”
The former Tottenham boss is expected to be announced as Chelsea’s new manager very soon, with Simon Phillips saying that the 51-year old was in London yesterday to put the finishing touches on his Stamford Bridge deal.
Leboeuf and Pochettino both spent three years at Marseille and PSG respectively from 2001 to 2003, and the former continued to speak highly about his then-footballing counterpart, praising his intellect in the game and saying that he hopes Pochettino can make a big impact in South West London.
“I found him very smart the way he thinks about football when he talks and he is a very interesting guy. Hopefully he is going to bring what we are expecting from him at Chelsea – success.”
Pochettino has actually already been announced as the manager of a football team ahead of this weekend, with Soccer Aid revealing that he will take charge of the World XI team for their match against England at Old Trafford on June 11th.
Will Chelsea make it two Pochettino appointments in the space of a couple of days and announce his arrival at Stamford Bridge this weekend? Blues fans will certainly hope so as they long for the stress of Chelsea’s managerial hunt to be put to rest after a month of exhausting speculation.