Mauricio draws on final experience

Mauricio Pochettino can draw on cup-winning experience as a player as we head into Sunday’s Capital One Cup Final.

Our Head Coach played in cup finals for Espanyol and Paris St Germain during his playing career in Europe and helped Espanyol lift the Copa del Rey in 2000 after beating giants Real Madrid over two legs in the semi-final - including a shock 1-0 win in the second leg in the Bernabeu - and then Atletico Madrid in the final.

He is now preparing for his first cup final as Head Coach and talks with great pride about the prospect of leading the team out at Wembley to face Chelsea.

“I have some experience of finals in Argentina, Spain and in France,” said Mauricio, pictured at the top of the page on the right as Espanyol skipper Francisco Arteaga lifted the Copa del Rey in May, 2000.

“You always try to translate your experiences to the players, but we are confident and we believe in our way.

“You always need to feel from the group what they need before a final, to manage that situation and with our experience we need to help the players and the team.

“But after that, a final is a final, it’s at Wembley and the motivation is full.

“We don’t need to say too much, just to enjoy the occasion and try to be better than Chelsea.”