After spending months apparently hanging out outside Old Trafford (not Peter Odemwingie style, but metaphorically at least) waiting for the job at Manchester United to become available, it looks like Mauricio Pochettino is on the verge of it. to be named the new manager of Paris Saint-Germain.
Thomas Tuchel’s departure from Parc des Princes means the best position of last season’s Champions League finalists is up for grabs, and the former Tottenham boss is the big favorite for the job.
The Argentinian has spent two and a half seasons with PSG during his playing career, and during that time he has shared a dressing room with stellar names. Take a look at our list of the most memorable players from Pochettino’s plight in Paris.
Gabriel Heinze spent three years in the French capital before his move to Manchester United, including two alongside Pochettino.
The left-back was a mainstay of the squad who tasted Intertoto Cup success in 2001, although there was no more silverware during his time in France and he moved to the Premier League in 2004 .
Heinze would return to Lique 1 in 2009 with Marseille where he was crowned Ligue 1 champion in his first season in the country.
Oh yeah, him.
Brazil’s first club in Europe was the French giants and he spent two seasons at Parc des Princes.
Ronaldinho scored 25 goals in his 77 appearances for PSG before moving to Barcelona in 2003. He didn’t. too badly in Spain, winning two top-flight titles, a Champions League and being named Ballon d’Or winner in 2005.
Has it aged over the past 19 years?
After going through the Barcelona youth setup, Arteta struggled to make an impact in Catalonia and was shipped to PSG on an 18-month loan.
Lique 1 side were eager to sign Arteta after impressing in a playmaker role in the 2000/01 and 2001/02 campaigns, although Rangers usurped the French side’s offer and Arteta moved to Scotland instead.
I wonder what he’s doing now?
Well, there aren’t many teams in Europe that this man hasn’t played for, so there’s a good chance he was at PSG at some point in his career.
Anelka spent two stays in the French capital, first in the mid-90s before being kidnapped by a certain Arsène Wenger at Arsenal, before returning to Paris after his unfortunate transfer to Real Madrid.
The Sulk only spent a year with Pochettino before being away again as he joined Liverpool on loan for half a season before completing a permanent move to Manchester City this summer.
So good that they named him twice, but when you realize his name isn’t Jay-Jay at all – it’s actually Augustine – you feel a little empty.
Either way, forget we said that.
Okocha was one of the gems of the brilliant PSG squad in the early 2000s, scoring 12 goals in 84 appearances for the club before one of the most hit-and-miss moves in history by joining Bolton Wanderers. Big Sam’s allure, eh?
Alright so he’s a little suck [editor’s note: this is not a universal view] but we still included him because he can kick a ball pretty hard and he once knocked out a teammate while doing so (search for ‘Olivier Bernard’ on Twitter if you don’t believe us).
The enigmatic Frenchman spent two years at PSG, the last six months of which he was joined by Pochettino, before deciding to swap Paris for Newcastle. Which is a little weird.
