Leeds United head coach Marcelo Bielsa has insisted that he does not believe Mauricio Pochettino is his disciple as the Tottenham Hotspur boss has built his career on his own ideas.
Pochettino, whose Tottenham team reached their first Champions League final on Wednesday night, has always talked about Bielsa’s influence on his life and coaching ideas.
The former defender played under the current Leeds boss at Newell’s Old Boys, Espanyol and for Argentina, and considers Bielsa as the biggest influence on his football philosophy.
Bielsa is pleased to see the career his former protege has had so far, but insisted that he does not consider himself the Tottenham manager’s teacher.
The Leeds boss believes Pochettino is very much his own man and his career is a complete credit to him and the coaching ideas he has personally devised.
Bielsa said in a press conference: “I want to tell you I’ve known Pochettino since he was 15.
“He has built his own career as a head coach. He has built his own style. It’s his property.
“What his team does is more linked to his ideas than the ideas of other teams.
“That’s why I disagree with the position of teacher.
"I’m not his teacher, because Pochettino’s style is an original one, he designed and drew it himself.”
Pochettino wrote a glowing reference for Bielsa when he applied for a work permit last year ahead of joining Leeds United.
