Mauricio Pochettino has now been offiicially confirmed as the new Manchester United manager, signing a two-and-a-half year deal
Mauricio Pochettino is officially Manchester United’s new manager.
The Argentine manager has now completed his move from the US men’s team to Old Trafford following the departure of Red Devils legend Michael Carrick.
Carrick was sacked on Thursday after Manchester United had their worst start in four decades with just one win out of 10 games. Former Chelsea, Tottenham and Southampton manager Pochettino has now signed a two-and-a-half year deal with the club.
And throughout his career from a footballer to one of the world’s most sought after managers remains Pochettino’s devoted wife, Karina Grippaldi.
The couple met back in 1991 when Pochettino was a young footballer in Argentina and both were still teenagers. After meeting socially, it quickly became apparent there was something deeper between the teenagers.
Pochettino had devoted himself to his career, playing for Newell’s Old Boys but still found time to develop a strong relationship with Karina.
The couple dated for three years before marrying in 1994. It was a small and intimate ceremony in their home of Argentina and since then Karina has been a constant at the football manager’s side.
She studied Pharmacy at the National University in Argentina, and once she completed her degree is reported to have worked as a pharmacist. However, despite her unwavering support for her husband, Karina has been careful to stay out of the public eye.
But that doesn’t stop her critiquing her husband’s performance, especially in press conferences, and Pochettino himself has admitted her reviews can be absolutely brutal.
He told Football London: “It’s more than 25 years now she’s been next to me, and in the last few years, the one thing that she criticizes most is my press conferences.” He added, “Because she is very focused, ‘why you say that’, ‘you need to say to, not for’, ‘that is why, not because ‘. She is fixing me after every press conference and criticises me a lot. But it is part of it to improve, no?”
The new Manchester United manager says this feedback is absolutely vital to improve how he communicates with both his team and the press.
The couple share two children, Sebastiano and Maurizio. Sebastiano has followed his father into the world of football and works as a fitness coach, with roles at top clubs such as Paris Saint-Germain.
Maurizio also followed his father into the game, securing places at the academies of Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur while Pochettino was manager.
Talented in his own right, he secured an extension to his contract at Spurs, even after his father had left. After leaving Tottenham, Maurizio joined Watford on a free transfer and made his senior professional debut against Brentford.
He is still playing in Spain, first atGimnàstic de Tarragona and Ibiza Islas Pitiusas and this year is signed to Inter Club d’Escaldes in Andorra.