Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino says his love of football ensures he’s never stressed, following news Jurgen Klopp is leaving Liverpool.
Klopp’s announcement that he would be leaving Liverpool at the end of the season shocked the football world, with the German admitting he was “running out of energy” after almost nine years in the job at Anfield.
Pochettino has been asked how he is able to switch off from the pressures of running a football club and he says his passion for the game gives him all the energy he needs.
He told reporters, “Football never stresses you. It never makes you spend energy in the wrong way; it’s always in the right way. It always affects the environment. In football now, it’s business, so maybe that affects a little bit the coaches. But specific football, when I am involved in the training session, when we are in the game, even when I am with you here [at the press conference], we recharge the energy. It’s like, you feel the boost of energy because you love to coach and you love to do your job.
“There are new things that appear in football and this business, and I think that affects a lot, maybe the energy. It’s difficult to explain. It’s important to have good people around you to provide the moments when to stop and when to go away. I remember 10 or 15 years ago, it was really weird to see a manager or coaching staff spending more than 12 hours on the training ground. But now, it’s the normal way. We all arrive at 7 a.m. and are leaving at 5 p.m., 7, 8 or 9. It’s not easy to manage because it’s almost 24 hours, but then when you go home after 12 hours at the training ground, [you are on the] phone to the owners, sporting directors, and all sorts of different people. That is also difficult to disconnect and that’s why sometimes it’s difficult.
“But football is our passion. And of course, Jurgen, after a few months away or at home, for definitely start to miss the adrenaline of the competition, the training sessions, and communicating with your staff, the players, and the people. I think when you are involved in the game, you miss another part of it, but when you are in another part, you start to miss the part that was really important for you.”
Klopp isn’t the only manager to open up about the huge pressures on football managers. Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta recently explained how he uses meditation to relax. Meanwhile, Barcelona coach Xavi, who will also leave his job at the end of the season, has said it’s a “cruel” job where he has been made to feel “worthless every day.”
Chelsea is set to face Liverpool at Anfield in the upcoming Premier League clash on Wednesday night. A triumph for the home team would mark Jurgen Klopp’s 200th Premier League win with the Reds. Notably, achieving this victory would make Klopp reach the milestone in record time, surpassing any other manager in the club’s history.