The fate of Miguel D’Agostino, Mauricio Pochettino’s deputy since 2009 and announced in the new PSG staff, has undoubtedly shifted to Angoulême’s side in 2002. Arrived in France, in Niort, via Angel Marcos, two years more early on, this solid defender, who had evolved with the next parisian coach to the Newell’s Old Boys in the early 90s, must then end his career, injured in an ankle.
His partner at the time, Nicolas Usaï, remembers this pivotal period for D’Agostino: “He became an assistant because, as a player, he was someone who was very tactically developed. He really read the game very well. ”
President of Angoulême, then in National, Philippe Goursat has just turned the life of the one who will celebrate his 49 years this Friday. Before taking D’Agostino with him to Brest where he will be Albert Rust’s assistant from 2003 to 2006, Goursat comes to the aid of a man “in difficulty”. “He had nothing left, remembers the Charentais. Because he had this status as an injured person, as a stranger… We extended a family hand to him, we helped him get back into place. We did what every human being should do, but what strikes me today is that he hasn’t forgotten anything. Goursat talks about the tickets offered by D’Agostino to attend Tottenham’s Champions League final against Liverpool, in Madrid, in 2019.
“He is loyal, faithful, honest, hardworking”
“He’s a very, very good person,” he adds. I’ve rarely met people like that, with those values. He is a boy of humility, integrity … He is loyal, faithful, honest, hardworking. That’s a lot for a single man, but despite that really characterizes him! This flattering portrait of Miguel D’Agostino accompanies the story of all those who have crossed paths with him.
Fabien Safanjon, now vice-president of the UNFP (National Union of Professional Footballers), remembers his arrival in Niort at the beginning of the 2000s. “He took very little time to adapt, to speak French and to fit in the mold because he is a calm, intelligent person, he recalls. You know, in football, we don’t keep in touch with 100,000 people. This is the case with Miguel because he is someone who has values close to mine. To find him there does not surprise me because he is serious, faithful and very hardworking. I paint you a rather laudatory picture but it is because it is like that! “
Retired near Montpellier, Albert Rust, 67, coach of Brest when he returned to Ligue 2 in 2003, appreciated his three-year collaboration with his Argentine assistant. “I am already delighted that he was able to start with me,” said the former Olympic champion goalkeeper. Then, he crossed the ranks and to find him at this level, it’s fabulous. She’s a person who knows how to stay in her place, who is always providing advice, her little personal touch. The reigning coach can really trust that kind of person. He is truly the deputy par excellence. “
“Mauricio is the same character as Miguel”
Albert Rust is therefore not surprised that Pochettino has kept D’Agostino by his side, from Espanyol to Tottenham via Southampton. “I think they have the same ideas when it comes to football,” he notes. Pochettino must have complete confidence in Miguel so that’s why he keeps calling on him. “Philippe Goursat abounds:” Mauricio is the same character as Miguel. Birds of a feather flock together. It’s an inseparable duo. They remind me of Laurent Blanc and Jean-Louis Gasset. “
Nicolas Usaï, recently sacked from his post in Châteauroux (Ligue 2), owes a lot to Miguel D’Agostino with whom he regularly talks about the coaching profession. “Honestly, he is interested in everything: data, physical preparation, recruitment, he emphasizes. He’s very, very sharp. »In 2016, for his internship at the BEPF, Usaï asked D’Agostino, who allowed him to come to Tottenham for a week. “I discovered a very united staff, really very benevolent with everyone”, he underlines. Regarding the deputy, he remarks: “Before being very close to Pochettino, he is above all a very competent person. And let’s not forget that he’s a French trainer. He has French nationality and graduated from Clairefontaine. “
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From there to imagine one day Miguel D’Agostino in the skin of a number one? “He has everything you need for, assures Nicolas Usaï, but he also has the ability to be in the shadow of Pochettino. I know he thrives in there. And then, Pochettino’s assistant at PSG, with the mission of winning a Champions League, it’s still very, very good. “
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