Mauricio Pochettino won’t shun Tottenham youngster despite Camp Nou error

Kyle Walker-Peters may have been at fault for Barcelona’s opener, but Pochettino won’t turn his back on the Tottenham youngster.

When Serge Aurier went down injured late last Saturday evening, Kyle Walker-Peters all but knew that in 70 hours he would be starting in one of football’s most hallowed cathedrals.

A few early match jitters were inevitable, but he couldn’t let them show – it was silly errors that had left Tottenham in such a do-or-die predicament.

But just 7 minutes into the game disaster struck. Ousmane Dembele hunted down the full back who dallied in possession following a failed free kick. With Spurs’ Belgian center halves still out of position, a ruthless Dembele left both Walker-Peters and Harry Winks on their backs and the ball nestled in the Spurs net.

Walker-Peters buried his head in his hands – painfully aware of the 70,000 pairs of eyes piercing him from the Camp Nou stands and millions more scrutinizing him around the globe.

The defender was then booked for grabbing Nelson Semedo’s shirt in the 16th minute and Poch would have been forgiven for pulling him off there and then.

But anyone close to the Argentinean knows his main watchword is bravery. In almost the opening stanza of Guillem Balague’s aptly named Brave New World, he brings up a game in which he was humiliated as a ten-year-old. A moment when he felt as if the whole world were watching him.

He learned from a young age that these are football’s most important lessons, and fighting back ‘helped him be even stronger, braver, and more passionate.’

"“… when someone beats you in a game, gets the better of you in a duel or you get nutmegged. It makes you fight against your destiny and gives you strength. You retrieve energy from places you thought previously empty.”"

Walker-Peters stayed on the pitch and did not hide or shirk responsibility. He was a constant outlet on the right flank and looked more than capable of rubbing shoulders with football’s elite.

Then, in the 55th minute he arguably atoned for his error – throwing his body in the way of a Philippe Coutinho strike that would have almost certainly resulted in Barcelona going 2-0 up and Spurs bowing out of the competition.

Six minutes later the defender was sacrificed for Erik Lamela, but Poch had a couple of words in his ear on the touchline and no doubt let him know he was proud of his endeavour.

One would hope his narrative can play out similarly to that of Juan Foyth’s. The Argentine, one year Walker-Peter’s junior, gave away two penalties in his Premier League debut versus Wolves last month. But just a week later, Poch gave him the nod against Crystal Palace where he put in a commanding performance and scored the only goal of the game.

Incidentally, a young Mauricio had his shorts pulled down while waiting for a corner in the aforementioned story. Nonetheless, he knows life is about taking knocks and coming back stronger.