Southampton boss Mauricio Pellegrino admits he always wanted to work in the Premier League.
Pochettino left Alaves for Saints last month.
He told the Daily Echo: "Because always in my mind I was thinking to train in the Premier League would be for me a nice challenge.
"The football is like a long trip if we think about my life starting in a small village – 10,000 people live there – and to be in the Premier League, the football allowed me to be here.
"Football for me is like a vocation. It is not a job. From my childhood I was doing this and just this.
"It is something where I am following my dreams."