Mauricio Pochettino is hopefully unlikely to ever again to face anything in his managerial career that is as horrible as the death of one of his players.

The Argentinian gaffer was less than a year into his first head coach role at Espanyol in August 2009 when 26-year-old defender Dani Jarque suffered a fatal heart attack during a pre-season trip to Florence.

Espanyol captain Jarque was on the phone to his pregnant girlfriend in his hotel room at the time.

Pochettino confirmed to FourFourTwo that period was the toughest experience of his life, saying: "Without doubt. It affected all of us deeply.

"I was one of the last people to see him alive, at the team hotel in Coverciano.

"We were having lunch – it was a Saturday and I’d given the players the afternoon off to go and explore such a beautiful city as Florence.

"Jarque told us he had a slight headache and that he wasn’t going out. The doctor gave him a paracetamol and left.

"That was it.

"It was something that changed our perspective on priorities, although time does become an ally.

"It helps you heal, even if never completely. I had to learn to live with that pain, because the dressing room needed the best version of me."

Much as it obviously paled into insignificance, Pochettino went on to guide the grieving club to a mid-table finish that season, having led them away from the drop zone following his arrival midway through the previous campaign.

Espanyol paid tribute to Jarque as they won their first game at their new stadium just a few weeks after his death, and their training ground is now named after him.

His former Spain youth team teammates Andres Iniesta and Cesc Fabregas went on to wear shirts dedicated to Jarques memory during their victory in the 2010 World Cup final and following the national side's Euro 2012 triumph.