The entire squad was in training and we didn’t have a midweek fixture for the first time in a while. We shared out the workload based on minutes played. On Monday I started speaking to some of the players, using videos of their performances. It was more of the same on Tuesday ahead of a double training session.
We prepared two different videos for Wednesday, one for defensive players and the other for the more attack-minded members of the squad. I always go over my talks with Miki, Jesús and Toni, but sometimes something happens that throws me off track. I showed the footage to the first group and was prepared to do the same with the second, but I saw a few expressions on some of the players’ faces that I didn’t like.
Enough was enough.
I didn’t say much about football, it was more about life and what it means to be professional and to respect your profession.
In reality, it’s not so much a profession as a sport that we all started out in not to earn money but because we love it.
I went down that path and was very firm. I don’t think Miki, Jesús or Toni had ever seen me like that. Unbelievably the more mad I get the better my English is.
We always try to protect the players. The coaching staff spends twenty-four hours thinking about how to look after them, improve them and help them, but not only on the pitch. Maybe more off it than on it. When a footballer doesn’t respect football, he doesn’t respect himself or the people working hard for him. And I feel I have to act.
If as a player you lose your passion for the game or your love for being in contact with the ball or the smell of the pitch, if you use football as a way of achieving other things (money, being in the press, enjoying perks, millions of Twitter followers . . .), if you like all that more than training or sharing moments with your teammates, if running or going to the gym bores you, if you don’t fancy taking care about what you eat or the amount you rest or if you don’t keep yourself in good shape, you should revisit your targets.
You give some players an inch and they take a mile. That hurts me and it hurts them even more. I try to iron out the problems and warn them, and warn them again. I can’t go in hard too early. It has to be the right time. To avoid confrontation isn’t a sign of weakness, it’s simply foresight.
But sometimes you have to go a bit further. I gave clear examples of players who weren’t doing what was needed. Mistakes in games are the consequence of the way you live your life and what you demand from yourself. There is no separation between tactics and emotions; it’s all linked. I hadn’t previously singled players out in front of the others, but some of them didn’t react after what transpired at Newcastle or after discussing that painful defeat as a group. Nothing. I had to grab their attention once again to remind them of our principles as a group.
‘We get everything ready for you from seven in the morning when you arrive until you go home. In exchange for that, we don’t ask you to win, but we want you to keep up the standards that are demanded of you individually and collectively. For example, if we take the risk of building from the back and get the ball into midfield, our attacking players can’t hide. I don’t want you to dribble past three players and score, I want you to stay within the team’s positional intentions. It’s the same for the defenders: take risks, push up without fear when asked to do so. Be more aggressive. You’re in your comfort zone at the moment. I prefer you to make mistakes than not try anything. That’s the difference between winning and losing, between being a normal player and a great player. It’s about the amount you demand and the risk.’
It wasn’t one of those talks that you can have every week, or even more than two or three times per year, but it was needed. I’d planned for 15 minutes with each group, but ended up speaking for an hour. I’m sure everyone, including the players, felt good about it. I did.
After that, on the pitch, we worked on the position of the defensive line as well as three attacking phases. We also did some drills with our forwards. It was intense. We tried to boost stress levels to a high to take the players to their limit and show them the different responses required in each situation. The boys were wonderful.
After such talks, the reaction is instantaneous. It can have miraculous effects because, after reminding them that this is not a job but something they used to love, it takes players deep into their consciences and they each go back to a certain point in their past. You don’t know exactly where – they may remember playing with their father, friends, or starting out in Denmark or Argentina – but it takes you to a reunion with a younger version of yourself; the kid who loved football and the person you are now become one again. When that happens and they go back out to train, they’re enjoying themselves again, laughing, running around and making a momentous effort. They’re more aware, receptive and open to what they’re told. It’s remarkable. Our objective is to maintain that feeling and to keep it going for as long as possible.
This week I have to play them the video for ‘Love My Life’ by Robbie Williams, a song that sums it all up. It’s a hymn to feeling empowered, loving life and being at peace with oneself. It is where it all starts.
*
It’s Thursday. After yesterday’s physical and emotional rollercoaster, it’s a day for recovery. I also have a press conference. You have to be coherent, tell the truth and protect your players in front of the press. All at the same time.
I know they’ll quiz me on Sissoko – whom we decided to leave out of the squad for Chelsea for tactical reasons – and on an incident with Antonio Conte’s assistant. On top of that, we’ve only won one of our last ten games and the media, who usually treat us well, have to be a bit harsher on us than before. Let’s see. I’m heading down to the press room.
*
Do I regret the line-up against Monaco? Not at all. What did I say to Conte? One of his fitness coaches told me to shut it in the second half. Before the game ended, I summoned Antonio, with whom I had a very interesting chat when he came to the training ground while still in charge of Italy. I put my hands on his shoulders and told him to tell his coaching staff that they mustn’t approach me and that my assistants are banned from speaking to the opposition dugout. Conte told his guys to shut up.
And Sissoko? Why wasn’t he in the squad for Chelsea? My message when interviewed on television after being knocked out in the competition was that we hadn’t played well and couldn’t compete at a high level twice a week in two demanding competitions – that was my take and how I felt. I added that the team’s progress over two and a half years showed that we were going the right way. Sissoko said in the mixed zone, ‘Maybe we should go back to White Hart Lane, rather than play at Wembley . . .’ How could he speak about White Hart Lane? He’s just arrived, and with injuries and suspensions he’s barely set foot inside our ground! All that combined with mistakes in his game, a lack of concentration and struggling to adapt to the demands at Tottenham meant we decided to give him a second straight football-free Sunday.
I did tell the press that he wasn’t in the squad for football reasons and he had to do much more.
There was very little talk about our upcoming opponents, Swansea City.
*
I remain confident about what lies ahead. First of all, we’re doing much better than our results suggest. Second, Argentina did not give me rest, but got me back on track.
6.
DECEMBER
Tottenham were fifth in the league, with the team’s record reading eight wins, seven draws and five losses from twenty games played. The club’s Europa League berth was at stake in December against CSKA, with a third-place finish in their Champions League group needed. There were also five league games to get through, including a visit to Old Trafford to take on José Mourinho’s Manchester United and a return to Southampton that resulted in mixed feelings for Pochettino.
An Argentinian friend told me that lemons absorb negative energy and cleanse the air, which is why I have a tray of them in my office. We all have the potential to see the energy that surroun
ds objects and people, although not everyone has honed that sense. For whatever reason, I’ve been able to develop an ability which allows me to see others’ auras. Do I believe in God? Yes, because my parents baptised me and I made my First Holy Communion. I do believe, however, that there is an external force that differs from the God of Catholic teaching.
I often say to my sons: ‘Dream, develop the idea before you go to sleep and throw it into the universe. Believe in the stars. Go to sleep and relax.’ Ever since I was a boy, I’ve been convinced that the universe conspires to help you fulfil your dreams. That’s the energy source that I feel is with me. Decisions, personal relationships and absolutely everything else are a matter of energy. Good or bad, small or large.
I also noticed it as a player. When I was the PSG captain, I spent countless hours speaking to fitness coach Feliciano Di Blasi, whom I later made my assistant coach at Espanyol. Feliciano brought his energy skills to the forefront and would analyse individuals through their auras. He’d share his experiences with me and I was fascinated. That’s how I gradually learnt how to develop that sixth sense.
I need data and tests, but what most influences my decisions is my ability to see if the right energy is flowing. I can foresee things that are going to happen and the associated consequences, or which path each player is going to take. I can see it in their auras.
I am convinced humans have many mental abilities that are yet to be developed. Being aware of them, however, doesn’t make you special or allow you to get it right every time. Or to win games.
Football is filled with unexpected moments that you can’t control. Our preparation for, say, the away Monaco game was good, yet we lost. During my short time as a manager, there have been matches that we were well prepared for and went as expected, that are as you imagined them, and others that went badly. Each player’s mental state is always crucial and his performance may hinge on how he’s slept, if his child is ill or if he’s had an argument with his wife. It’s not at all easy to manage.
The attempt to understand and control the uncontrollable is where some of the magic of this profession lies.
*
There is a type of player I admire. One that is always ready, who hardly ever doubts himself and knows how to give, and how to take. That’s what Harry Kane exudes. He’s signed a new contract and the photo from the signing has been doing the rounds, as have those with Jan Vertonghen and Hugo Lloris. I’m wearing the same suit as when Danny Rose, Dele Alli, Harry Winks, Eric Dier and Christian Eriksen penned new deals this season. I was wearing a tracksuit for Tom Carroll and Kyle Walker’s extensions. I look so serious in that last one.
The team’s future is in good hands.
*
In 1991 I played in a friendly for Newell’s in Figueres against a second-tier outfit whose goalkeeper sustained a serious injury. A youngster took his place and ended up replacing him for the rest of the season before earning a place in Spain’s Olympic squad where he got the nod over Santiago Cañizares and won gold in Barcelona. When I signed for Espanyol, the first thing that our goalkeeper Toni Jiménez said to me was, ‘I won an Olympic medal thanks to you and your team.’ That guy is now a great friend of mine and the Tottenham goalkeeping coach. The chemistry between us was obvious immediately and is the type that will last for ever, although at times he was a difficult teammate.
Toni was very demanding, especially with defenders. He would really give them a mouthful. Not everyone took to that approach, but I knew where he was coming from and a quick glance was all that was usually required for us to understand one another, which is essential for a centre-back and goalkeeper. If anyone ever laid a hand on him, I was there to protect him.
The moment that confirmed our strong connection possibly occurred during the 2000 Copa del Rey final when on opposing sides. He’d signed for Atlético Madrid and was having a tough year. The team weren’t performing well and ended up getting relegated. As for family life, his father became very ill. He’d come back to Barcelona every two weeks, call me and I’d drop whatever I was doing to go to play dominoes with him and his old man at the hospital. That’s how Toni’s dad spent his last months on earth.
In that final, Toni experienced something that changed not only his life, but also football. Tamudo stole in to nick the ball with his head when Toni bounced it and ended up scoring a crucial goal that helped Espanyol win the cup. It was the last time that such an incident took place because the rules were subsequently changed as part of the increasing protection of goalkeepers, and such play has been considered an infringement ever since.
Toni was in tears at the end of the contest. He was crying while he picked up his medal from King Juan Carlos, who even felt compelled to give him a hug. He cried en route to the dressing room. He was inconsolable.
I was thrilled with the club’s first trophy in 60 years, but I couldn’t feel completely ecstatic. I went to see him in the Atlético dressing room. The atmosphere was awful. I sat next to him and didn’t say much. There was no need.
During my second spell at Espanyol, Toni was also back at the club but wasn’t the same guy that I knew and I told him as much. He’d gone off track. He thought he had everything right and everyone else was wrong. Not only was he no longer a starter, but he’d lost his passion for the game. I think he understands that much better today than he did back then.
We hung up our boots at the same time and got our coaching badges together. He started working at Girona, but we kept meeting up once a month to continue the gradual process of defining our footballing philosophy. Given that the goalkeeper is the player who, at the start of moves, defines your attacking and defensive intentions, because, for instance, the build-up is dictated by whether the ball is played out from the back or kicked long, we brainstormed about how to include him in the group. As soon as I had the chance I brought him to Espanyol as an assistant, as we already had a goalkeeping coach. After working together for a year and a half, we headed to Southampton together.
I like taking shots against goalkeepers and getting involved in their training sessions. When I do so with Toni, we still understand each other with just a glance. He sometimes makes remarks to provoke me, warm up the atmosphere or change direction and has an unwavering ability to make us laugh, which is always refreshing.
On top of that, he can be a pushy so-and-so. I remember that after three days at Southampton, he already wanted to change something that he didn’t like about the goalkeeper. ‘Coach, I have to sort this out,’ he said to me. He went to speak to the player and didn’t stop saying ‘because, because . . .’, one of the three English words that he knew. I think he made himself understood. He ended up becoming Nicola Cortese’s favourite to the point where the chairman wanted to name a training pitch for goalkeepers after him.
His English has been improving, but at no great pace. On a day when we had to record an interview for Spurs TV, I had an idea. Jesús would hide behind Toni and answer in English, while the latter moved his lips. But it was impossible. As soon as Toni opened his mouth and Jesús started to answer, we all burst into laughter. In the end, he did it in English himself. Someone commented about his language skills online; it must have been an Arsenal fan.
*
A week after the defeat by Chelsea and a series of intense briefings, dispatching Swansea with ease did us the world of good. We completely dominated, scoring five goals (two apiece for Kane and Eriksen, and one for Son), but it could’ve been a lot more. The statistics showed that only once in Premier League history had there been such a disparity in terms of efforts on goal. We racked up 28 shots, 15 of which were on target, while the visitors didn’t force Hugo Lloris into a save.
I enjoyed our centre-backs’ performances. Vertonghen and Dier, whose focus has been on the up, displayed intensity and impressive anticipation, held a good line and communicated well. The response to the two team talks has been satisfactory overall.
We’re still fifth, but we have two more points than at the same
stage last season, despite the poor recent run which I hope we’ve managed to turn around. We’re being touted as title contenders, but the players still need to perform even better, while Chelsea (who have 19 more points than last season) and Liverpool (seven more) need to be slowed down. We’ve benefited from the fact that Leicester City and Manchester United have underperformed, while Arsenal, City and Everton are at the same level as last year. Given the context, we haven’t done badly; it’s just we are who we are. Expectations have grown more than we have.
After the match, the journalists asked me about Dele Alli’s fall for the penalty which Kane converted. I cracked a small joke comparing it with Michael Owen’s dive against Argentina. Now I can see online that the newspapers are really focusing on that. The final stages of press conferences are dangerous. You relax, maybe you’re fed up with the questions, and you can end up saying any old thing.
I’m still tired. Last month we changed our routine with the trip to Argentina, but rest time was limited. I eat more than I should when I’m exhausted and I haven’t set foot in the gym in a long time.
*
No English team is currently running the show in Europe. We were debating the reasons why ahead of the CSKA game.
The Premier League has some distinguishing features that demand a greater level of physical and mental energy than in any other European competition. The two-week holiday period, or even more in some cases, that breaks up the season in Germany, Italy, Portugal and Spain has a regenerative effect both physically and psychologically, which is key for the players come February and March when so much is at stake. You also expect Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid and Juventus to suffer less because they can rotate domestically. You can’t do that here because the league is considered a priority. In addition, teams competing in Europe receive no preferential treatment when it comes to fixture scheduling, so we often head into European games less rested than our opponents.
Brave New World Page 17
