‘London, Luke came up to London yesterday,’ she replied and I made a joke that cracked us both up. But I felt his head was not in the right place to make the sacrifices and decisions that are necessary at that age. It was a Monday. I didn’t utter a word to Luke until the Friday. I don’t think he went back to London much after that.
*
I called Victor Wanyama before he signed for Southampton. ‘I’ve seen you play several times and we’re going to make you even better, one of the best.’ It was the first time that a coach had phoned him and spoken to him in that way. I lit the touch paper. We arranged to meet at a hotel and I noted how uptight he was while sitting on the sofa. I gave him a hug and saw how the tension that he’d given off on arrival disappeared. Both of us quickly felt that we’d known each other for a long time.
From day one, we spoke about life more than about football. I felt like a father to him. He was very shy when he started training with us and he barely spoke. I don’t think he was happy. I had to remind him that he was doing what he’d dreamt of and he should enjoy every minute of it. He gradually started to view life in a different light. Football stopped being his profession in favour of his passion.
He gradually opened up.
Sometimes when he looks very serious, I go up to him and say, ‘Come on, man. A little smile and it’ll all look different.’ And he’ll laugh. He now says that he trains better with a smile on his face.
*
In our second season, Hugo Lloris fractured his wrist while on holiday in Ibiza in an innocuous incident. I knew nothing about it until much later. Apparently he got it X-rayed and the fracture wasn’t visible, so he didn’t mention it. The problem was discovered when he went back to France. He felt so ashamed for a week that he didn’t dare admit what had happened. I eventually received a WhatsApp from him containing details of what had transpired, but I didn’t reply. I know he knew I’d read it. He spoke to Toni who got angry with him. At the start of pre-season I told him to come to my office. It wasn’t the injury that bothered me, more the fact that he hadn’t trusted me. He told me it wasn’t down to a lack of trust, but that he felt embarrassed to tell his manager the injury was caused by something so stupid. It has taken us time to heal the rift that had developed between us. Hugo, who didn’t want to mix private and professional matters, now understands what I am asking of him: he can speak to me about anything and everything without my passing judgement. If he’s with me, it has to be 100 per cent; 99 per cent doesn’t cut it. I share things with him and he does so with me.
*
Alex Ferguson used to tell his players that working hard is a talent and he expected more from his stars than from the rest. I’ve said as much to mine on occasion. It’s also important to get them on your side from the beginning.
When we first played Dier as a holding midfielder, I asked him in the canteen if he’d previously played in that position. ‘Yes, for Sporting Lisbon.’
‘Ah, OK.’ I later read that he said that was the extent of the conversation that we had about his change of position. It’s true. I had faith in him and his ability to learn. We’d then correct things along the way.
He’s had a tricky six months. ‘You aren’t the same Eric as last year, the one from the Euros,’ I told him in training earlier in the season. Recently, I spent the whole week discussing and speaking about what was happening to him. Every day we looked at different things. For instance, I made a table for him with the headings Good, Very Good, Excellent and Unique. I wrote Maradona, Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in the fourth one, before asking him where he saw himself. ‘Very Good,’ he said.
‘Yes, that’s where you are. It’s only a short trip to get to Excellent. Where are you as a defensive midfielder? And as a centre-back?’ Eric thinks he’s further ahead as a midfielder than as a defender. We had a long chat about that because I disagree. In the end, I said to him, ‘It doesn’t matter. If you give 100 per cent wherever you play, it’ll go well.’
There are certain things that footballers have to discover on their own.
*
National team captains voted for the Best FIFA Football Coach by choosing their top three. Victor Wanyama picked me first, but Hugo Lloris didn’t choose me at all. I told Simon Felstein to tell him that I was absolutely furious when I found out. I still laugh when I remember his sheepish face next time that I saw him.
*
The transfer window is now open. I’ve already told Daniel that, unless something incredible becomes possible, we don’t need anyone and, when we’re short of players, we’ll turn to the Under-21s. There are loan offers for Harry Winks and Josh Onomah, but I’d prefer to keep them close by. The fans, who understand what we’re working towards, aren’t demanding lavish spending. It will be good to get Lamela back.
Next up is Chelsea.
*
A story has just broken claiming that I said the following about Guardiola: ‘If you arrive in the Premier League and you aren’t humble enough, you’ll be disappointed.’
I didn’t say that. Or I wasn’t clear. I was speaking in general terms about how the Premier League is perceived in Europe. I used the fact that English football is often underestimated. People think it’s just long balls and there’s no quality, but the Premier League has changed considerably in the last decade, with so much foreign influence. Hispanics and Latin Americans may still think that they’re a level above, but when they get here, they realise how wrong they are. If you aren’t humble when you arrive, you won’t make the grade.
I have always been very aware that you can’t say that you’re coming to England to change the style of football here. It’s like saying you’re going to Spain to ban siestas and paella. Nobody is above the culture and idiosyncrasies of a country like England. There’s no such thing as perfect tactics, the perfect manager or an infallible methodology. Saying that you possess the system that is going to revolutionise everything shows a complete lack of respect. It all depends on the players at your disposal.
I’m lucky in the sense that when I got to England, people wondered who I was and didn’t expect anything from me. I soaked up everything: the expectations of the players, referees with a different perception of what is a foul, fans demanding to up the pace, the media obsession with individuals, chairmen not looking to take centre stage.
It’s better to come here looking to learn it all.
*
This week we had a game of England v the Rest of the World and I played, of course. If anyone did three nutmegs, the victim of the last one would have to sing as a forfeit. Nobody ended up warbling on this occasion. I got injured while challenging for an aerial ball with Carter-Vickers and tweaked my back. He’s a strong guy!
He said, ‘Bloody hell, I’ve injured the gaffer!’ I think he was laughing inside.
*
Today is the second recovery day since our last match and the day before we play Chelsea. We will be facing a side that beat us 2–1 at Stamford Bridge in late November. They’re ten points ahead of us and deserve to be top of the pile. They went up two gears when they switched to a back-three that nobody has been able to cope with. They’ve racked up 13 wins on the bounce, but nobody has ever got to 14 in Premier League history.
Let’s see where we are. Chelsea are always a good benchmark.
Our starting XI was already decided at the end of the Watford game. We have a powerful group of players (only Lamela is missing) which allows us to play in a number of different ways depending on what the game requires. We’re going to use three centre-backs, two very attacking wing-backs and three in the middle of the park.
I decided to mix it up in training. We prepared a few longer-than-usual videos explaining how we wanted to play, how we could avoid the problems from our previous game against them and showing their strengths and weaknesses. We then broke it down further by position: first of all the three centre-backs: Dier, Alderweireld, Vertonghen and also Wanyama who has to mop up in the space at the back and also start t
he play. Then the full-backs, Rose and Walker, who’ll have to offer something constantly. Then the two midfielders, Eriksen and Dembélé, and finally the two forwards, Alli and Kane. They’re all fresh and in good shape.
I took the session, as I always do when it’s with the starting XI, and it was a tactical affair – I couldn’t make it particularly intense having played just two days earlier – in which I explained how we have to attack, how to release the ball and how to press.
*
4 January, matchday. We arrived at the training ground just before midday for a short video session. I wanted to tweak the way we were going to play in the centre of the pitch. That’ll be key, I am sure. They have two holding midfielders and we’re going to put three players there, including Victor who will also have to help the centre-backs out, as they’ll be facing a front-three.
The journey to the stadium was slow and we needed a police escort to make way for us. A slow-moving van was leading us but nobody seemed to want to make way. ‘Come on!’ some were shouting. We got to White Hart Lane a little later than planned, with just an hour to go until kick-off.
We found out their starting XI while still on the coach. It was the line-up that we expected.
In the dressing room Jesús reminded the players about set-pieces. We put Chelsea’s line-up on the board in their usual formation before heading out for the warm-up.
Nobody was nervous. The players were buzzing.
The match got underway.
The first half was even and intense. Chelsea didn’t create any clear-cut chances aside from one opportunity where Hugo Lloris showed just how well he’s been doing. Their player was through one-on-one, but instead of rushing out, as everyone does or he would’ve done three years ago, he stayed back, bought himself time, allowing the defender to get back and, at the same time, reducing the angle. If he’d moved away from his goal line too early, they would’ve scored.
We took the lead in stoppage time on the stroke of half-time, through a wonderful Dele Alli header to finish off a Christian Eriksen cross.
As the referee blew his whistle, Jesús and I headed to the dressing room without saying anything. Miguel had already been there for a few minutes to analyse the footage that our analyst had collated from the stands.
First things first: I drink so much water to relax during games that I inevitably have to go the toilet as soon as the first half ends.
I decided not to use anything from the video. I just told them to keep playing as they were with the same aggression with and without the ball. Jesús showed three set-pieces.
We lost some of our momentum in the second half and they had a chance to equalise, but I felt we didn’t need to change anything – sometimes it’s best to wait till the storm passes. Our wing-backs were getting into one-on-one situations and we had control of the central channel. We always had an extra man and Victor was everywhere. Despite having dropped our rhythm slightly, we managed to score our second goal, in the 54th minute through Alli again.
I could see that Dembélé was tiring and needed to be replaced, but I didn’t want to rush.
I asked my colleagues what they thought, but I remained convinced about the direction in which the game was heading and decided to hold off making the substitution for a bit. Finally Winks went on for Dembélé in the 74th minute and with him we regained control after a difficult spell. There’s so much talk about experience. Some players have so many years and games under their belts, but lack experience or an understanding of the game. Harry Winks plays as if he’s been doing so for over ten years.
We won.
During the press conference, I said that it was just one game and three points, and that to win trophies, you need to keep up that level of intensity against all opposition. I praised Jesús, whom I described as my right hand, left hand and eyes, and I also cleared up the Guardiola issue.
Daniel came down to the Manager’s Room. He was pleased with our performance. He told us that it was a game that half the world had watched.
We’re third, two points behind second-placed Liverpool and seven behind Chelsea.
Today marks my 150th Premier League game.
Tomorrow is a rest day.
*
I’m sitting on the sofa by myself. The echoes from today’s game are still running through my head. I’m not drinking any wine.
Jesús has just sent me a message. He says that the press conference was good because I didn’t make the win all about me and our tactical decisions.
The chairman also sent me a WhatsApp saying that he can’t sleep either from the excitement.
*
After the Chelsea game, I stated that Dele Alli is one of the most important players to have emerged in English football in recent years. Four of his seven goals this season before the turn of the year came in December, and he’s already scored four in two games so far this month. On top of that, two of them were in a big game. The statistic that we’ve seen this morning is remarkable. He’s scored more in his first fifty league games than Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney and Frank Lampard . . . He may go on to be better than all of them because he has the quality; now he just needs consistency.
There’s an urban legend that says that I didn’t want to sign him. It’s not true. I went to watch a League Cup tie between Milton Keynes Dons and Van Gaal’s Manchester United on 26 August 2014. I told Paul Mitchell, who was joining us at Tottenham, that we’d have an early dinner to celebrate his birthday and then we’d go to watch the game because there were two young players that I wanted to see: a full-back and a 17-year-old Dele Alli. MK Dons ran out 4–0 winners and Dele played in midfield in front of the defence. He was fantastic and displayed real ability and personality . . . I left before the end – no need to stay any longer.
We kept tracking him and had the chance to sign him in January 2015. After a game against West Brom, I had a meeting at the training ground with the chairman, Paul, Jesús and John McDermott. We decided to cough up the £5 million, an astronomical figure for a League One player. We loaned him straight back to MK Dons for six months, but asked him to come to train with us twice a week to get to know his new teammates and our way of working. He would get changed in the youth-team dressing room. Everything has an order and a time.
The following pre-season was demanding and I had to draw his attention to certain things, so that he wouldn’t get confused and could iron out some aspects of his behaviour. I was strict with him and he started to work hard. Jesús said to him one day in front of me: ‘The manager didn’t like you at all in your first two weeks here. Now he adores you.’
He started playing in the Premier League, but two games in I called him into my office because I could see that he was struggling despite having scored in his second league game. I showed him some videos of his performances and also training sessions. He wasn’t giving 100 per cent. Dele’s face said, ‘I can’t believe I did that.’ I said to him, ‘It’s just as easy to take you out of the team as it was to put you in it.’
Around November, he started to cement a starting berth. He was developing and also making waves with the national team. And he has something else I love and that I mentioned after the CSKA game this season. He is ‘naughty’, with that streetwise intelligence that can’t be taught.
The danger remains, as is often the case, that he’ll forget what has got him to this point. I’ve had to repeat that to him this season. The other risk is whether those around him know how to treat a top-level professional. His WhatsApp photo of a cartoon of a boy surrounded by people who all want a piece of him suggests that he needs to be surrounded by the right people.
He’s only 20 years old.
*
We’re going to see how the troops are today after a rest day. Our next game is in the FA Cup against Aston Villa on the 8th, which is an opportunity for some of the boys who don’t usually play, such as Vorm, Wimmer, Ben Davies, Carter-Vickers and Janssen. We’re the team that picked up the best results over the festive peri
od for the third season in a row. I have to admit we were lucky with the fixture schedule this year, but it does still seem to confirm that we always cruise through this part of the year. After the Chelsea game, you might have expected a certain level of euphoria, but we know that we have a jam-packed January and February ahead of us. No time to rest on our laurels.
We’re planning to interview candidates for the new chief scout position before today’s press conference, where I’ll certainly be asked about Lamela who’s going to Rome. He has an injury that we thought would clear up in a day or two, but it’s been troubling him for two and a half months. He needs a change of scenery it seems.
My throat is hurting a bit. Toni has the flu meaning he didn’t come in today and he was missed. He must be really ill to miss training. He didn’t feel well on the day of the Chelsea game. Certain things are perceived badly in the world of football and it makes me laugh. Weakness is apparently one of them. Simon Felstein was surprised back at the start when I admitted I’d slept badly or that my neck or back hurt. I prefer to be open in all areas, otherwise it comes back to bite you.
The good thing is that I have been doing exercise. Today I was on the running machine with Miki while watching Manchester United. The diet is punishing me, but I’m certainly losing weight.
*
Luis Enrique has announced that he’s leaving Barcelona and Sport, among other newspapers, has singled me out as a potential successor. My initial thought is that I must be doing something right in order to be considered. Whether or not it’s a true story is another matter. As is whether I’d accept such an approach, based on where I am at present and the club in question. Espanyol was my club, so I would never go to Barcelona.
Brave New World Page 21
