JUST KEEP IT CLEAN, LADS!
Pochettino and Conte want passion but not another pitch battle
WHEN Mauricio Pochettino arrived to talk, he was fresh from sharing his wisdom with Eric Dier about life, self-control and football, and how it was all different back in the days so distant that some people remember Tottenham winning at Chelsea.
‘I was just talking in my office how football was 20 years ago,’ said Pochettino as he revisited for the first time the game now known as the Battle of the Bridge. ‘I used to watch the ball and watch the opponent, because maybe you can receive a punch or a kick.
‘There weren’t too many cameras to get you suspended. There was more freedom then, not so much consequence. You could make a lot of mistakes. Today, every action, you are in the spotlight.
‘It’s difficult to show your real emotion. Life is about what you are doing with your phone, the internet. It is a different era.
‘You are not always free. We cannot behave with freedom. Maybe someone can hack your camera in your house and look at what you are doing. You need to have more control. Football is the same.’
Six months have passed since Chelsea came back from two goals down to draw 2-2 at Stamford Bridge, ending Tottenham’s title dream and confirming Leicester as the most remarkable champions for many years. A tempestuous London derby featured a dozen yellow cards, nine for Spurs players, with Mousa Dembele banned for six games for scratching Diego Costa near his eye, which was missed by the referee but spotted by those ever-present cameras.
The two clubs were initially fined a record total of £600,000 by the FA, although these were later reduced on appeal to £290,000 for Chelsea and £175,000 for Tottenham.
Pochettino was on the pitch at one point, attempting to keep Danny Rose and Willian apart. ‘I made a mistake, I cannot go on the pitch,’ said the Spurs boss. ‘I was involved in the game and I forgot my thoughts. I wanted to stop the fight.’
Premier League supremo Richard Scudamore later referred to the game as ‘a guilty pleasure’, both the best and the worst of the English game. Certainly, it was a captivating spectacle.
Tottenham had crossed London in irritable mood because the world seemed to be willing on Leicester.
As Jamie Vardy took his most famous house party to another level, ill-feeling simmered in the capital and accusations filtered from the Spurs camp about Cesc Fabregas flicking opponents in the groin to wind them up.
‘Provocation was not the only problem,’ said Pochettino. ‘We were in a very sensitive moment. We were aggressive with all that was happening. We wanted to win that game although maybe it would not change the title.
‘Out of context, we can ask, “Why did Tottenham behave like this?” But in the moment it was normal. All the people outside Tottenham shared the same feelings. And it is a London derby.
‘We conceded the goals and you get frustrated, disappointed and maybe you pay by kicking someone. You lose your cool but I think the Chelsea players understand. It is why we love football, the passion.
‘Now we are in a different moment. I hope we can play football and if we deserve to win, then we win.’
Tottenham are unbeaten in the Premier League this season and yet have won only once in their last nine games in all competitions.
Moreover, they have not won at Chelsea since February 1990, when Pochettino was a promising centre half at Newell’s Old Boys and Antonio Conte was an industrious midfielder making a name at Lecce.
The winless run spans 29 games in all competitions and Conte watched the 29th, the stormy draw in May, aware he would soon replace interim boss Guus Hiddink.
‘A very strange game,’ he said, but like Argentine Pochettino, the Italian looked as if this was precisely his kind of game; one which would have appealed to his strengths as a player.
‘In London there are a lot of teams but this game is special for our club,’ said Conte, recalling derbies in midfield for Juventus against Torino, and Lecce against Bari.
‘These games are always tough, with fantastic intensity, unpredictable. The supporters feel these games. I like these games, for sure. But it is important to be focused.
‘Our behaviour and our attitude must be perfect, to think only about the game. The passion has to be right, on the pitch but not in a bad way. I always told my players, ‘‘Don’t find an excuse and fight because you lose and win (over) 38 league games — not one game’’.’
CONTEhas adjusted quickly to English football. This time it is Chelsea with title aspirations once again; on top of the Premier League and flying after six wins in a row.
Perhaps he was helped by a factfinding mission in February 2015 when, while Italy coach, he spent a week in London, visiting Sam Allardyce at West Ham, Jose Mourinho at Chelsea and Pochettino at Spurs.
‘I wanted to come in England and compare my ideas,’ said Conte. ‘I learned a lot. Mauricio was fantastic. I consider him one of the best managers and I tell him thank you again because he gave me this chance to visit. I spoke with him and his staff and his technical director Franco Baldini, and we watched a video.
‘I remember that day with great emotion because we spoke a lot. When there is a discussion between two managers, you talk about football but you talk about 35 per cent of your ideas and keep the other 65 per cent for yourself.’
They would both have agreed things were different, probably simpler back in their day. And you could get away with a lot more.