Conte: “Me in Buckingham Palace to greet the queen”

by our correspondent Davide Chinellato

September 12
– London

More rested than expected, favorite and looking for confirmation. Tottenham are in Lisbon to face Sporting tomorrow at 18.45 Italian on the second day of the Champions League, with Antonio Conte’s team returning to the field for the first time after Richarlison’s 2-0 win against Marseille on Wednesday. He was supposed to play in the Premier League at City on Saturday, but the Queen’s death blew everything up. “On Friday I also went to Buckingham Palace – reveals Conte -. I also wanted to pay my respects to the Queen, to offer my condolences to the royal family. And because I am a normal person, in a country that is experiencing a historic moment. I still don’t believe the Queen is dead: I honestly thought she was immortal ”.

DEPARTURE

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Tottenham landed in Lisbon in the afternoon after training in their sports center this morning. Conte has everyone at his disposal, except Lucas Moura. “Not having played on Saturday allowed us to recover – says the coach -. And it changes things for us, even in terms of training. I had ideas in mind for this double engagement: I would have fielded a certain type of players against City, but now I can make different decisions ”. The main doubt is in attack: Richarlison, a starter in the heavy trident together with Son and Kane, resolved it against Marseille. But the match was resolved when the Spurs went unbalanced, with Conte also sending Kulusevski onto the field. “I know I can field an attack with three important players and still have an equally important one on the bench ready to make a difference. Against Marseille, since we were 0-0, I chose to include Kulusevski to attack more. We will see with Sporting ”.

SON

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One of the players most under scrutiny at Tottenham right now is Son. The South Korean, top scorer in the Premier League last year, has not yet scored in 2022-23. And given Richarlison’s explosion and Kulusevski’s tactical utility, Son’s position is under the magnifying glass. After reiterating in the past the centrality of the attacker in his vision of Tottenham, this time Conte chooses the diplomatic path. “When you try to build something important, with the ambition to compete to win, you have to change old habits and keep the balance – he explains -. For this reason all players must accept the turnover: we have 4 players in attack and it is always difficult to leave one out. I always have to try to make the best decision, both for the players and for the team. But habits must change, those who think that the stars must always play is wrong ”.