Brave New World

by Guillem Balague

  He’s rounding off a very good season, having racked up 11 goals and 16 assists. His goal against Crystal Palace saved us and he’ll start at West Ham. We have to keep the pressure on Chelsea, although it’ll be difficult to catch them. They’re four points ahead with four games left.

  *

  It can be so hard to be a manager sometimes. Especially when you come to a crossroads and have to choose a route.

  It’s been an unpleasant week. I haven’t really been able to enjoy the win over Arsenal, with the Walker stories flying around. I’ve been rather subdued. My pre-match press conference ahead of the West Ham game was tough. I was asked many questions that weren’t easy to answer.

  ‘Has Walker trained as normal?’

  ‘Why wouldn’t he?’ I replied.

  ‘Is Walker happy at Tottenham?’

  What was I supposed to do? Tell the press about our conversation? At that time?

  ‘Don’t you think it’s strange that the player hasn’t come out to deny the alleged row with you?’ a journalist asked. If someone doesn’t want to leave, he’ll certainly come out and deny the story, right? I am convinced that his people are leaking stories to the press. So should I be the person to deal with the matter publicly? If I were the club owner, would I want to support the manager or give off the impression that if Walker leaves, it’s purely down to the boss?

  The whole topic was discussed internally, and whether it was a coincidence or not, a tabloid newspaper devoted four pages to the team the following day, with two about my influence and two on the new stadium.

  Such conflicts prevent you from being completely free when it comes to making decisions. No manager controls all the media, every player or the club as a whole. Choosing the starting line-ups allows you to show your authority, but it’s often conditional. How can you leave a regular on the bench without it causing adverse repercussions?

  After mulling it over, we decided to start Walker against West Ham because we wanted to keep rotating, but what if the decision affected the team?

  We didn’t play well against West Ham from the get-go. We tried several things, but none of them came off. We deserved to lose 1–0 and that hurt. We were not at our best. After nine straight wins, the defeat paves the way for our rivals, who won their game. They’re now seven points ahead with nine left to play for.

  We gave everyone two days off and I travelled to Barcelona on that same morning. When I’m back, I’ll need to get them to regain their focus and make it clear that the season isn’t over.

  *

  I couldn’t get the game out of my head while in Barcelona. Was that faltering attitude at the end of last season rearing its ugly head once again? It’s as if the campaign came to an end after the Arsenal match. I was convinced that, as a group, we were in a different place and wouldn’t stumble over the same rock. On Monday, when I got back, I spoke to the players in the usual place, the sofas at the restaurant. But I didn’t hide my disgust and was rather cold. I didn’t feel as though it was the time for hugs or kisses. I heard that many players got worried. ‘What’s up with him?’

  I didn’t go to the first session of the week. The rest of the coaching staff were also distant in calculated measure. It was going to be a very long week.

  I didn’t go on the second day either. Jesús was aggressive towards them. He didn’t let a single one of them off the hook. He pushed and pushed.

  ‘Maybe Poch wants to leave the club? There are rumours about Inter . . .’ was the talk at mealtimes. Alarm bells were ringing, thanks to a meeting that I had with Piero Ausilio, the Italian club’s sporting director whom I’ve known since they loaned Coutinho to Espanyol.

  I arranged separate chats with the club captains, all of whom were visibly worried. ‘Are you OK? You seem irritated and far away. Do you want to leave?’ The reactions were rather eye-opening. The more experienced players didn’t need much of an explanation about where I was coming from and didn’t look to shift the blame, but remained concerned. ‘What can we do to make you feel better?’ they asked. Jesús told me that was the price to pay for the way I work. ‘In general, you treat them like a father would and you get 150 per cent out of them. The day that you treat them like a manager should, they take offence.’

  I decided to take training on the final two days before the Manchester United clash. I asked Jesús what we should do. ‘What does it matter? The group is asking you to be there,’ he responded. So on Thursday I went through some tactics and defensive organisation with two groups and on Friday we did some set-piece work. We had the idea of practising a corner routine from the left and a different one from the right. We did so ten times or more, but didn’t score many goals. In any case, the intensity was there and we were satisfied, although we didn’t openly show it.

  We spent the week in negotiations over holidays, another sensitive subject that is also a distraction. At this stage, everyone battles for their own thing and the collective unit suffers. Last year we gave the suspended players holidays before the Euros and some of the others took that badly. They do need a break, of course. We’ve reached an agreement whereby every international player will have a minimum holiday allocation because the national teams finish the season on different days. There is one condition that hinges on the number of points that we pick up in our final three games. Each additional point above a minimum threshold will equal an extra day’s holiday.

  On Friday Son received his Player of the Month award and I was presented with mine for Manager of the Month. Six wins, 16 goals scored and just one conceded are the figures that justify the decision to give me the accolade that I’d previously obtained in February 2016. I don’t want to appear ungrateful, but I don’t really like such awards, first of all because they don’t reflect reality. Managers don’t make decisions based on the month. It could be replaced by the Team of the Month for the side with the best results, the most goals scored and fewest conceded. A player can receive recognition for four wonderful weeks, but managers don’t compete under the same conditions. We aren’t all driving the same car, which is why those who don’t have much, but manage to get a great deal out of their players, are extraordinarily valuable. It’s the same with the Manager of the Year: there should be one award for the champions and another that bears in mind the various squads.

  The press conference ahead of the Manchester United match was relaxed. There was plenty of talk about the stadium, with it being the final game at the old White Hart Lane. I felt like responding to Conte who’d said earlier in the week that we’d started the season with an advantage over Chelsea because I’ve been with the squad for three years and know the league, unlike him. I just didn’t understand what he was getting at. But in the end I decided it was not a battle worthwhile picking up. This time.

  I then announced the squad list.

  *

  Players put on a heap of cologne before taking to the pitch these days. We’re all, ‘Come on, come on, come on!’ and they’re all pshht pshht pshht. The dressing room smells of humidity, the air is thick and dense, at least the aroma of Deep Heat from yesteryear has disappeared. I always have a shower before the match which is when I decide if I’m going to wear a tracksuit or a suit.

  When I head out into the tunnel, I lose all sense of what’s happening around me. I don’t hear anything else. My head is filled with silence and I’m completely focused on the game. It doesn’t matter if there are 90,000 or 300 people in attendance or whether it’s at Wembley or White Hart Lane. It feels just like when I played in the field alone as a kid.

  *

  The match went as we expected. Manchester United attempted to stop us by marking us man-to-man and chasing us down all over the pitch, but we knew they’d do that and were ready. We used the move that we’d practised yesterday for our first corner . . . and we scored! This time it came off. The second goal was also from a set-piece.

  We had one change left towards the end. ‘Let’s bring Sissoko on for Eriksen,’ I said to Jesús who starte
d to look for the player.

  ‘He isn’t around.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘He isn’t warming up and he isn’t on the bench.’

  Sissoko suddenly appeared from the dressing room, having just thrown up. ‘Let’s put N’Koudou on,’ I concluded.

  We showed great intensity once again and created dozens of chances. We covered more ground than them, five miles to be precise. We’ve exhibited the right attitude in two recent performances, either side of a bloody disaster. The 2–1 scoreline didn’t reflect our superiority, but it did ensure that we ended the league campaign unbeaten on home soil and we clinched second place with two games to spare.

  It was time for our White Hart Lane farewell party.

  There were no celebrations last year linked to qualifying for the Champions League, finishing third or our best ever Premier League finish. Zilch. On this occasion, everything came together for a fitting family celebration at home.

  There was a pitch invasion as we headed to the dressing room. We had to wait for it to be cleared before kicking off the ceremony with a host of club legends. It was spectacular. When they were all on the pitch, it was time for my entrance.

  We went on a lap of honour with our families and took some photos with all the staff.

  It was a truly star-studded affair, with club legends past and present in attendance.

  It was press conference time and I invited Miki and Toni up there with Jesús and me.

  We headed back to the dressing room. Daniel asked me to head up to the boardroom to see all the directors and the daughter of Joe Lewis. Afterwards, we went back to the dressing room where Sebastiano cracked open a bottle of wine to celebrate.

  I really enjoyed what happened next. The fans had all left and I went onto the pitch with my family and the coaching staff to go for one last walk and to take a few private photos. I relished the solitude and peace. All that was left from the celebration and the match was an echo. The game reminded me of when Espanyol played Valencia on the last game ever in Sarria. The silence at White Hart Lane brought back memories of the night when my wife, son and I visited the remains at the old Espanyol ground.

  As was the case then, I didn’t take anything from the Lane away with me. You can’t keep the smell or the sounds . . . The feelings can’t be locked away in a box. What’s the point of having a seat from the stadium at home? It’s better to keep those things with you, in your head.

  We were going to the dressing room when Donna-Maria Cullen, one of our directors, came out and said that Daniel and his family were also en route to see us on the pitch. Surrounded by the shell of an empty stadium, Daniel said something to me that I hadn’t heard him say in three years. He used to spend time worrying about whether certain players wanted to leave or were happy. Now he understands more than ever the relative importance of the individual in this Tottenham – the engine is the team.

  It was late when we all went home on an emotion-filled day. That’s all part of football, too.

  *

  We beat Leicester City 6–1 away to seal our 12th win in 13 games.

  Harry Kane scored four of them and looks set to win the race for the Premier League’s Golden Boot ahead of Romelu Lukaku. In recent matches, the players have been seeking out Kane to help him score as many goals as possible and clinch that individual accolade.

  Son scored our other two goals at King Power Stadium.

  We’ve racked up 32 wins, ten draws and ten defeats in all competitions.

  Our final fixture is in three days’ time away to already-relegated Hull.

  *

  This was the line-up: Lloris; Trippier, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Davies; Wanyama, Dier; Son, Alli, Eriksen; and Kane.

  Twelve months ago, the soundtrack of ‘Rafa Benítez, we want you to stay!’ echoed around the Newcastle stadium throughout the game. We were expecting the same tune today, but with Marco Silva replacing Rafa.

  We recorded a resounding 7–1 victory against Hull. Harry Kane bagged a hat-trick.

  We’ve finished second on 84 points, three more than title-winning Leicester managed last season. We’re in sensational shape, both physically and mentally. People said that my teams faltered in the second half of the campaign, but no longer. We have that flexibility which means that when opponents pick up our team sheet and look at our XI, they can’t be sure how we’re going to play. During games, we can easily switch to whatever we fancy with the help of a couple of instructions.

  It’s a shame that a silly goal cost Hugo the Golden Glove.

  The league is over: we’ve been everything that we’re able to be.

  That ill-fated match at Newcastle has also finally been put to bed. In the end it wasn’t (and it was) down to me. It was (and it wasn’t) down to the players. To sum up, it was nobody’s fault. It’s simply that that’s where we were then and this is where we are now.

  *

  The chairman had told us that if we reached the FA Cup final, the visit to Hong Kong, where we’re scheduled to play a friendly before the holidays would be off. It wasn’t to be. The upcoming three-day trip gives us a chance to wind down.

  As soon as we landed, I messaged Karina; it must’ve been 6 a.m. in England: ‘Have you seen what happened in Manchester?’ Jesús is usually the one who switches his phone on before anyone else. On the plane, he’d already told us, ‘There’s been an attack, twenty fatalities.’

  How fragile we are. The overwhelming feeling is that you aren’t safe anywhere. No one should change the way they live their everyday lives, but precautions are more necessary than ever. In any case, the level of security at the club is at its maximum.

  I increasingly prefer to stay away from crowded events. I avoid going to London, but that isn’t necessarily linked to security. In a perfect world, I’d live in Barcelona in my house and, if anything, I’d take the train to play football. If I could walk there, even better. I sometimes feel that little universe would make me happy. I’ve enjoyed my travels, but I find myself losing that need to see the world, having been doing so since I was 14. Spending so much time lugging a suitcase around, sitting in airports and staying at hotels feels as if you’re not living life.

  And you have to live.

  *

  I’m in my hotel room in Hong Kong, having just arrived from the airport. When I arrived, I lay down on the bed without taking off my team tracksuit. Next time I go to the training ground, I’ll be given a new one: it’ll have that fresh smell and that wonderful feeling associated with the start of the season.

  Before that, we have a plethora of commitments to see to here. The group is doing well. We all would’ve gone our separate ways without this mini tour, which serves as a farewell and rounds off the season. Intensity levels will finally drop, we will eat together and go out in groups. It all counts. Victories are achieved by reaching the top, being plunged into hell together and getting back to the top once more.

  A snapshot of the campaign shows that we haven’t been good enough to win titles, but the feature film shows that we’re progressing. There’s one thing that we’re going to have to stress to get ahead of the rest. Every side undergoes similar preparation physically, medically, nutritionally and tactically, with varying levels of creativity. There’s plenty of room for improvement in the mental side of things. Eric Dier is the perfect example: he’s just told me it’s a shame that the season is over now, when he feels he has all the answers and is a physical force. What changed? It’s all in his head.

  If I had to choose a moment from the last twelve months, it would be our opening Champions League fixture. It was this squad’s first taste of action in the competition that everyone longs to compete in. I’m always the last person to head out on to the pitch; I’m not the type to rush. That day, however, I said to Jesús, Miki and Toni: ‘Let’s get out there quickly because I don’t want to miss the Champions League anthem.’ We were behind the players, ready to head out there and listen to it on the pitch. We looked at one another
and tried to contain our laughter. Perhaps the positive emotional peak of the campaign.

  What changed from that point onwards? Defeats taught us, challenged us. The team learnt how to win more than before and were more convinced of victory than ever. To keep going, we just had to make everyone as ambitious as we were.

  The curtain is coming down for the players, they will go off on holidays, but we’re already on to the next mission. I won’t be able to stop answering my phone. It’s impossible to completely disconnect. I’ll send messages to a few players, but keeping your distance can be beneficial. They may feel fearful that we won’t see each other again. Even though . . . maybe it is only wishful thinking on my part..

  If we didn’t go further this year and didn’t win anything, it’s because it wasn’t our time. I’m motivated to try it all again. We’re all moving up to the next level.

  Does anyone doubt that something big is about to happen at Tottenham Hotspur?

  After all, to dare is to do.

  EPILOGUE

  POCHETTINO IN OTHER WORDS

  Iván de la Peña

  Mauricio and I crossed paths for the first time when I was still playing at Espanyol, and he arrived in the winter transfer window during a very difficult situation. I am one of those people who thinks that leaders are born not made, and Mauricio has always been a leader. He showed it from the first minute. I remember a group conversation with him at the first game he had at Montjuïc where he wanted to convince the group that we were more than capable, had the talent and the ability to correct the complicated situation we found ourselves in, and that what we had to have was belief in ourselves. But more than what he said, it was the way he said it that grabbed the group of players so much.