Sun 28 July 2019, 13:54
Tottenham HotspurMauricio Pochettino and Heung-Min Son thanked our fans in Asia after another successful summer tour.
On the pitch, we thrilled fans with a late win and wonder goal from Harry Kane against Juventus in Singapore before narrowly losing out to Manchester United in Shanghai.
Including Harry and Harry Winks, 11 Academy graduates featured in those games in the International Champions Cup (ICC) including first appearances at this level for Troy Parrott, Jack Roles and Harvey White, plus more experience for Japhet Tanganga and Jamie Bowden, who featured in last year's friendly against Girona. All impressed on tour.
Both matches were sold out and we engaged with our fans in both cities - putting on over 30 events across the tour, reaching out to official Supporters’ Clubs and working in communities with our Global Football Development team proudly spreading the Club’s philosophy throughout.
We helped celebrate our Global Principal Partner AIA’s centennial with events in both cities before celebrating again in Shanghai – this time as we announced an extension of a partnership that began back in 2013.
Most importantly though, and back to on-pitch matters, Mauricio described our performances against Juventus and United as ‘fantastic’ and praised both the attitude and application of the squad - young and experienced players - before thanking everyone involved.
“The tour was fantastic, we’ve enjoyed it a lot,” said Maurcio. “First, I want to say thanks to our fans, the welcome was fantastic and all the staff, all the people working at the tournament and the hotel, they helped to make our life easier, so a big, big thank-you to them all.
“It’s important that the collective performance was good. Some need to improve more, some need to get experience but overall it’s been a very positive experience against Juventus in Singapore and Manchester United in Shanghai.
“I’m so happy (so far in pre-season) but we need to keep pushing, keep going. The expectation is high but we matched that expectation and that’s why I’m so happy with the whole team.
“Now we go back to London and start to prepare for the next stage in our preparations. That’s going to be tough as well.”
South Korea star Sonny now knows he’s adored across Asia.
“I really enjoyed it because the support for me is so amazing,” he said. “I didn’t know the people supported me (like that) here. I’m really, really grateful and the players realise as well how the fans support us from Asia and from the other side of the world.
“It’s very important to be here with the team and play some games, train with great facilities and not just me, everyone is really grateful for that.
“I’m always really grateful to the supporters from here (Asia) and England and all around the world, I want to say thank you for everything in this pre-season in Singapore and Shanghai.”
