Antonio on 2022, Romero’s return, Bissouma’s ‘great opportunity’ and a tribute to Pele
Fri 30 December 2022, 17:40|
Tottenham Hotspur
Antonio Conte took us back to his childhood for his memories of Pele.
Football’s first world superstar, three-times World Cup winner and FIFA’s ‘Player of the Century’, the Brazil legend sadly passed away after illness on Thursday evening.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference ahead of our Premier League clash against Villa at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on New Year’s Day (2pm), then exclusively to SPURSPLAY, Antonio explained how his father introduced him to Pele when he was a youngster growing up in Italy.
Antonio on Pele
“I was lucky to know him, and honestly, I’m really sad for this, for his death, because Pele was a person who was important in football, one of the most popular, maybe the most popular player in football. But his behaviour, he was always a person who lived without arrogance, and he showed himself always to be a humble person, and in my opinion, he was with Maradona as the best players in the world. The first person who spoke to me about Pele was my father. My father was in love with Pele because for him, he was the best player in the world and many times he spoke about him. Then I watched some games that he played and especially the final of the World Cup and some situations it was incredible what he did with the ball. For sure if I have to compare Pele with Maradona, it is different because about Pele I listened, I had my father and I watched through the TV his quality and that he was an amazing player. About Maradona, I had the opportunity to play against him. Then to see and to touch his ability. But I repeat, Pele for my father was the best footballer in the world and I grew up with this figure because my father, not every day, but my father was my first coach and Pele for him was the best.”
Antonio on Cuti’s return
“He’s back in a good physical condition, also, the mental aspect. To win a World Cup gives you a lot of confidence, they celebrated a lot, and that was right because to win the World Cup is not simple, an incredible achievement for the players. Now, I saw him really focussed, I saw him with his mind back into our team, back into Tottenham, and he’s ready to play.”
Antonio on Rodrigo and Yves
“Rodrigo is going to have an MRI today (Friday) and fingers crossed, the MRI can give us a good answer. He is an important player for us, a player who has improved so much during my time at Tottenham. For this reason, we hope that he recovers well. But, at this moment, Bissouma has a great opportunity to show his capacity, and it’s important for him to play and take confidence. Behind him, Skippy and Pape Sarr, we are talking about two young players, really good prospects. Of course, Pierre is an important player for us.”
Antonio on 2022
“It’s been a positive year, I think so, because it was a great achievement for us to finish in the top four in England, it’s is never, ever easy, especially last season, when we started the season so-so, then, we were able to overcome Arsenal with three games to go, that was really important, especially now as we’re playing Champions League, and we won our group. Now, this season, we have another big challenge. In this moment, United, Liverpool, Chelsea are not in the top four. This means that difficulty is coming, and the second part of the season will be a sporting war for all the clubs who want to try to finish in the top four or in the European (qualification) zones.”
