Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel hoping to keep his cool against Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte
According to The Mirror, speaking ahead of today’s London derby against rivals Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel admitted that he let himself get a little too emotional in the Blues’ 1-1 draw against Brighton.
He also admitted that he needs to keep cool when coming up against a similarly emotional Spurs boss in Antonio Conte on the touchline. Both clubs go up in what is a pivotal clash in the top four race.
Tuchel is known to be quite an animated character on the pitch, waving his arms about and urging his team on when they need him the most. Tonight, he comes up against an old foe in Conte, who is no different to the German. The Spurs boss is famous for his emotional antics on the sidelines and it is likely that both managers will look to keep a low profile.
With a top-four place and a flagging title charge at stake, Tuchel has asked for the Blues fans to be fully emotional and supportive of the team’s efforts. Tottenham currently sits in sixth place in the league table, albeit having multiple games in hand.
The German boss was also full of praise for the Lilywhites manager, saying that he is a big fan of the Spurs man and is someone he admires greatly. Tuchel admitted that you need a good mix between emotions and a cool head to get through games. The Chelsea manager’s statement rings true given that emotions can cloud judgement.
“When you play a derby like this or against an emotional guy like Antonio Conte, you cannot just play from pure emotions. But I wish for myself to be cool in the decisive moments and keep a clear head.”
Tonight’s game is the third encounter between Spurs and Chelsea in the space of a month. Both teams faced off in the Carabao Cup semifinals, with Chelsea coming out on top with a scoreline of 3-0 on aggregate. This put a major dent in Conte’s aspirations of winning a trophy in his first season in charge.
The calm before the storm?
Tuchel went on to admit that he knew what was expected of a typical Conte side when the teams face off tonight and claimed he loved watching the Italian’s teams play.
“There is no doubt I am a big fan of Antonio Conte. What he does to teams is so obvious, it’s always clear it’s an Antonio Conte team. They play always with a desire to win, always with a huge physical input and a relentless style, and he is like this on the touchline. It’s always a pleasure to watch and I’m very proud to play against his teams.”
Despite all the nice words and praises showered by Tuchel on Conte, the German will be expecting a Spurs side itching to take revenge on Chelsea after the Blues knocked us out of the Carabao Cup. Conte will need no further motivation than this to spur our players on to give their best tonight.
Coming off the back of an exciting 3-2 away win against Leicester City, Conte will need his squad to show the same hunger and desire they displayed at the King Power Stadium. Chelsea are there for the taking and the onus is on us to take the game to them.
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Spurs, on the other hand, have not yet lost a game under Conte in the league since he took over from Nuno Espirito Santo, and we hope that we keep up this fantastic record going. This will be the last game played in the top-flight before the international break and Conte will want his side to head into it on a winning note.
The Italian’s ’emotional’ side is sure to be on display once again against Chelsea tonight. We hope that his players channel the same emotions and hunger to put their best foot forward and make it a night to remember for Spurs fans.
