Hugo Lloris had been at the forefront of the North Londoners last line for over a decade, and he established himself as one of the icons at White Hart Lane during his tenure serving the Lilywhites. And in the process of doing so, he has not only made ample of memories but also has some behind-the-scenes stories about the Lilywhites supporters as well as football supporters in general.
Lloris played in Spurs colours between 2012 and 2023, as he went on to make 447 appearances donning the Tottenham badge with over a hundred and fifty clean sheets (precisely 151 clean sheets) to his name, and through his time at Hotspur Way he was the personification of leadership and consistency.
Lloris slams Levy’s ill-timed ‘finalist’ watch
And one of the biggest games that the 37-year-old played in his career was the Champions League final in 2019, when Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool defeated Mauricio Pochettino’s side, and the Frenchmen have slammed the Lilywhites chairman Daniel Levy for his ill-timed gesture ahead of the game.
Lloris recently revealed that Daniel Levy presented the then-Spurs squad with a custom luxury watch engraved with “finalist,” something that left the squad unsettled and speechless. He said (via. Daily Mail):
“We do all have one engraved memory, though. Four days before the final, Daniel Levy called us all together to announce that, with the support of a sponsor, we would each receive a luxury aviator watch from the club.”
“At first, we were excited to see the elegant boxes. Then we opened them and discovered that he’d had the back of each timepiece engraved with the player’s name and ‘Champions League Finalist 2019’. ‘Finalist.’ Who does such a thing at a moment like this? I still haven’t got over it, and I’m not alone.
“If we’d won, he wouldn’t have asked for the watches back to have ‘Winner’ engraved instead. I have considerable respect and esteem for the man and all he has done for the club as chairman – I got to know him – but there are things he is simply not sensitive to. As magnificent as the watch is, I have never worn it.”
Tottenham’s time under Mauricio Pochettino is the best football that the club has played in recent history. However, that didn’t accumulate into any trophies, which comes down to the mentality and the culture of the club, and the aforementioned gesture from Daniel Levy shows how deep Spurs are in a culture of not achieving yet making a meal out of small progresses.
Former icon Glenn Hoddle also went on to criticise this exact mentality at Hotspur in a recent interview.
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Do you think there needs to be a mentality and culture change at Tottenham? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
