TO London bank Tottenham there is no calm atmosphere, not at all. The deletion from Champions League on Wednesday 8 March brought a bit of unease inside the dressing room of the Spurs. The player who raised his voice in front of the cameras was Richardsonwho spoke about the choices of Antonio Conte very critically. In the post match, the Brazilian revealed his frustration accumulated since the start of the season: “The coach didn’t explain to me why he didn’t deploy me from the first minute,” said the center forward. “I am a professional, I work hard every day and I want to play! However, I’m playing very few minutes. Excuse the term, but this one season is a m…. because I play little,” Richarlison added.
The response from the former Juve and Inter coach was not long in coming. On the eve of the Premier League match against Nottingham ForestConte took the situation head on: “He didn’t criticize me, but said ‘my season is a m….‘ And he’s right, his season hasn’t been good so far,” said the coach from Lecce. And then he didn’t increase the dose: “Because he’s had so many injuries, then he’s come back well in the group. Later, another injury in the Champions League, then ai World Cup with Brazil he did not win the competition and suffered another serious injury. He went back to London and was out another month. He hasn’t scored in the league no goals. Only two goals in the Champions League”.
Of course, Conte did not appreciate the selfishness of Brazilian: “I think the guy was quite honest. In the rest of the interview he only talked about himselfnever of the team, proving to be a lot selfish. For this reason, the case of Richarlison serves to make players understand that, if they want to win, gods trophiesthe player must always think of the good of the whole team, not just your own“. Conte used this episode to try to unite the group, which risks breaking down after the disappointment against Milan: “I think he understood his mistakes, he apologized. I took the opportunity to reiterate to my players the importance of team spirit”.
Then Conte added: “I am the coach and I am the responsible first of this situation”. Words that demonstrate more than anything else that the relationship between Spurs and the coach is increasingly in poised. From the statements of the last few months, Conte’s clear desire to di return to Italy. The former national team coach has been reflecting a lot since the death of his close friend Gianluca Vialli and the possibility of seeing him on a bench of A league in the next season it is very high.