Tag: Tottenham

Is it bad when your director is banned worldwide by FIFA? Asking for Tottenham

It seems hard to be a director of football if you are banned from conducting any transfer business

FIFA has announced that Tottenham director of football Fabio Paratici’s 30-month ban in Italy is now in effect across the globe.

Paratici was handed the ban in January by Italy’s soccer federation (FIGC) amid his role in a scandal involving false transfer accounting that has seen Juventus given a 15-point penalty in the Serie A table.

After 11 years in the job, Paratici left his role as Juventus sporting director in 2021 to join Tottenham.

In a statement provided to multiple outlets, FIFA confirmed that Paratici’s ban in Italy is now worldwide.

“FIFA can confirm that following a request by the FIGC, the chairperson of FIFA Disciplinary Committee has decided to extend the sanctions imposed by FIGC on several football officials to have worldwide effect,” the statement read.

Sky Sports said that as part of the ban, Paratici is unable to conduct any sort of transfer activity directly, including talking to agents or negotiating deals. These seem like fairly important things for a director of football to be able to do, so it’s not clear how tenable Paratici’s role is at present.

Paratici was also set to lead the search for a replacement for ex-manager Antonio Conte, who left Spurs this week by mutual consent.

Paratici can, however, attend internal meetings at Spurs. So he’s got that going for him, which is nice.

After the announcement by FIFA, Tottenham responded in a terse statement, saying: “This committee deliberation has been taken with no advance notice to any of the parties involved. We are urgently seeking further clarification from FIFA as to the details of the extension and its variance from the FIGC sanction.”

In any event, Paratici’s future may not be sorted until April 19, when an appeal will be held.

Should that appeal not go his way, Paratici’s tenure at Tottenham may end up being a pretty short one.

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Mission accomplished: Antonio Conte gets himself run out of Tottenham

The inevitable has finally happened

Typically, as a coach, when you call your players selfish and say your club’s culture is so rotten that it’s gotten used to not winning trophies, you may not be long for your job.

Antonio Conte must have known that would be the case after his incredible rant 10 days ago. Sunday’s news that he and Tottenham had mutually parted ways was inevitable from the moment he said: “Tottenham’s story is this: 20 years that there is the owner, and they never won something.”

In the statement announcing the move, and Cristian Stellini’s appointment as acting head coach for the rest of the season, Spurs chairman Daniel Levy didn’t waste any time thanking Conte for his contributions. Instead, he just implored his team to turn things around.

“We have 10 Premier League games remaining and we have a fight on our hands for a Champions League place,” Levy said. “We all need to pull together. Everyone has to step up to ensure the highest possible finish for our club and amazing, loyal supporters.”

Conte was seen as a strong appointment in November 2021 when Spurs brought him in to right the ship after sacking Nuno Espírito Santo. And in year one, Conte turned Tottenham’s season around and guided to the team to fourth place and a Champions League berth.

This year, though, things have not gone quite as smooth.

Spurs are in fourth again but their position is precarious as they have two more games played than the teams around them. Their trophy chances have again vanished after crashing out of the two domestic cups and the Champions League last 16 against AC Milan.

Basically, it’s a typical Spurs season.

Conte was supposed to be the one who made these kinds of seasons the floor, not the ceiling, but he’s been unable to change things around.

Tottenham’s most recent trophy remains the 2008 League Cup.

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Incandescent Conte tears into just about everyone at Tottenham

Conte: “I’m really upset”

Tottenham’s latest disappointment triggered a furious response from Antonio Conte unlike just about anything we’ve seen in this Premier League season.

A bizarre 3-3 draw at Southampton in which Spurs — for the second time this year — threw away a two-goal lead offered plenty of discussion points.

Four first-half substitutions for injuries (two for each side), Harry Kane’s 204th Premier League goal, and the baffling sequence of events that ended with James Ward-Prowse’s stoppage-time penalty kick delighting home supporters at St. Mary’s…the raw material for a story about a deeply weird game was all there.

But it all paled next to Conte’s disgust with just about everything at the club, which came through in a nearly 10-minute diatribe that functioned as his post-game remarks to reporters at St. Mary’s.

Conte was predictably asked for his thoughts on referee David Coote’s decision to award Southampton a stoppage-time penalty despite a seeming lack of contact between Pape Sarr and Ashley Maitland-Ward.

Conte may not have liked the call, but as he quickly made clear, that wasn’t why he was seething on Saturday.

“If we are going to discuss about the penalty, to me it means that we don’t want to [discuss the] other situation, okay?” said Conte. “The penalty, I repeat, for me was no penalty. And stop, we close the situation. There was a worse situation, it’s what happened, what’s happening [on] the pitch, what’s happening in the last few months.

“I think that there is a moment to speak, because I think after this performance…for me, this is unacceptable. You’re winning 3-1 and you are in control [of] the game, and you are able to concede two goals, and to risk two [more], because also Fraser [Forster] made a fantastic save in one situation.”

Conte then moved away from a single game problem and began tearing into just about everyone at Spurs.

“It’s much better now to go into the problem,” started Conte. “The problem is that for another time we show that we are not a team. We are 11 players that go onto the pitch. And I see selfish players. I see players that don’t want to help each other, don’t put their heart [into it].

“I prefer to hide the situation, and…try to improve the spirit, the situation, with words, with a lot about tactical or technical aspects. This one situation, the most important thing: if you want to become a strong team, if you want to become competitive, you want to fight to win? It’s the desire, the fight that you need to have in your eyes, your heart and you have to show this in every moment.”

Conte said that he’s been thinking about this problem as far back as Tottenham’s FA Cup lost to a rotated Sheffield United, saying that his Spurs side have not been up to the task from a desire perspective for some time.

Conte rejected any other angles as “finding an alibi” for his squad, accusing one reporter of “only [doing] this excuse for the players.”

“Yeah, ‘but the players,’ maybe ‘my future,’ and then okay, ‘they lost confidence, they lost spirit,” ranted Conte, who slapped the podium before continuing. “Excuse. Excuse. Excuse. Try to plot every time and the situation. Come on. Come on. Come on. We are professional. The club paid us a lot of money, the players receive money. Me? Received money. You understand? And not to find excuses, and [not] have spirit, or don’t show the sense of belonging, or don’t show a sense of responsibility.

“This is the first time in my career, to see a situation like this. Until now I wasn’t able to…compare seasons. So the situation went to become worse. Why? Bah, I don’t know. Because they are used to it here. They’re used it here. Don’t play for something important. They don’t play, or they don’t want to play, under pressure. They don’t want to play under stress. Yeah, it’s easy this way, at Tottenham. Tottenham’s story is this. 20 years that there is the owner, and they never won something.”

Conte wasn’t done, sarcastically dismissing Tottenham’s chances of climbing the table based on their lack of fight.

“We can fight for what? With this spirit, with this attitude, with this commitment? What? For the seventh, eighth place? Ninth place? I’m not used to this position. I’m really upset.”

We know, Antonio. We know.

Watch Conte’s Tottenham rant

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Richarlison thinks his season’s been ‘s–––’ and Antonio Conte doesn’t disagree

All is not well in north London

Richarlison’s season at Tottenham has not been great. In fact, the Brazilian’s found a way to succinctly describe it in just one word: “s–––.”

After he came off the bench in Tottenham’s 0-0 draw with AC Milan on Wednesday — a match that eliminated Spurs from the Champions League, Richarlison vented his frustration with himself, his club and his coach.

“I was playing well, we won against Chelsea and West Ham and suddenly I was on the bench,” he told TNT Sports.

“I played five minutes against Wolves, asked the reason and no-one told me why. Yesterday, they asked me to take a fitness test in the gym and told me I was going to start today if I passed it.

“And today I was on the bench. There are things I can’t understand. There was no explanation again, let’s see what he [Spurs manager Antonio Conte] will tell us tomorrow – but I’m not silly, I’m a professional who works hard every day and I want to play.”

“There are minutes left, time left. This season, excuse the word, it’s been s–––, because I don’t have minutes, I suffered a little with the injury. But, when I enter the field, I give my life.”

Conte responds

In a press conference on Friday, Conte was given the chance to respond to the Brazilian. The coach agreed with his player’s assessment of his own campaign, insisting that he didn’t take the interview as criticism of his coaching.

“I watched Richarlison’s interview. He didn’t criticize me, he said ‘my season is s–––’ and he’s right, his season is not good,” the Spurs manager said.

“He had a lot of injuries, he went to the World Cup, he had another injury, then back and one month out, then other injuries. He scored zero goals with us, only two in Champions League. I think that the guy was really honest to say that his season is not good. But our season hasn’t finished. He has the time to recover and if he deserves to play I’ll give him the opportunity.”

Conte did, however, admit he wasn’t happy to see his player complain about his own personal situation right after a difficult result for his team.

“I think [the] guy understood he made a mistake because when you speak with I, I and I, not ‘us’, it means you are thinking only about yourself and you are selfish,” the Italian said.

“I repeat to my players, if we want to build something important, fight for something important, fight to be competitive and win a trophy, we have to speak with ‘we’.

“If we speak I, I and I, we are only thinking about himself. The guy understood very well and apologized, which is good because I had an opportunity to clarify for another time the spirit of the team.”

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Tottenham choose Beyonce over pesky local stadium rules

Beyonce added an extra London date at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and local councilors say that violates Tottenham’s agreement with Haringey.

Sometimes in life, you have a choice where breaking the rules is the only good option.

Tottenham was just faced with such a decision, and they made the right call by opting for more Beyoncé concerts even as they left local government figures “disappointed” by doing so.

The issue is simple: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is in Haringey, one of London’s many boroughs, and the license agreement allowing the team to play there also allows for them to host up to six concerts in a calendar year.

Meanwhile, Tottenham had booked Beyoncé’s massive Renaissance tour, which was set to come to Spurs’ home stadium on May 29-30, June 1, and June 3. But London is a massive global city, and Beyoncé is Beyoncé; four nights is not enough. Everyone can agree on that as fact and not simply an example of editorializing from a staff writer.

So the logical move was to just book one more night, and that’s exactly what happened: back in February, it was announced that Beyoncé will play a June 4 show. If you want to go, you better hurry, and you better be ready to spend: general admission tickets are already sold out, and the BBC is reporting that the remaining premium tickets left start at £349.

There’s just one problem: Tottenham had also booked the Red Hot Chili Peppers for July 21, and Wizkid for July 29. The extra Beyoncé show would be a seventh concert, in violation of Tottenham’s pact with the Haringey council.

Tottenham burdened by paperwork

Announcing the show and selling thousands of tickets is a classic example of being more willing to ask for forgiveness than permission, and that appears to be Tottenham’s strategy.

Dana Carlin, the cabinet member for planning at Haringey Council, said that the council has told the team that the extra show will require some work on their end.

“Tottenham Hotspur have been advised that they must engage with the community, ward councillors and submit a planning application,” Carlin told the BBC. “We are disappointed that we have got to this stage.”

Still, no matter the frustration from the council, the power of Beyoncé is such that it appears all parties want this to end with a fifth show for the pop icon. The Haringey Council is reportedly going to work with Tottenham through the process to reach a resolution.

“Welcoming global superstars, like Beyoncé, will attract thousands of music fans and benefits our local businesses,” said Carlin.

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Graham Potter: I haven’t done enough to earn any good faith

It’s now one win in 11 games for Chelsea

Graham Potter appears to see the writing on the wall.

The Chelsea boss oversaw a 2-0 defeat to Tottenham on Sunday, as the Blues were yet again uninspired in a game they made way too easy for their opponents.

Chelsea has now won just one of its last 11 matches in all competitions. That’s a record that’s typically enough to get any Premier League manager sacked — let alone one who saw his club back him in January to the tune of £323 million spent on new signings.

Potter took over from Thomas Tuchel in September and has now won just nine of 26 matches as Chelsea manager. The club’s board has appeared reluctant to pull the trigger on Potter, but Chelsea’s horrific form could leave them with little choice in the matter.

Speaking after Sunday’s defeat, Potter admitted that he’s not exactly giving his board much reason to keep him around.

“The results are not good enough for Chelsea. I take full responsibility for those results,” he told Sky Sports.

“I thought the players gave everything, it’s just that the goal changes the complexion of the game and that made it difficult for us. If results aren’t good enough, which they aren’t at the moment, you can’t rely on support forever.”

Asked in his post-match press conference if he is aware that the board’s support could end, Potter responded: “There’s always that question, absolutely, and you can’t stop the questions, and whilst the results are like they are then I accept it – it’s part of the job.

“That’s just the nature of football and obviously I haven’t done enough at this club to have too much good faith and I also accept that as well. My job is to not worry too much about that.”

Chelsea will host relegation battlers Leeds next weekend. Failure to win that game would surely spell the end of Potter’s time at Chelsea — that is, if he’s even still around by then.

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Let’s bask in some good World Cup injury news for a change

Son Heung-min will be in Qatar. Phew!

There has been plenty of bad news on the injury front recently, as the countdown to the World Cup moves into its final two weeks.

On Wednesday alone, Reece James was ruled out for England while Senegal star Sadio Mané appears to be very much in doubt after an injury suffered with Bayern Munich. The previous day, it was CONCACAF duo Chris Richards and Tecatito that saw their World Cup hopes end.

With that in mind we should take every opportunity to celebrate the rare bit of good news, which Son Heung-min thankfully provided on Wednesday.

Son suffered a fracture around his left eye earlier this month with Tottenham, leaving his status for the World Cup very much in doubt after he underwent surgery.

But the South Korea star took to Instagram on Wednesday to reassure nervous fans that he is set to take part in the tournament in Qatar.

“Hi everyone. I just wanted to take a moment to say thank you all for the messages of support I have received over the last week,” Son wrote.

“I have read so many of them and truly, truly appreciate you all. In a tough time I received a lot of strength from you! Playing for your country at the World Cup is the dream of so many children growing up, just as it was one of mine too. I won’t miss this for the world. I can’t wait to represent our beautiful country, see you soon.”

South Korea will open the World Cup against Uruguay on November 24, and will also face Portugal and Ghana in Group H.

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Son Heung-Min hits hat trick as Tottenham steamrolls Leicester 6-2

No start, no problem for Son

Son Heung-Min’s slow start to the Premier League season appears to be over.

Son, who was rotated to the bench by Antonio Conte after starting the season with only one goal contribution in Tottenham’s first eight games, produced a hat trick anyway as Spurs clobbered Leicester City 6-2 on Saturday.

Richarlison got the start for Tottenham over Son, but a wild first half saw Leicester take the lead on a twice-taken Youri Tielemans penalty, only to see Harry Kane and Eric Dier put Spurs ahead by the 21st minute (with both Tottenham goals coming on corner kicks).

Leicester equalized through a James Maddison stunner, but the second half was all Spurs. Rodrigo Betancur put them ahead in the 47th minute, and Son made his way into the match 12 minutes later.

Son notched his first goal in transition, showing supreme confidence. Spurs forced a midfield turnover and the South Korea international found himself one-on-two on the counter. With help not exactly arriving at the speed required, Son called his own number, freezing both Leicester defenders before feinting right and sending a rocket past Danny Ward.

His second was even better. Leicester had numbers back, but Kane still found a seam to pass to Son, in the right half-space. From 23 yards and with no one in blue opting to close him down, Son went to his less-preferred left foot to fire a gorgeous curling shot just inside the post, sending the home fans into rapture.

Leicester threw numbers forward in search of any positivity to take away in the final minutes, but that just meant another Spurs counter set Son up to claim the match ball. Pierre-Emile Højbjerg led the break before sending Son, who had gone wide left, in alone to tuck the ball under Ward.

The goal was initially called back for offside, but after a minute-long VAR check, that call was overturned, giving Son his third Premier League hat trick.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Son told the BBC about his extremely calm reaction to scoring his first goal of the year. “All the frustration and what I had, disappointment and negative feeling just went (away). I couldn’t move so I stood still. It made me really happy.”

“I was really frustrated as well,” added Son. “I can do much better than I have been. I have been disappointed, the team has been doing really, really good but I was disappointed with my (recent) performance.”

Watch Son’s amazing hat trick for Spurs

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Richarlison had a little too much fun vs. Nottingham Forest and paid the price

No opponent will ever take kindly to a mid-game personal juggle session

Richarlison just couldn’t help himself.

The Tottenham forward had just delivered a fantastic assist to Harry Kane, who scored his second of the game to put Spurs up 2-0 late at Nottingham Forest.

With the game all but put to bed, Richarlison got the ball on the sideline and proceeded to do something no opponent was ever going to appreciate.

The Brazilian began a personal game of keepy-uppy, an action much more appropriate for a pre-game warm-up than a live match.

After a few juggles, Richarlison passed the ball away. Forest striker Brennan Johnson wasn’t going to let his opponent get away that easily, however, and clattered into the Brazilian with the ball long gone.

Johnson was shown a yellow card, a price he’ll feel was more than worth it.

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Tuchel y Conte casi se van a los golpes en el Chelsea vs Tottenham

Se espera una sanción para ambos técnicos sin embargo las imágenes serán analizadas para determinar al responsable y el castigo que tengan los estrategas.

Muy caliente terminó el empate a dos entre Chelsea y Tottenham en el comienzo de la Premier League con un encontronazo entre los dos técnicos Thomas Tuchel y Antonio Conte quienes casi terminan a los golpes.

Tuchel tuvo una actitud muy retadora durante el juego con Conte y al finalizar el encuentro al darse la mano el técnico del Chelsea pareció no soltar a su rival y exigió que lo mirara a los ojos lo que comenzó una guerra de empujones.

sipa_usa

Ambos estrategas se fueron expulsados tras el incidente donde hasta las bancas se involucraron pues no es común ver a los técnicos de ambos equipos empujarse de esa manera.

Los ánimos entre ambos técnicos estuvieron muy calientes durante todo el juego e incluso Antonio Conte ya respondió a Thomas Tuchel en su cuenta de Instagram recordando el festejo del segundo gol del Chelsea y una frase muy provocadora.

“Menos mal que no te vi.. hacerte tropezar habría sido bien merecido..”, escribió Conte en una historia.

sipa_usa

Se espera una sanción para ambos técnicos sin embargo las imágenes serán analizadas para determinar al responsable y el castigo que tengan los estrategas.

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