TOTTENHAMHOTSPUR.COM- 33
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR V APOEL FC
TALKING TOTTENHAM
and from last season, too, when they had a disappointing time in
the Champions League. We already know that Harry Kane is among
the best strikers in the world, Toby Alderweireld is arguably the
best central defender in the Premier League and one of the best
in Europe as well and I think the stage is now set for other players
to prove their quality too – Jan Vertonghen, Kieran Trippier, Danny
Rose, Dele Alli to name a few. We already know that Hugo Lloris
is a leader and Christian Eriksen is in a fascinating group as well.
Tottenham’s players will go to the World Cup and acquit themselves
very well indeed.”
Do you expect our players to be able to handle the pressure with their
respective countries all relying on them?
Fernando: “Yes, of course. Every player from Tottenham who goes
there next summer will want to progress with their countries and
give themselves the best chance for success. It’s unbelievable
when you are there because you feel all the people of your country
behind you and when you go out onto the pitch, you do it with so
much heart. It’s an unbelievable sensation, I enjoyed it a lot at the
World Cup and I think the experience will help our players to grow
even further.”
Ossie: “Every time that there is a World Cup, the word that you
hear more than any other is pressure. Of course there is going to be
pressure but my advice to our boys would be just to enjoy it. From
the moment you start to play football, as you play in bigger games,
bigger stadiums, there is more and more pressure so you want this
really. If you’re going there to play, don’t think in a negative way,
think in a very positive way. You are under this pressure because
you’re playing on the biggest footballing stage in your life, so that
is welcome.”
Tashan: “The players will definitely be able to cope with the pressure
because they play in the Premier League every week, which is
a really difficult league. Obviously the World Cup is the biggest
tournament in the world so there is going to be a lot of hope and
expectation riding on our players, but you’ve got to play through
it and do your best.”
Darren: “I think they will be able to handle the pressure. If you look
at Eriksen just as an example, his former manager called on him
to take more responsibility, to impose himself more on games and
if you look at the way that his country have qualified, he’s done
exactly that. He’s been influential for his country and his club. People
talk about the pressure of leading your country but there is a lot
of pressure on performing for what is a massive club and a huge
fan base every week and players like Eriksen and Kane have come
out and delivered. Harry is a dual Golden Boot winner, he’s scored
12 goals in 23 appearances for England, Eric Dier has captained
England against Germany and Brazil so the young players in the
Tottenham side have had expectation for the last two or three
years and they’ve delivered. The run they’re going through at the
moment is a patch of poor form which can affect any player and
any club, but what they’ve already proven is that they have class
and quality in abundance.”What about some of the games where our players are going to be up
against each other?
Ossie: “Those games will be very special. At the end of the day, all
your close friends at your club are your enemies for 90 minutes and
that’s especially going to be the case when England play Belgium.
It’s the last game in that group so hopefully both teams are going
to be qualified and it’s going to be a little bit more relaxed, but I
don’t think it’s going to be like that because something unexpected
always happens! Even if England and Belgium win their first two
games, it’s hugely important to finish first in the group so there will
be no friends at the World Cup – you have to go for it and that’s it!”Tashan: “England against Belgium is going to be a battle of Spurs
players so it will be interesting to see them playing against each
other – we’ll see who comes out on top! Someone like Christian
Eriksen for Denmark is only going to get better with the experience
as he goes along. He played as a youngster at a previous tournament
(2010) but this time you’d expect him to be starting and playing
every game so it will be better for him as an individual. He’s going
to be playing Moussa Sissoko and obviously Hugo Lloris with
France at one point – Hugo has obviously been there and done it
but it’s like a new chapter for him to go and captain his country at
another World Cup.”To b y AlderweireldHarry Kane