Poch spurred on by chance to end Chelsea’s Euro hopes
has still brought repeated championships to Stamford Bridge.
That policy has in turn led to a transfer approach designed to be broadly independent of any coach, and that has caused a few issues for the current one.
Either way, it doesn’t change Conte’s task for the day, one that at least should come down to his inherent best quality.
The Chelsea manager must come up with a tactical plan best suited to a single big game; another moment of clarity amid the general chaos and constant jutting from high to low.
Under Pochettino, Tottenham have almost become the total opposite to Chelsea in that regard. There have merely been occasional moments of chaos amid the clarity of a long upwards journey, where almost everything about the club is in synch.
That has still been a journey without a proper destination beyond the Champions League itself. They haven’t yet reached the tangible signpost of a trophy.
Some of that might be down to the fact Spurs just don’t have Chelsea’s money, but then there’s also the complication that they don’t yet have that killer away win against one of the big six either.
So what better game to claim it, what better ground to claim it at?
This is not a time for endless progress from process, then. It is time for a proper line in the sand.
That is in turn something that adds an extra element to this match for Spurs. Whatever about never winning an away game against a top-six side, they haven’t won away at Chelsea since February 1990. That’s not the way for Pochettino, mind, as he insisted he was barely thinking about such a history.
“No, I think it is not a point to be focused on for us. We are focused, and we must be focused on the win and the performance. Performances, to have the possibility to be better than them, and to win the game. History is history and is there, but it is not going to help,” he said.
He did inadvertently emphasise just how long you have to count back for that win.
“February 1990 — yes, my debut was in 1989. My second season was 1990. I remember, I remember. I was so young, 17, 18, 19 years old. A long time ago,” he laughed.
“Argentina, it was not that moment with the internet, now you can see everything. In that period, it was so difficult. No internet, not too many TV channels. Maybe sometimes you would hear from the radio, but very distant. I was in a different world, completely, in 1990.”
In the current world, the Spurs team does look in a better place and on better form than Chelsea, but that is itself complicated by the likely absence of Harry Kane.
That would remove some of the fear factor for Conte, and means he could play with a more proactive approach.
A lot of thought will go into that. It has been a game with a long build-up, that could have an instant deep effect.