Be optimistic, Pochettino urges depleted Spurs ahead of Barca clash
Tottenham Hotspur will be without five key players for at least two weeks due to injury, but manager Mauricio Pochettino was in upbeat mood ahead of the Champions League clash with Barcelona on Wednesday.
Dele Alli (hamstring), Serge Aurier (thigh), Mousa Dembele (thigh), Christian Eriksen (abdomen) and Jan Vertonghen (hamstring) will all be out until after this month’s international break.
Spurs conceded two late goals to lose 2-1 to Inter Milan in their first Group B match, but Pochettino demanded a positive approach against the La Liga champions.
“It is a period when we are not in good luck with injuries... We are not victims, though. We must feel strong,” Pochettino told a news conference on Tuesday.
“Every player must feel they can win and achieve what we want. It’s about enjoying the game tomorrow and the best player in the world in (Lionel) Messi. Football is not a drama but always it’s about being focused, competitive and enjoying playing against the best player in the world.”
With memories of beating European champions Real Madrid 3-1 at Wembley Stadium in the group stage last season, Pochettino was urging his side to enjoy the glamour of Wednesday’s showdown.
Spurs captain Hugo Lloris, who has not played since August due to a thigh injury, resumed full training on Tuesday and will start against Barca.
Pochettino’s famous demands on his players will be put to the test again at Wembley with the Argentine expecting maximum effort to stop his compatriot Messi who scored a hat-trick in Barca’s 4-0 win over PSV last month.
“It’s very clear, very simple, we need to be near him when he gets the ball. If we leave him space he will get away from his marker. What we need is to have players helping each other. We need to demand sacrifice and they will expend a lot of energy,” Pochettino said.
The positivity of the Argentine coach, who managed Spanish side Espanyol from 2009-12, has filtered down to his squad.
Striker Harry Kane, who scored seven goals in last season’s Champions League campaign, did not seem daunted by the prospect of facing five-times Ballon d’Or winner Messi.
“He’s set the standard. I think him and [Cristiano] Ronaldo have gone above the normal standard set by people in years gone past,” Kane said. “50-60 goals a season, as a striker I want to try to match that and do the same.
“He’s still scoring goals as well and it motivates me as well to score as many and if not more than him one day.”
Spurs go into the match after three successive wins in all competitions while Barca is without a victory in their last three games.
Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp described the pre-match praise he received from Napoli boss Carlo Ancelotti as “tactics” before the teams play each other in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Liverpool has carried its’ fine domestic form into Europe and beat Paris Saint Germain 3-2 in the Group C opener.
Ancelotti hailed last year’s finalists as one of the strongest teams in Europe in his news conference, but Klopp suggested the Italian was playing mind games.
“I like Carlo Ancelotti. In Germany we say he’s a smart fox. He’s said very positive things about us and nice things about me before a game. It’s nice... but it’s tactics. Carlo is so long in the business,” Klopp told reporters on Tuesday.
“We’re ready for a real battle. I don’t care too much for what people say about us, how they see our situation... tomorrow we need to step up. This is a fantastic manager, a fantastic team and an emotional crowd so that will be a real challenge.”
Liverpool thrashed Napoli 5-0 in a preseason friendly in August, but Klopp said he would tell his side to forget that result and focus on the challenge ahead at the San Paolo stadium.
“It was a preseason friendly, in Dublin, nothing else,” The German said. “It was very Liverpool-orientated, and we scored with each shot pretty much. Napoli had a lot of chances and didn’t score. That’s absolutely not important.
“We didn’t talk about that game. It has nothing to do with the preparation for this game. Napoli is really organized with quality in all departments and that makes it a really good team.
“The good news for us is that we’re not too bad as well, that’s why we’re looking forward to the game, but it will be difficult for both.”
Former world champ Rocchigiani dies in Italy after being hit by car
Meanwhile, Germany’s former world super-middleweight and light-heavyweight champion Graciano Rocchigiani has died aged 54 in southern Italy after being hit by a car while out walking, officials said on Tuesday.
The boxer, who had an Italian father and German mother, had held both the IBF super-middleweight title from 1988 to 1989 as well as the WBC light-heavyweight in 1998 by defeating Michael Nunn. Rocchigiani, who fought all 48 of his professional fights in Germany, captivated the boxing world with his bouts against fellow German Henry Maske and Poland’s Dariusz Michalczewski in the 1990s.
His last fight was in 2003 when he was defeated for the vacant WBC international light heavyweight title.
“Berlin mourns one of its athletes, who in the 1980s and 1990s fascinated the crowds,” said Berlin mayor Michael Mueller in a statement.
“Rocky, as he was known around the world, was not only after Max Schmeling and Eckhard Dagge the third German world champion in the professional sport.
“He was also an original Berliner, who combined his mouth and his heart. Not everything worked out for him in life as it did in the ring. But Berliners loved him for his sometimes rough and edgy ways. We mourn a boxer with a big heart.”
Rocchigiani, who had been imprisoned for assault and driving without a valid license, had been the youngest German world boxing champion. He also worked as a boxing commentator.