Hugo Lloris has given an insight into what it was like working under Antonio Conte, revealing that the players eventually had to detach themselves from the Italian’s emotional outbursts.
Antonio Conte got a tune out of the players during his first 12 months at Tottenham, helping the club secure Champions League qualification in the 2021-22 season.
However, things started unravelling for the Italian a few months into his second campaign at the club as opposition sides came up with ways to nullify his system.
The Italian eventually departed the club in March of 2023, and we have now got an insight into what it was like in the Spurs dressing room when things were souring for the former Tottenham boss.
Lloris has now explained that Conte was ‘tormented’ whenever Spurs failed to win matches and had to get out his frustration by unleashing on the squad.
The former Tottenham captain confessed that some players developed a fear of failure under the 55-year-old and were unable to express themselves on the pitch.
Lloris said (via The Standard): “I found Antonio Conte to be quite a character, driven by victory, which gave him energy, but he found it very hard to control his frustration when we started drawing, let alone losing because his inner torment had to get out; and if he was tormented, then everyone had to share that torment too, and things could get very complicated very fast.
“He told me once that in any given week, his happiness lasted an hour, just after winning, and that was it. In training, he oversaw everything, organising tactical sessions with 10 outfield players against one goalie; but it was hard for the creative players to find their places in his restrictive game-play.
“The rigidity of the structure and set sequences did us a lot of good at first but, after a few months, teams learned how to play against us and it became tougher to win. During matches, Conte was as extreme and eruptive as he appeared, garnering respect and fear. Such a strong personality pushed wingers to prefer to play on the side opposite the dugout.”
The former Tottenham goalkeeper revealed that Conte was honest and had no filter, regularly unleashing on the players when results did not go their way.
The Frenchman further stated that the former Spurs boss was never interested in the process and only cared about the result, leading to the players eventually having to block out his words.
He added: “I have never forgotten our first defeat under Conte: a 2–1 loss to NS Mura in Slovenia in the Uefa Conference League. Even though I wasn’t playing, I was still entitled to his screams and reproaches, just like everyone else. In squad meetings, we would spend at least 30 minutes a day doing video analysis, not forgetting the interminable preparation camps at our training centre.
“After the defeat in Maribor, he had screamed: ‘Mura, Mura, who’s Mura?! We lost to Mura!’ I can still hear him. If a player needed a little love, he’d better not knock at Conte’s door. For Conte, trust is earned in training. He has no filter; he’s sincere and honest. He’s a manager who lives only by results, whereas, from a player’s perspective, performance is important too.
“That season, when we lost 3–2 to Manchester United (a Ronaldo hat-trick), a result which didn’t reflect our performance, I told Pierre-Emile Højbjerg and Harry Kane in the dressing room: ‘They may have just beaten us, but I bet you we finish above them.’ And so we did, ending up in fourth place after battering Arsenal 3–0 on the last day, situating ourselves halfway between Conte’s demanding nature and a little self-management because, by dint of being whipped and screamed at, we eventually stuck our fingers in our ears.”
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