‘Brought a smile to every player’s face’ – Doherty pays tribute to Gian Piero

Matt Doherty has paid tribute to Gian Piero Ventrone, admitting that the Italian put a smile on everyone’s face at Tottenham.

In just over ten months that he spent as Tottenham’s fitness coach, Ventrone seems to have left a major mark on everyone at the club, especially the players.

The likes of Son Heung-min have spoken in the past about how much love the players have for him despite how hard he works them (Football.London).

The Tottenham players looked extremely emotional during the minute’s applause ahead of kick-off at the Amex Stadium on Saturday, with Harry Kane even dedicating his goal to the Italian by pointing to the sky.

After the final whistle, Hugo Lloris held up a Tottenham shirt with the name ‘Gian Piero’ at the back, with the travelling fans signing ‘There is only one Gian Piero’ in response (Sky Sports Football Daily).

Doherty, who made his first start of the season in Spurs’ 1-0 win over the Seagulls, has become the latest player to take about how much the fitness coach meant to everyone at the club.

When asked about the impact the tragic news had on the players, the right-back said (via The Evening Standard): “It was pretty brutal, to be honest. Gian Piero was real close to a lot of us. He brought a smile to every player’s face the second you saw him.

“It didn’t matter what mood you were in. If you were in a bad mood, and you saw Gian Piero, he gave you a big and you had a smile on your face afterwards. He’s going to be a huge loss for us.”

Spurs Web Opinion

It is clear from the way the players talk about Ventrone how important the 62-year-old was to the morale of the Spurs dressing room. I have no doubts that the Tottenham players will be playing for the Italian for the rest of this season.

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