Hugo Lloris has opened up on Tottenham’s humiliating exit from the Europa League against Dinamo Zagreb and his explosive post-match interview which stirred quite a bit of controversy.
After their 3-0 loss, the Tottenham captain delivered an emotional monologue, insisting that the team’s struggles was a reflection of what was going on in the club.
The 34-year-old also accused some of his teammates of ‘not behaving in the right way’ when they are left out of the starting eleven.
It is clear that the scars from that night in Zagreb have not yet healed for Jose Mourinho’s men.
On the face of it, there is not much Lloris could have done to step any of Mislav Orsic’s goals but the Frenchman is much more critical of himself.
When asked about the Europa League defeat, he told Sky Sports: “As a goalkeeper, you always feel responsible when you concede a goal. Even if it the best goal that can be scored, you look at how you could have stopped it. If it is not with my body, it could be with my voice. I could have given information quicker to my teammates.
“You are always looking to help the team and influence the result. That is the way I think. You can have this influence as a goalkeeper. For example, when you catch a ball at the end of a game and go on the ground for a few seconds to give a breather to your teammates.
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“Also, you can do it in the opposite way when you are losing. You can do it quick, find the first pass as quickly as you can. You can give a rhythm from the back. You can have an influence on the players in front of you – the back four and midfielders – with your voice.
“The offensive players are quite far up the pitch so that makes things a little harder. Today, it is possible without the crowds but with the crowds it is impossible. That is why I really think that the leadership and management of the team depends on its spine.
“You need a few voices to transmit the feelings and the formations and stuff like that. It is proper teamwork so when we talk about captaincy I like to share the responsibility with other players on the pitch because we need each other for the wellness of the team.
“Everything is connected. In Zagreb, the team did not deliver. We switched off. At 2-2, we tried to switch on but it was too late. It was a collective issue. It was a team problem.”
The Spurs number one emphasised that everyone in the dressing room needed to share the responsibility for letting their standards slip to the extent they did at Zagreb.
When asked if he was aware of the reaction to his post-match comments, Lloris said: “I heard, obviously, but I did not need to listen to the comments. As a captain, you have a responsibility to go in front of the camera after this big failure in the Europa League.
“It is a competition that we all said was a target for a trophy. To lose against Dinamo Zagreb is something, for me, that you cannot accept. It is not a lack of respect. It is just that when you have standards as a club, this ambition to win, and especially to fail in that way, after winning the first leg 2-0, it was just an honest statement on that.
“It was a way to share the responsibility. I am the first one to be guilty. But it is not only me. It is the players. It is the manager. It is the coaching staff. It is the club, you know?”
“It has been nine years (at the club). If I am still here it is because I really care about the club. Those things affect me as a professional and they affect me as a person.”
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