Borja Valero admitted that he really enjoyed the season he had under Antonio Conte at Inter Milan even though the Italian and his coaching staff made him run until he collapsed.
The brutality of Conte’s training sessions, particularly in pre-season, is well documented and the Spurs squad was certainly not spared the same treatment last summer.
The Tottenham players were reportedly made to run 42 lengths of the pitch at a quick pace in the 30-degree Celcius heat of Seoul after playing a full-pitch game, with the likes of Harry Kane and Son Heung-min seen collapsing before picking themselves up to soldier on (Daily Mail).
The training regime has seemingly had the desired effect, with Spurs often finishing games as the stronger side and finding a new gear in the second halves of matches this season.
Valero has now opened up on his own experience of working with the 53-year-old and admitted that he was made to feel like a valuable member of the squad.
The 28-year-old told DAZN (08/02/23 as relayed by Inter News): “I did two years with Luciano Spalletti and one with Conte, which was like five with others (laughs).
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“You know that his preparation is tough, but we had two to do for the year of Covid-19.
“I’ll tell you one thing: the first training sessions of the summer retreat in Lugano, he made us run so much that I collapsed.
“All the players, from the first to the last, were the same. For me, it’s the most beautiful thing, to look at everyone in the same way.
“Even if you are the poorest in the world, but he needs you, that’s fine, regardless of salary, age or anything else. I like his style a lot. For me, he was a fantastic manager.”
Spurs Web Opinion
Despite Conte and his coaching staff often pushing players to their physical limits and sometimes beyond it, most of them in general seem to have nothing but praise for the Italian and his methods. That is a testament not only to Conte’s man-management ability but also his personality.
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