Antonio Conte has called for his Tottenham team to play with ‘ambition and great desire’ as they embark on another Champions League journey this season.
The Lilywhites have not featured in the competition for two-and-a-half years, but earned the right to walk among Europe’s elite again with a top-four finish last season.
Conte was keen to point out in his press conference that Tottenham had earned the right to play in the top tier of European competition due to their achievements last campaign.
He also called for his players to do their best and show a will to become a ‘protagonist’ in this year’s Champions League, just as they were back in 2019 when they made it all the way to the final in Madrid.
Although Conte acknowledged it was the most difficult tournament in the world, as shown by his tricky Champions League record, he sees it as a great opportunity for the Tottenham squad to show they are moving in the right direction.
Conte said: “First of all, we are talking today, we are having a Champions League press conference for what we did last season. And I think last season we did a fantastic job with the club, with the players.
“Honestly, it was difficult only to think to play Champions League this season. Instead, through hard work, great compactness between us, and then we got this achievement.
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“Now, first off, we have to enjoy to play this important competition in Europe. For sure, we want to play and try to do our best. We have to play with ambition, great desire, great will to be protagonists in this tournament.
“I know very well, this tournament is really, really difficult. It’s the most difficult in the world. But, at the same time, it is a great opportunity for us to show that we are going in the right way and that we are doing a step forward.
“We want to try and improve and give satisfaction to our fans, and then to give satisfaction to ourselves.”
Spurs Web Opinion:
I don’t think anyone, even Spurs fans, is expecting Conte to shock the world and win the Champions League this season. But it would be nice to see the lads make it to the quarter-finals, at least, and show they are on the way to challenging against the big teams.
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