How hardham is with Conte

On The Evening of July 13, Tottenham defeated the K-League Star 6-3 in their first friendly this summer at the World Cup in Seoul. Stars Harry Kane and Son Heung-min only came on in the second half, but scored twice. Tottenham's remaining two goals were scored by Eric Dier and Jin Hyeok's counter-kick.

This victory is a worthy achievement for Kane, Son and his teammates after hours of sweating training at the request of Coach Conte.

On the evening of July 11, also at the World Cup, the London club had a two-hour training session, consisting of warm-up ghost kicks, then divided into two teams - 10 people each - to play on two-thirds of the pitch. But the exercise then caught the attention of the 6,000 spectators in the stands. Here, fitness coach Gian Piero Ventura asked players returning to training for more than a week to complete 42 runs along the field at high speed. Those who joined the national team in early June and just returned last weekend had to make 30 similar runs.

With temperatures reaching 30 degrees Celsius, no wind inside the 60,000-capacity pitch and stifling humidity, many Tottenham players were exhausted. Kane vomited on the pitch, and Son Heung-min lay on the pitch, gasping for air, having to be pulled up by a member of the coaching staff and teammate Kane.

Bryan Gill, Davinson Sanchez and 20-year-old striker Troy Parrot are among the players who have not swallowed the lesson plan question. "It depends on every player," Parrot said when asked about the rigor of training under Conte. "I ran well, but I have to say I was really bad."

For many Tottenham players, these exercises may seem difficult, but Monday's training was almost like standard training in Conte's hometown of Italy. According to the Sport Mail, during the preseason, Italian clubs often do a week of high-intensity training in the mountains, followed by professional dribbling training. Having to travel abroad as it is now does not allow teams to have similar training courses. Conte therefore motivates his students to run more.

Tactically, Italian coach may be obsessed with the smallest things. At Chelsea, Conte shaped the defensive squad with a specific exercise. Using the method of legendary coach Arrigo Saachi - who gave Conte the opportunity to play the first match in the Italian shirt in 1994, he will put the colored flags around the yard symbolizing the ball. Conte will point to a flag and ask the players to move in the formation towards the hats placed on the field as if it were a ball. He then repeated this for other flags.

In Chelsea's first pre-season in Los Angeles, Conte stressed that the whole squad must successfully complete this practice, even if they are first-team stars, so that they know their position when they enter the competition.

When he first coached Tottenham Hotspur in November 2021, Conte was more than an hour late for the press conference because he was busy teaching training methods to students on the field. Conte took office when Tottenham Hotspur finished eighth in 17 Premier League matches and immediately overhauled the club's culture. Conte pays special attention to physical training, which is obvious in the team's running data, from the lowest in the league to the highest after he is present.

To that end, the former Inter coach brought three fitness coaches to London, including Costantino Corati, Gian Piero Ventrone and Stefano Bruno, to supplement the existing sporting science staff. By contrast, his predecessor, Nuno Espirito Santo, had only one fitness coach.

It is Vintrone, who is known as the "spy professor", who undertakes the collective drill. The 62-year-old fitness instructor from Naples has made a very heavy course plan, such as the Tottenham Hotspur training class held in Seoul on July 11th.

Before signing for Juventus in 1996, legendary French midfielder Zinedine Zidane called compatriot Didier Deschamps to ask about the club. Deschamps, who was playing for Juventus at the time, spoke excitedly about the team and Serie A, but also warned Zidane about the demands of Ventrone, who at the time was in charge of fitness at the Turin club.

"Deschamps talked about the training sessions at Juventus and I don't believe it will be so harsh," Zidane later admitted to the Italian press. "Sometimes I vomit after training because I am too tired." But when Zinedine Zidane's fitness improved markedly in Turin, it was Ventrone's approach that worked.

Ventrone wants to motivate players to break the limit. One method he used was to present the "shame bell". Players who are required to make the first stop in Ventrone's fitness course must ring this bell. If the ingenuity of "Shame Bell" is not enough, he sometimes even plays music with maximum intensity in rehearsals, such as Richard Wagner's classic opera "Ride of Valkyries".

According to Football London, Ventone's motto is said to be statements such as "train today and run tomorrow", "die but get the job done" or "victory belongs to the strong". Conte is a member of Juventus, who have experienced Ventrone's heavy physical training. Now, he wants Tottenham Hotspur players to suffer the same pain to improve their endurance.

Conte also asked for a reduction in the amount of juice players have and a reduction in the amount of oil and butter used in cooking. He also told students to eat more fruits.

Conte used to adopt the same strict nutrition at Chelsea when ketchup, pizza, fizzy drinks and brown sauces were banned. Chelsea stars have been allowed to add salt and pepper to their dishes, but traditional vinegar has been replaced by balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

During his time as Italian coach from 2014 to 2016, Kong Di was fascinated by the value of Lycium barbarum. Containing antioxidants and powerful medicinal properties, the fruit is said to slow signs of aging, keep eyes healthy and strengthen the liver, kidneys and lungs. He also hung signs in the canteen to let the team members know what to eat.

Chelsea legend John Terry admitted on Instagram in November 2021 that he was "at his best in his career under Conte". Another person who has benefited from Conte's approach is Romelu Lukaku. While playing for Manchester United, the Belgian striker has been overweight due to digestive problems, weighing as much as 104 kg when he joined Inter Milan.

After recruiting Lukaku in the summer of 2019, Conte immediately asked him to apply the "Bresola diet" under the guidance of nutritionist and former rugby player Matteo Pincella. You can't eat fried food, mozzarella cheese and wine. Meanwhile, a Mediterranean menu of protein-rich vegetables and white meats such as turkey and chicken helps Lukaku lose weight. In 12 days, Lu Kaku lost nearly 10 kilograms and soon had the lowest fat rate in the club. Thanks to that, the forward has sublimated with 34 goals in 51 appearances.

After beating Vitesse Arnhem in the Europa League in November 2021, Conte "entertained" the Tottenham Hotspur player with 75 minutes of video analysis of his win over the Dutch representative, although the original meeting was only planned to last for 20 minutes.

Not everyone is excited about Conte's approach. Before being sacked by Chelsea, many first-team stars complained that Conte's course plan was "boring". Striker Diego Costa, who left the club after a clash with Conte, appeared to be "mad" at the lengthy tactical training session on the pitch.

"Only time will tell whether Conte's curriculum plan can help Tottenham Hotspur sublimate. But one thing is certain, Tottenham Hotspur players didn't expect such heavy physical training on Monday night. In Korea," Sportmail commented.

A third training session in 24 hours left Tottenham players limping as they returned to the team hotel to rest at the end of the day. Recovery is the most important as they will do similar exercises again in the coming days.