Marseille star Alexis Sanchez has told The Mail that he has fond memories of working under Tottenham boss Antonio Conte, but says that if you do not give 100% under the “demanding” Italian, then you will be dropped by him.
Sanchez will be looking to score the goals that sends Marseille into the knockout stages of the Champions League. On Tuesday night, his side play host to Tottenham – a game that will mean more than to Sanchez, than his teammates.
An Arsenal icon, Sanchez will still have that desire to beat his old club’s North London rivals. As will Nuno Tavares, Matteo Guendouzi and Sead Kolasinac. For Sanchez, he will also come up against Conte, his old Inter Milan manager.
Sanchez struggled with the Nerrazzuri. In the two years he played for Inter under Conte, he started just 31 of his 70 appearances – scoring only 11 goals. He reflected on his time under Conte, underlining the Italian’s ruthlessness.
“We had a great experience together but he is a very demanding coach,” Marseille striker Sanchez said, in quotes published by The Mail. “If you don’t give 100 per cent you don’t play the next game.”
Sanchez has fond memories of working under Tottenham boss Conte
Tuesday night’s match is an exciting one for many reasons. Not least, because the winner is likely to finish top of the group and qualify for the knockout stages. But because of the presence of Sanchez too, against his old manager.
Conte will be in the stands, but Sanchez can still exact revenge having been a fringe player under the Italian. The Arsenal connection at Marseille and the relationship between Igor Tudor and Conte. It will be a fascinating watch.
If Tottenham bring their A-game, and play anywhere near their best, they should be confident of a result. But recently, and for much of the season, they have failed to play at full tilt. Mathieu Valbuena has described them as “brittle”.
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