Juventus legend Alessandro Del Piero has given an insight into Antonio Conte's pre-season training methods after Tottenham stars were pictured collapsing in an open session in South Korea.
Harry Kane, Son Heung-min and new signing Yves Bissouma were amongst the players to struggle with the demands of the brutal open training session earlier this week. The Spurs squad were made to run 42 lengths of the football pitch at the Seoul World Cup stadium in sweltering heat, with many having to drop out of the session before re-joining once they had caught their breath.
Spurs got off to a winning start after beating Team K League 6-3 on Wednesday with goals from Eric Dier, Son and Kane. Del Piero played under Conte for Juventus and knows all too well about the intense demands of the Italian's pre-season training.
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Speaking to ESPN FC, Del Piero offered an extraordinary insight into the demands placed on players by Conte and his staff during pre-season training. The Juventus icon said: "I was one of those guys. You work hard with Antonio, there’s no other way. You work very hard. He’s a tough guy [and there is] physical training. He has his idea with his team."
Conte had an instant impact on the players' diets at N17 by removing condiments and fast food at the training ground. Del Piero discussed why the Italian focuses so much on intense fitness training in pre-season.
"I had the same experience in Philadelphia in pre-season with him. I don’t know how many degrees it was that time! It was late July. It was horrifying," the 47-year-old continued. "That’s the way it is. It brings mental strength and you put yourself on the edge of your possibility.
"When you are in a pre-season and you work all together, die all together, this is what is supposed to happen when the real games come. This is the mentality."
Spurs play Sevilla in their next pre-season fixture on Saturday and could be facing a potential future teammate in Jules Kounde. Tottenham are interested in signing the French defender and have moved ahead of Chelsea in the race to seal a transfer for the 23-year-old, according to the Mirror.
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