Antonio Conte has admitted that his injury problems as a player have helped him become the manager he now is at Tottenham Hotspur and he is proud of his work at the north London club.
The 53-year-old has been at the club for 15 months now and faces a busy second half to the season with Spurs in fifth place in the Premier League, just two points behind third-placed Newcastle, and in the last 16 of the Champions League with two legs against AC Milan to come in the months ahead.
Conte recently took part in an interview for the club and sponsors AIA and he explained what makes him the coach he is.
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"I have a good passion for football. I like to stay very close to my players to share the emotions with them. I'm enjoying my time being the coach of such an important club in England, with the environment, with the players and with the fans," he said.
"I show my passion also during the training session. A coach has to be totally involved. I like to see my players work. Mentally, you have to be strong, to be focused, to always be 100%.
"The nutrition is important. Food helps you to recover well, to have energy during the game, to have energy during the training session. I'm a coach that pays great attention to this detail."
He added: "The game is so emotional because the fans push you until the end. In many games we are really good at coming back to win a difficult game. It means that the players believe in ourselves. We believe in the strength of the team."
Conte admitted that he had a lot of injuries during his career but that the problems he faced during those times shaped the man he is now and also the way he approaches coaching and the game.
"When I was playing, I had a lot of injuries. I think that I broke many parts of my body," he said with a laugh. "On the one side, it was really difficult for me during my career, but on the other side the positive aspect was that this injury taught me the resilience to stay in, and then to continue to work, to believe in what you do. I think that it's good to transfer this to my players.
"It's good to reflect. To understand why you lost the game but also in a positive situation, it's important to face it in the right way. Sometimes when you win you are a bit relaxed and instead you have to be focused every time."
On his time so far at Tottenham, Conte believes that the work being done is paving the way for the future.
"To get a place in the Champions League last season, that was a big, big achievement for us," he said. "The other aspect that I like a lot, we are building a solid foundation for the present and for the future. I'm really proud of the work that we are doing."
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