It didn’t seem like the Juventus players broke much sweat when they cantered to a 4-0 win at Ibrox in the Champions League almost 30 years ago. But Antonio Conte remembers differently after his return to the Govan ground as boss of Tottenham Hotspur for Saturday’s pre-season friendly.
The Italian watched his Harry Kane-inspired team recover from conceding the opener to Antonio Colak to secure a victory thanks to England striker Kane’s double. That saw them lift the inaugural Walter Tull Memorial Cup, the first black player to play for both clubs.
Conte was delighted with the workout as his side build up to their English Premier League opener at home to Southampton. But as well as looking forward to the start of a new campaign which will also see them in the Champions League, the 52-year-old also cast his mind back to recall one Ibrox memory as a player. It’s one most Rangers fans would prefer to forget but if it seemed an easy night for the Italians then Conte doesn’t remember it that way.
Marcello Lippi’s men won 4-0 against Walter Smith’s Light Blues thanks to goals from Alessandro Del Piero, Moreno Torricelli, Fabrizio Ravanelli and Giancarlo Marocchi. The Serie A giants went on to lift the trophy that year and also beat Gers 4-1 earlier in that group stage campaign, with Conte on target in Turin.
But one player who missed the match in Italy stood out for Conte at Ibrox as he recalled that night in November 1995. “I remember that game well because we won against Rangers and I was marking Paul Gascoigne,” he laughed when asked if he could recall the match.
“I was running a lot compared to him and I remember that I finished the game before the end because he endured me. We are talking about the past and for sure I have had this pleasure to play in this amazing stadium and also against Gascoigne. We are talking about an icon in England, an iconic player."
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