‘Not good’ – Antonio Conte comments on Richarlison’s critical interview
In his latest press conference ahead of the return to Premier League action this weekend, Tottenham Hotspur boss Antonio Conte has commented on the controversial interview given by Richarlison in midweek.
Tottenham were knocked out of the Champions League on Wednesday night in disappointing fashion, unable to muster more than a 0-0 draw at home to AC Milan. The Italian side progressed thanks to a one-goal advantage from the first leg.
The last two games have seen Richarlison return to the bench, replaced by Heung-min Son after a run of starting for Spurs. In what has been a difficult first season for the Brazilian, a place in the starting line-up has been hard to come by and the player has clearly been frustrated with his lack of opportunities.
In a post-match interview with ESPN Brazil (as translated by the Daily Mail), Richarlison appeared to criticise Cristian Stellini and Conte for their decisions to leave him out of the team. Now, Conte has reacted to the outburst.
He told Football.London: “First of all I watched the interview of Richarlison. He didn’t criticise me. He said his season was (swears) and he’s right. His season has been not good. He had injuries, played and scored in the Champions League and then went to the World Cup and then had a serious injury.”
“He’s scored no goals for us. I think he was really honest to say his season was not good. His season has not finished yet. If he deserves to play I’ll give him the opportunity,” Conte continued.
But Conte did take issue with some of Richarlison’s comments: “For the rest of the interview, I think he made a mistake. When you speak of ‘I’ and not ‘us’ you are being selfish. I say to my players if we want to build something important and win a trophy we have to speak with ‘we’ not with ‘I’, because otherwise you’re thinking of yourself.”
“He made a mistake and he apologised and it was good for me to clarify with the team again about this. In this aspect we have to improve. We have to be more of a team and show more spirit positive, especially in negative moments,” Conte added.
On what Richarlison needs to do now, the manager said: “Sometimes it’s not enough to be a good guy. You have to to show the right desire and fight to win the game and the duels, to be nasty. I think that sometimes we are a bit soft, but I’m the coach and I’m the first responsible for this to happen and it doesn’t happen every time.”
“I have to improve the team and I have to improve the spirit of my team. It always happened in the past and I hope it happens here,” he concluded.
(Photo by Alex Davidson/Getty Images)
Spurs Web Opinion
This is a very diplomatic response from Antonio Conte, on what could have been a very difficult matter. I think Richarlison is right to be frustrated at his own performances and the way his season has gone, and also on the opportunities he has been given, but the way he voiced these concerns was not appropriate.
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