Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino empathises with Australian fans of Tottenham Hotspur due to the lack of star power in his squad.
Ticket sales have been lacklustre thus far for the showpiece tournament, with a severely underwhelming crowd of 23,174 in attendance for Saturday’s match between Juventus and Melbourne Victory. Star players remaining in Europe looks to be a major driver for this trend.
Pochettino understood the fans’ disappointment after not being able to see the likes of Harry Kane and Hugo Lloris in action, who were heavily involved with their respective countries’ Euro 2016 campaigns.
Speaking to media at AAMI Park ahead of Tottenham’s open training session, he said: “I am disappointed for our fans, too.”
“But I think they (the fans) understand that it’s very difficult. It’s a very difficult decision for me.
“They (the players) are not machines. They are people that feel and need to recover,” Pochettino said.
Despite missing some key names, Pochettino is adamant that Tottenham’s style will not differ even though the team is set to play against who he calls “the best in the world” in Juventus tomorrow at the MCG, and Atletico Madrid on Friday.
“We will not change,” the 44-year-old said.
“In our preparation we have our own plan, and we have to deliver our plan.”
The Argentine praised the Australian lifestyle, and maintained that having a profile from Europe opens up doors for managers to work all over the world, as was the case with Adelaide United coach Guillermo Amor.
“It’s a great country and a great place.”
“I played against him (Guillermo Amor) at Espanyol,” he said.
The Argentine manager also confirmed that Nabil Bentaleb, Clinton Njie, Federico Fazio and Alex Pritchard have been left behind due to injury.
Erik Lamela was also on hand to speak to media, and said he is not letting the dissapointment of the Copa America final and finishing third in the league get to him.
“This is what happens in football, and this is how it ended,” he said.
The midfield star will line up against Miralem Pjanic and Paulo Dybala, team-mates from his time at Roma and the Argentine national team respectively.
“They were team-mates of mine, and it’s going to be really nice to play against them,” the 24-year-old said.
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