Conte looking for mental focus against Madrid
With game number two of our US tour
approaching on Saturday, 30th of July. Antonio Conte has explained what he is looking
to see from his players.
We face Real Madrid at the University of Michigan Stadium looking to continue our pre-season improvements having beaten Liverpool in Los Angeles.
The tight turnaround has not left Conte and his staff long to prepare the players for a fresh test, but discussing the fixture, he explained there are specific elements he is looking to see in the side’s performance.
‘It’s not easy to prepare another game, days after Liverpool. It was a physical game between two teams that compete, that fought to win the game,’ the head coach said.
‘It's not easy to prepare, we only had one session this morning to prepare and we know that in pre-season we have to work.
‘I hope will'll use our minds, when you are tired it’s important to use your head. It’s important to stay concentrated to play good football.
To improve with and without the ball, I hope to see this but i know it is very tough to play these type of games.’
As those players who returned late following their involvement in Euro 2016 build up their fitness once more, Conte has more bodies to pick from and will use the Belgian pair of Thibaut Courtois and Eden Hazard in the second half against Real, although he will be without suspended Cesc Fabregas.
It is a game the 46-year-old is looking forward to, reuniting him with a former team-mate and good friend who is now his opposite number.
Zinedine Zidane was the outstanding creative force in the Juventus midfield with Conte a willing worker to accommodate the Frenchman’s talent.
‘Zizou is a good man. I know him very well, him and his family and I am pleased for him for his career,’ he said. ‘There was me, Didier Deschamps, Edgar Davids and Zidane. A good midfield!
‘It was fantastic for me, he was a genius with a football in the offensive situations in every game. Me, Deschamps, Davids, we were running for him.
For us it was a great joy because we knew when the ball was in his possession, anything could happen.’
The French international flew into California to join up with the rest
of the squad at our hotel on Thursday and was quickly into the action at
the UCLA training base.
It was an intensive session and Kante, renowned for his stamina and work rate, completed the full workout.
We face Real Madrid at the University of Michigan Stadium looking to continue our pre-season improvements having beaten Liverpool in Los Angeles.
The tight turnaround has not left Conte and his staff long to prepare the players for a fresh test, but discussing the fixture, he explained there are specific elements he is looking to see in the side’s performance.
‘It’s not easy to prepare another game, days after Liverpool. It was a physical game between two teams that compete, that fought to win the game,’ the head coach said.
‘It's not easy to prepare, we only had one session this morning to prepare and we know that in pre-season we have to work.
‘I hope will'll use our minds, when you are tired it’s important to use your head. It’s important to stay concentrated to play good football.
To improve with and without the ball, I hope to see this but i know it is very tough to play these type of games.’
As those players who returned late following their involvement in Euro 2016 build up their fitness once more, Conte has more bodies to pick from and will use the Belgian pair of Thibaut Courtois and Eden Hazard in the second half against Real, although he will be without suspended Cesc Fabregas.
It is a game the 46-year-old is looking forward to, reuniting him with a former team-mate and good friend who is now his opposite number.
Zinedine Zidane was the outstanding creative force in the Juventus midfield with Conte a willing worker to accommodate the Frenchman’s talent.
‘Zizou is a good man. I know him very well, him and his family and I am pleased for him for his career,’ he said. ‘There was me, Didier Deschamps, Edgar Davids and Zidane. A good midfield!
‘It was fantastic for me, he was a genius with a football in the offensive situations in every game. Me, Deschamps, Davids, we were running for him.
For us it was a great joy because we knew when the ball was in his possession, anything could happen.’
 |
| N’Golo Kante trained for the first time as a Chelsea player in LA |
It was an intensive session and Kante, renowned for his stamina and work rate, completed the full workout.
It was the
squad’s final session in LA, with the tour now moving north to Ann
Arbor, Michigan for the match against Real Madrid.
Comments