Antonio Conte has banned ketchup, mayonnaise, sauces and pizza among other things from Tottenham Hotspur’s canteen, a far cry from Watford boss Claudio Ranieri offering pizza as a treat for clean sheets.
Italians take their food very seriously indeed and that goes for the sporting level too.
Conte famously made sweeping changes to the diet of his players at Chelsea and has done the same on his return to the Premier League for Tottenham.
According to The Athletic, in his first few days at Spurs, Conte banned everything from ketchup and mayonnaise to pizza and other fattening foods.
It does have an effect, just see what it did for Romelu Lukaku’s form at Inter during his two seasons at San Siro working with Conte.
“When I came to Inter, we analysed my body and so much has changed,” said Lukaku in a podcast with the club nutritionist Matteo Pincella.
“Every country has its own focus on diet, and I’ve always been a powerful player, but Italy took me to another level. I’ve never felt so strong. I reached another level, both physical and mental.”
That is what Conte is now trying to bring to his Tottenham players, but another Italian manager in the Premier League understands the importance of treats.
In 2015, Ranieri famously promised his Leicester City players pizza if they kept a clean sheet, and could well maintain that approach now he is at Watford.
Antonio Conte has ‘BANNED ketchup and mayonnaise from the Tottenham canteen’ https://t.co/7XTKjlEi8x
— MailOnline Sport (@MailSport) November 10, 2021
Word is Conte will personally review each players waste daily to confirm the changes are made. In addition, he will employ spies in Conte wigs to follow each player and take pictures of their dinners away from the stadium to ensure his orders are met.
Undercover Contes. Good plan
Oh Conte our idiot management should have gotten you. We are stuck with pie and mash Maguire and fish and chips on a friday Shaw. No wonder they are slipping back into their chuckle brothers routine.