Ange Postecoglou has labelled Tottenham’s post-season friendly in Melbourne as a “unique opportunity” but admitted it is unlikely to become a regular occurrence.
Spurs announced earlier this month they would visit Australia after the Premier League season concludes to take on Premier League rivals Newcastle in an exhibition fixture.
The Melbourne Cricket Ground clash on May 22 has been roundly criticised due to player welfare concerns and for a lack of regard for the environment, a matter of weeks after Green Football Weekend.
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Postecoglou defended the merits of the post-season friendly, which will see the 58-year-old return to his home city.
“We leave straight after the last game (at Sheffield United) and we’ll be taking everyone who’s fit,” Postecoglou revealed.
“We thought that with our season being so disrupted and not a lot of games, this was a unique opportunity for us.
“I wouldn’t see this as something that would happen on a regular basis unless we felt the benefits would outweigh the costs.
“On this occasion when we balanced everything up, we felt it was a good opportunity to take the club to the other side of the world and help us continue to grow the football club.”
England boss Gareth Southgate was recently asked about the friendly, which will involve Euro 2024 hopefuls Kieran Trippier, Anthony Gordon and James Maddison, and predicted post-season fixtures will happen more often.
Southgate expressed his hope that none of his players would suffer injuries.
But Postecoglou insisted: “I’m sure Gareth will be a club coach one day and he’ll get a different perspective, as he has been in the past.
“I don’t think Gareth has said anything, or any other national team manager.
“I was a national team manager. I used to sweat over it at the weekend when the players were playing whether that was a normal game, a friendly game, whatever game it is.
“The flip side of that is there were quite a few club coaches on edge with national team duty this week so it’s the world we live in.
“There has to be a balance. We’ve thought it through as a football club and it’s fair to say if we’d been in Europe and had a really big season, we probably would have made a different decision.
“We weighed everything up and felt like there was a real benefit to playing this game.”
Before the trip Down Under, Spurs will aim to get their Champions League qualification hopes back on track at home to Luton on Saturday.
Tottenham are boosted by the return of Micky van de Ven after a recent muscle injury, while Richarlison is fit despite a knee issue preventing him from getting minutes for Brazil this month.
Richarlison has made headlines after opening up about his mental health struggles during an interview with ESPN Brasil this week.
The Brazil forward, who back in September expressed his intention to seek “psychological help”, revealed he was in a state of depression after the 2022 World Cup and “wanted to give up”.
Postecoglou knows Richarlison is not alone in feeling that way as a footballer, adding: “It’s not that uncommon. It’s not, not in my experience.
“They’re human beings, but for the most part it’s always dealt behind closed doors.
“I guess it’s striking because players or managers or people involved in football haven’t come out publicly before.
“But I can assure you…there are problems that players and people involved in our industry deal with. The amount of money you have in the bank balance or your fame doesn’t shield you from that.
“It’s a credit to him. He could have dealt with this privately obviously but I think the public aspect of it, it’s a brave decision for him.
“More importantly it’s hopefully a great conduit for others to reach out and seek help when it’s required.”
De Bruyne: Man City know title race 'is not over'
Kevin De Bruyne insists the Manchester City players know the Premier League title race is not over, despite being in the driving seat with just one game left.
The Citizens beat Tottenham 2-0 on Tuesday in their game in hand over leaders Arsenal, leapfrogging them to the top of the table.
City will host West Ham on the final weekend and as long as Pep Guardiola’s side match Arsenal’s result against Everton, they will win an unprecedented fourth consecutive Premier League title.
De Bruyne has played down suggestions that City celebrated like they had already won the title following the victory.
"We were happy, obviously, because it gets in the place that we wanted to be on Sunday," he told Sky Sports. "I didn't feel like there were any extra celebrations.
"Obviously, you're happy to win the game, but we know it's not done yet.
"I know everybody's talking now saying it should be easy, but we're used to playing these couple of games against Brighton and Villa before and it's never easy. There's always the pressure of being in that situation, so I think it's quite normal."
City’s win over Tottenham makes them big favourites to win the title, with the Opta supercomputer giving them an 84.3 per cent chance of lifting the Premier League trophy once more.
During their victory at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium, sections of the crowd cheered Erling Haaland’s opener by doing the Poznan, a celebration often used by the City fans, as the result shifted the title race out of their North London rivals' favour.
Asked if he had ever played in an environment like that before, De Bruyne added: "I think it's strange, but I didn't feel it from a players perspective.
"I have to say I thought Tottenham were really good, I think they played better than they did the weeks before.
"Fans are always a different thing, but I feel it's more feeding from outside, I never thought that from the players' or coaches' perspective, they would not come and give their best. That's the only thing we worry about."
Italy forward Zaniolo to miss Euro 2024 due to foot injury
Italy forward Nicolo Zaniolo will miss Euro 2024 after suffering a foot injury during Aston Villa's Premier League draw with Liverpool on Monday.
Zaniolo – who joined Unai Emery's side on a season-long loan from Galatasaray last August – came on as a second-half substitute as they fought back from 3-1 down to clinch a 3-3 draw at Villa Park.
That result moved Villa closer to securing Champions League qualification, which was confirmed when Tottenham lost 2-0 at home to Manchester City on Tuesday.
Zaniolo only lasted 14 minutes following his 65th-minute introduction before being withdrawn himself, though, and scans have shown he sustained a microfracture to his foot.
The 24-year-old has now confirmed he will be unable to feature in Italy's title defence at the Euros, with their Group B campaign set to begin against Albania on June 15.
In a post to his Instagram account, Zaniolo wrote: "Thank you for your support in these hours, to you Villans and to the many Italian and Turkish fans. I can't wait to get back on the field stronger than before!
"Unfortunately, I will have to give up my dream of representing my country in a major competition. But that day will come, I'm sure, and it will be beautiful! Come on Azzurri!"
Zaniolo also missed Italy's triumphant run at the delayed Euro 2020 three years ago as he was recovering from a ruptured cruciate ligament.
Chicago Fire v Charlotte FC: Smith shrugs off road-trip worries
Charlotte FC boss Dean Smith believes “mentality” is the main issue for sides daunted by away trips.
Smith takes his team to face the Chicago Fire on Wednesday, with Charlotte having taken just one point from their five away games in MLS so far this season.
But Smith struggles to see why there is such a difference in confidence between home and away fixtures.
“Mentality,” said Smith when asked what the issue was.
“I believe some people, before they even leave, have accepted it’s going to be tougher. The only reason it’s tougher is because that’s in your head. Yes, you’ve got to travel, you haven’t got home fans or home advantage, but the pitches are still the same size, you’ve still got to get into your box and score a goal, and they’ve got to get in yours and you’ve got to defend your box.
“I don’t think there’s too much in it other than you have your fans behind you and home comforts. We should have had more points on the road, our performances merited more points but we’ve not taken chances on the road so far.”
Charlotte have won their last two games, both at home, while the Fire are on a five-game winless run.
“I’ve just been watching clips of them. It’s going to be a tough game, as everyone keeps telling me, it’s tough on the road,” Smith said.
“We’ll try to change that. They got beat at the weekend so it’s a bit of a tough time for them but we have to concentrate on ourselves.”
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Chicago Fire – Hugo Cuypers
The Fire have failed to score in three straight regular-season home games for the third time in club history. Cuypers is their top scorer, with three goals this term, and the onus will be on him to get firing again.
Charlotte FC – Patrick Agyemang
Patrick Agyemang scored Charlotte’s winner against Nashville SC last time out, making him the team’s leading scorer in MLS in 2024, with three goals to his name.
MATCH PREDICTION: CHICAGO WIN
While Chicago are made the favourites by Opta’s model, Charlotte have recorded back-to-back shutout wins. Charlotte have never won three straight regular-season matches without conceding a goal, something no team has managed to do in MLS in 2024.
Chicago are winless in five straight games and has just 10 points through their first 12 this season (W2 D4 L6). The Fire have had fewer points at this stage of a season only once before, taking nine points through 12 matches in 2020.
Charlotte have won three straight matches against the Fire after Chicago won the first meeting, 3-2. Charlotte have never won four straight meetings with a single opponent, though.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Chicago Fire – 41.1%
Charlotte – 29.9%
Draw – 29%
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