Benjamin Stambouli has experienced many championships, but his arrival in England will be remembered forever. In an interview with L’Équipe, the former PSG and Montpellier player looked back on his first training with Tottenham, under the orders of Mauricio Pochettino. And the least we can say is that the shock was brutal.
“These are games, one-on-one, you have to press the goalkeeper, you repeat the thing 150 times, the intensity is incredible”says Stambouli. The former French champion then discovered an unprecedented physical and mental requirement. “Afterwards, we have a very long race, intermittent… I finish and I vomit. Coach Pochettino tells me: Welcome to England! »
But the worst, or the best depending on your point of view, was yet to come. Just when he finally thinks he can rest, Stambouli comes across one of the staff assistants. “I take my shower, I go to go back to the hotel and the deputy says to me: Where are you going? There’s a session in an hour. » The Frenchman thinks it’s a joke: it’s actually an intense gym session, bootcamp style, where each player is supervised by three trainers. “They yell at you: ‘Lower! Higher! Stronger! One more!’ It’s the culture of going all the way. »
This anecdote perfectly illustrates the difference in culture between training in France and England, where intensity and rigor are taken to an almost military level. Stambouli, today at FC Metz, smiles in hindsight: he survived his baptism of fire in London… by vomiting, of course, but above all by understanding what “Welcome to England” really meant.
