Antonio Conte never got 26-year-old Tottenham man, they barely spoke – coach

Add as preferred source on Google

One of Richarlison’s old coaches has suggested that Antonio Conte never understood the Brazilian during his time at Tottenham Hotspur.

Abel Braga was speaking to The Athletic and mentioned the 26-year-old forward.

Braga worked with Richarlison during his time at Fluminense.

Richarlison was a promising young wonderkid at the time who was attracting interest from Europe.

After a few months of working with Braga, Richarlison made the move to Watford.

He then went on to play for Everton before joining Spurs last summer in a £60m deal.

There was a lot of excitement in north London when he joined due to his versatility and decent goalscoring record.

However, Richarlison’s time at Tottenham hasn’t gone to plan, and Braga thinks Antonio Conte is the reason why.

After a promising brace against Marseille in the Champions League, he had to wait until last month’s game against Liverpool to score again.

Braga believes the Italian coach’s approach to working with Richarlison was all wrong.

Conte never understood Richarlison at Tottenham

Speaking to The Athletic, Braga said: “People criticise Brazilian coaches a lot, but there is one real strength here.

“We really try to understand each individual on a social level, on a cultural level, and so on.

“Some players need you to be a father figure. Others will only react if you shout at them.

“(Antonio) Conte didn’t seem to understand that. He’s the kind of coach who barely speaks to a player during a whole season.”

Richarlison was in and out of the Tottenham team under Antonio Conte as the Italian tried to figure out his best position.

He was generally shifted out wide to accommodate Harry Kane, which makes a lot of sense.

However, it’s never really suited him, and when he’s been given the rare chance to play through the middle with Kane, the balance of the rest of the team has been off.

Whoever comes in to replace Ryan Mason has a job on his hands working out how best to use Richarlison.

If he can unlock his potential, then Spurs have another brilliant attacking option to call on.