Chapter 29: Attack of Burnley (4)

The day after a resounding victory against Southampton.

While fitness coach Paulo Morão was conducting recovery training with the squad, Hyeong-min was continuing preparations for the next match with Arthur.

They were in the middle of analyzing Tottenham's recent video footage (though Hyeong-min later became convinced that Arthur had dozed off slightly during the process) when Technical Director Jonathan Landris burst into Hyeong-min's office without even knocking.

"Kim! Tottenham just sacked Nuno Espírito Santo!"

"Really?"

Hyeong-min and Arthur were taken aback by the news Jonathan delivered.

"Their recent results have been poor, but… hasn't it been less than four months since he took over?"

"To be precise, he started on June 30th, so it's almost exactly four months. But that's not the important part. Guess who they've appointed as the new manager?"

"…Who?"

Hyeong-min asked, suppressing a growing sense of unease.

"Antonio Conte!"

"…?!"

Antonio Conte's career is nothing short of illustrious.

As a player, he was regarded as one of the finest Italian midfielders of his generation, starring for the Italian national team and the prestigious Juventus.

After transitioning to management, he led his former club Juventus to an unprecedented unbeaten Serie A title, achieving a three-peat in the Italian top flight.

Upon resigning from Juventus, he took charge of a declining Italian national team and guided them to Euro 2016, where they stunned the world by defeating the then-top-ranked Belgium and defending champions Spain in succession. Although they fell to Germany in the quarterfinals via a penalty shootout, his efforts were widely credited with laying the foundation for Italy's eventual Euro 2020 triumph.

After stepping down from the national team, Conte took the helm at Premier League giants Chelsea, winning the league title in his very first season.

His second season at Chelsea was marred by player unrest and internal conflicts, leading to a sharp decline in performance and his eventual dismissal. However, he later returned to Italy and revitalized a struggling Inter Milan, ending their 11-year Serie A title drought.

Known for his fiery temper and obsessive dedication to football, Conte often clashed with club executives and even his own players. Yet, his tactical acumen and ability to motivate his squad were considered among the best of any manager of his era.

To be frank, the media and pundits were abuzz with skepticism about whether a manager of Conte's caliber—who had consistently competed for league titles—would fit at Tottenham.

But for Hyeong-min, who now had to face this legendary manager without any prior data, such debates offered little consolation.

Hyeong-min hurriedly convened an emergency meeting with his assistant coach Arthur and fitness coach Paulo Morão.

"For starters… we'll need to scrap all the Tottenham data from the Santo era, except for the player fitness reports."

"Ugh… do you know how much effort went into compiling that…?"

Arthur grimaced at Hyeong-min's words, but he knew there was no other choice.

"We need to study Conte's tactics from his Chelsea and Inter Milan days and figure out how he might adapt them to Tottenham."

"Got it. But isn't Conte himself just starting to figure that out too?"

Their task was to devise answers to the problems posed by the opposing manager—except the opposing manager hadn't even finished crafting the problems yet.

"This could turn into a complete farce…"

Hyeong-min muttered to himself, prompting uneasy glances from Arthur and Paulo Morão.

---

Why is it that bad premonitions always come true?

As the match devolved into a chaotic slugfest, with all plans and predictions thrown into the trash, Hyeong-min stood in the technical area, questioning himself.

Before his eyes, the players and the ball seemed to operate on entirely different wavelengths.

The home fans at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium erupted in cheers, thrilled by the unexpectedly exhilarating match and their team's lead on the scoreboard. But both managers directing their respective teams were left exasperated.

Just beside him, in the home team's technical area, Tottenham's new manager Antonio Conte was roaring at his players, his face flushed with anger.

"No! No! That's not it! Close the gaps there! Close them, you idiot!"

Finally resorting to profanity at a player who couldn't grasp his instructions, Conte turned around—and his hollow gaze met Hyeong-min's equally vacant stare.

*"We're winning, but this isn't what I planned, you get it, right?"*

*"I get it. But losing like this still feels absolutely terrible."*

In that brief exchange of looks, the two managers commiserated over their unraveled game plans before turning their attention back to their teams.

In football, tactics are generally consistent within a team.

In other words, tactics are an agreement to take specific actions to score goals while preventing the opponent from doing the same.

It's great when you catch the opposition off guard with something unexpected—but it becomes a problem when your own team didn't see it coming either.

Hyeong-min's Burnley employed a 4-3-3 formation with high pressing and counterattacks—a strategy that everyone knew but couldn't stop, a "you know it's coming, yet you still fall for it" approach.

Antonio Conte, meanwhile, had earned his reputation with a robust three-man defense, followed by aggressive wingbacks bombing down the flanks in his signature 5-2-3 formation.

Unlike a simple defend-and-counter tactic, Conte's system relied on precise build-up play from the back, intricate zonal movements, and relentless work rate—qualities that had propelled every team he coached to league titles.

But today, Tottenham's squad—barely a week into their new manager's tenure—was a mess. Half the players were still following the previous manager's tactics, while the other half tried to adapt to Conte's. Some even switched between the two systems mid-match, depending on their memory and comprehension, creating an utter circus.

The real issue was that Burnley got sucked into this chaos, leading to defensive breakdowns that were driving Hyeong-min to the brink of a meltdown.

23rd minute of the first half, Tottenham on the attack.

In line with Conte's style, both wingbacks pushed deep into Burnley's half. Burnley's fullbacks, Matt Lowton and Charlie Taylor, tracked Tottenham's left wingback Sergio Reguilón and right wingback Emerson Royal, respectively.

Burnley's defensive midfielder Nicholas Seiwald shadowed Tottenham's most dangerous central striker, Harry Kane, while Burnley's two center-backs marked wingers Son Heung-min and Lucas Moura.

Breaking free from Josh Brownhill, Tottenham's central midfielder Pierre-Emile Højbjerg dribbled through the middle and passed to Harry Kane, who had dropped deep to receive the ball before making a forward run.

Hyeong-min would've bet his UEFA Pro License that Conte had explicitly instructed this sequence.

But something must've gone wrong with this Danish midfielder. Ignoring the bewildered expression of his teammate—and England's star striker—Harry Kane, who was signaling for the ball, Højbjerg nonchalantly continued dribbling toward Burnley's goal.

The scripted play didn't unfold as planned.

Tottenham's players froze in confusion, and Burnley's defenders instinctively halted as well.

Unable to find a teammate to pass to under Burnley's pressing defense—and still nowhere near the penalty box—Højbjerg unleashed a long-range shot toward the goal.

Players and even some fans stared in disbelief as the ball sailed toward a fully prepared goalkeeper. Yet, with a wicked backspin, it defied all expectations, grazing the fingertips of Burnley's diving keeper Nick Pope and sneaking into the top left corner of the net.

As Højbjerg raced off in celebration, arms raised to the roaring crowd, the 21 other players on the pitch gawked in stunned silence.

"What the—! Argh! Does that even make sense?!"

Hyeong-min bellowed in frustration, glancing toward the sideline. Antonio Conte, watching the goal with a slightly sheepish expression, turned to Hyeong-min, raised both palms, and gave a small shrug.

Having spent nearly a decade in European football—though without many Italian friends—Hyeong-min roughly interpreted the gesture in an Italian context:

*"Sorry, mate, but what can you do? Deal with it."*

The game resumed with a dejected Burnley goal kick.

26th minute of the first half.

Two minutes after scoring, Højbjerg returned to his half, only to be grabbed by an irate Harry Kane, whose muscular arm locked around the midfielder's neck for a quick, intense exchange.

Moments later, Højbjerg intercepted the ball again.

This time, instead of dribbling aimlessly, he fired a short pass to Kane, who had dropped deep once more.

The problem? Burnley's defense, caught off guard by the earlier play, had collectively shifted toward Højbjerg.

Acting as the perfect decoy, Højbjerg drew Burnley's defenders and some midfielders toward him. Meanwhile, Tottenham's talismanic striker Harry Kane slipped a pinpoint pass to Son Heung-min, the South Korean forward streaking into the penalty box from the right.

"Help! Cover!"

Burnley's left-back Charlie Taylor screamed toward his teammates, lunging at Son as the defense tilted heavily to the right due to Højbjerg's distraction.

But the 29-year-old Korean star, perhaps inspired by his teammate's earlier long-range screamer, didn't wait for the defender to close in. He unleashed a left-footed shot toward the goal.

The ball rocketed into the bottom right corner, brushing past Nick Pope's outstretched fingers, clipping the right post, and nestling into the net.

"Arghhhh!"

As the young Burnley manager kicked the turf in a furious outburst, the Italian maestro Antonio Conte sighed and rubbed his face.

Win or lose, it seemed neither manager would sleep well tonight.

With a rematch just three days away, Conte wondered if he should just invite his counterpart for a drink after the game and call it a day.