Daniel Levy took the unusual step of joining Mauricio Pochettino and the Tottenham players in training ahead of their clash against Borussia Dortmund in a public “powerplay”, according to the Evening Standard.
The regional newspaper claim the media-shy Levy was at the Westfalenstadion on Monday night to present a picture of unity ahead of a pivotal fixture.
The Standard report that the chairman’s appearance would have been at the behest of Pochettino and was no coincidence, coming a year after the manager highlighted how Andrea Agnelli, the Juventus chairman, attended training, the pre-match press conference and was even in the tunnel as his side knocked out Spurs at Wembley at the same stage last season.
“It’s about small details that count a lot in this type of game,” said Pochettino at the time, after claiming the tie had been a “massive lesson” for Spurs in how to win at this level.
OPINION
Levy loves to do his work at Tottenham behind the scenes, operating away from the cameras and the limelight that he has no interest in. But Pochettino is a difficult man to ignore, and the manager’s explanation of how Spurs can learn from Juventus has clearly been taken on board by the long-standing chairman. That is quite a feat from Pochettino, and the frank exchange with a puffa-jacketed Levy at the foot of Dortmund’s infamous ‘Yellow Wall’ provided perfect material for the cameras trained on the part of the session open to the media. If nothing else, it demonstrates the Argentine’s influence and how that Levy is willing to go out of his way and outside of his comfort zone for the greater good. Of course, no-one is suggesting the chairman’s presence at training, or in the tunnel, can secure a passage into the Champions League quarter-finals, but it can help Tottenham make the kind of marginal gain that is so pivotal in elite sport.